WRITING TASK 1

The general format for writing academic

writing task 1 is as follows:

Introduction + Basic/ General Trends + Details

Description + Summary (optional).
Each part has a specific format and therefore being
equipped with the necessary vocabulary will help you
answer the task 1 efficiently and will save a great deal
of time.

Starting Presentation Verb Description

Type

The/ the diagram / shows / the comparison of…

given / the table / figure / represents / the differences…
supplied / illustration / depicts / the changes...
the graph / chart / enumerates / the number of…
presented / flow chart / illustrates / information on…
the shown / picture/ presents/ gives data on…
the provided presentation/ / provides / the proportion of…
pie chart / bar delineates/ the amount of…
graph/ column outlines/ information on...
graph / line describes / data about...
graph / table delineates/ comparative data...
data/ data / expresses/ the trend of...
information / denotes/ the percentages of...
pictorial/ compares/ the ratio of...
process shows contrast how the...
diagram/ map/ / indicates /
pie chart and figures / gives
table/ bar data on / gives
graph and pie information
chart ... on/ presents
information
about/ shows
data about/
demonstrates/
sketch out/
summarises...

Example :
1. The diagram shows employment rates among adults in four European countries from 1925 to
1985.
2. The given pie charts represent the proportion of male and female employees in 6 broad
categories, dividing into manual and non-manual occupations in Australia, between 2010 and
2015.
3. The chart gives information about consumer expenditures on six products in four countries
namely Germany, Italy, Britain and France.
4. The supplied bar graph compares the number of male and female graduates in three
developing countries while the table data presents the overall literacy rate in these countries.
5. The bar graph and the table data depict the water consumption in different sectors in five
regions.
6. The bar graph enumerates the money spent on different research projects while the column
graph demonstrates the fund sources over a decade, commencing from 1981.
7. The line graph delineates the proportion of male and female employees in three different
sectors in Australia between 2010 and 2015.
General Statement Part:
The General statement is the first sentence (or two) you write in your reporting. It should
always deal with:

What + Where + When.

Example: The diagram presents information on the percentages of teachers who have
expressed their views about different problems they face when dealing with children in three
Australian schools from 2001 to 2005.

What = the percentages of teachers...

Where = three Australian schools....
When = from 2001 to 2005...

Vocabulary for the General Trend Part:

In general, In common, Generally speaking, Overall, It is obvious, As is observed, As a general
trend, As can be seen, As an overall trend, As is presented, It can be clearly seen that, At the
first glance, it is clear, At the onset, it is clear that, A glance at the graphs reveals that...

Example:
1. In general, the employment opportunities increased till 1970 and then declined throughout
the next decade.
2. As is observed, the figures for imprisonment in the five mentioned countries show no overall
pattern, rather shows the considerable fluctuations from country to country.
3. Generally speaking, citizens in the USA had a far better life standard than that of remaining
countries.
4. As can be seen, the highest number of passengers used the London Underground station at
8:00 in the morning and at 6:00 in the evening.
5. Generally speaking, more men were engaged in managerial positions in 1987 than that of
women in New York in this year.
6. As an overall trend, the number of crimes reported increased fairly rapidly until the mid-
seventies, remained constant for five years and finally, dropped to 20 cases a week after
1982.
7. At a first glance, it is clear that more percentages of native university pupils violated
regulations and rules than the foreign students did during this period.
8. At the onset, it is clear that drinking in public and drink driving were the most common
reasons for the US citizens to be arrested in 2014.
9. Overall, the leisure hours enjoyed by males, regardless of their employment status, was much
higher than that of women.
Vocabulary to Start the Report Body:
There are certain phrases you can use to start your body paragraph and following is a list of
such phrases ---

1. As is presented in the diagram(s)/ graph(s)/ pie chart(s)/ table...

2. As (is) shown in the illustration...
3. As can be seen in the...
4. As the diagrams suggest...
5. According to the...
6. Categorically speaking...
7. Getting back to the details...
8. Now, turning to the details....
 9. The table data clearly shows that...
10. The diagram reveals that...
11. The data suggest that...
12. The graph gives figure...
13. It is interesting to note that...
14. It is apparently seen that...
15. It is conspicuous that...
16. It is explicitly observed that...
17. It is obvious...
18. It is clear from the data...
19. It is worth noticing that...
20. It is crystal clear/ lucid that...
21. It can be clearly observed that...
22. It could be plainly viewed that...
23. It could be noticed that...
24. We can see that..

Vocabulary to show the changes:

Trends Verb form Noun Form

Increase rise / increase / go up / uplift / a rise / an increase / an upward

rocket(ed) / climb / upsurge / soar/ trend / a growth / a leap / a
shot up/ improve/ jump/ leap/ move jump / an improvement/ a
upward/ skyrocket/ soar/ surge. climb.

Decrease fall / decrease / decline / plummet / a fall / a decrease / a reduction /

plunge / drop / reduce / collapse / a downward trends /a
deteriorate/ dip / dive / go down / take downward tendency / a
a nosedive / slum / slide / go into free- decline/ a drop / a slide / a
fall. collapse / a downfall.

Steadiness unchanged / level out / remain a steadiness/ a plateau / a

constant / remain steady / plateau / stability/ a static
remain the same / remain stable /
remain static

Gradual increase an upward trend / an upward

------------ tendency / a ceiling trend

Gradual decrease a downward trend / a

------------ downward tendency / a
descending trend

Standability/ Flat level(ed) off / remain(ed) constant /

remain(ed) unchanged / remain(ed) No change, a flat, a plateau.
stable / prevail(ed) consistency /
plateaued / reach(ed) a plateau /
stay(ed) uniform /immutable /
level(ed) out/ stabilize/ remain(ed) the
same.

Examples:
1. The overall sale of the company increased by 20% at the end of the year.
2. The expenditure of the office remained constant for the last 6 months but the profit rose by
almost 25%.
3. There was a 15% drop in the ratio of student enrollment in this University.
4. The population of the country remained almost the same as it was 2 years ago.
5. The population of these two cities increase significantly in the last two decades and it is
expected that it will remain stable during the next 5 years.
 Vocabulary to represent changes in graphs:

Type of Adverb form Adjective form

Change

Rapid change dramatically / rapidly / dramatic / rapid / sharp /

sharply / quickly / quick / hurried / speedy /
hurriedly / speedily / swift / significant /
swiftly / significantly/ considerable / substantial /
considerably / noticeable.
substantially / noticeably.

Moderate moderately / gradually / moderate / gradual /

change progressively / progressive / sequential.
sequentially.

Steady steadily/ ceaselessly. steady/ ceaseless.

change

Slight change slightly / slowly / mildly / slight / slow / mild /

tediously. tedious.

Example:
1. The economic inflation of the country increased sharply by 20% in 2008.
2. There was a sharp drop in the industrial production in the year 2009.
3. The demand for new houses dramatically increased in 2002.
4. The population of the country dramatically increased in the last decade.
5. The price of the oil moderately increased in last quarter but as a consequence, the price of
daily necessity rapidly went up.
Vocabulary to represent frequent changes in graphs:

Type of Change Verb form Noun form

Rapid ups and wave / fluctuate / oscillate / waves / fluctuations /

downs vacillate / palpitate oscillations /
vacillations /
palpitations

Example:
1. The price of the goods fluctuated during the first three months in 2017.
2. The graph shows the oscillations of the price from 1998 to 2002.
3. The passenger number in this station oscillates throughout the day and in early morning and
evening, it remains busy.
4. The changes of car production in Japan shows a palpitation for the second quarter of the
year.
5. The number of students in debate clubs fluctuated in different months of the year and rapid
ups and downs could be observed in the last three months of this year.
Types of Changes/ Differences and Vocabulary to present them:
Great change / Huge difference:

Adjectives Adverbs
Overwhelming Overwhelmingly
Substantial Substantially
Enormous Enormously

Big change / Big difference:

Adjectives Adverbs

Significant Significantly
Considerable Considerably

Medium change / Moderate difference:

Adjectives Adverbs

Somewhat Somewhat
Moderate Moderately

Minor change / Small difference:

Adjectives Adverbs

Fractional Fractionally
Marginal Marginally
Slight Slightly

Dates, Months & Years related vocabulary and grammar:

» From 1990 to 2000, Commencing from 1980, Between 1995 and 2005, After 2012.
» By 1995, In 1998, In February, Over the period, During the period, During 2011.
» In the first half of the year, For the first quarter, The last quarter of the year, During the first
decade.
» In the 80s, In the 1980s, During the next 6 months, In the mid-70s, Next 10 years, Previous
year, Next year, Between 1980 - 1990.
» Within a time span of ten years, within five years.
» Next month, Next quarter, Next year, Previous month, Previous year.
» Since, Then, From.

Percentage, Portion and Numbers:

Percentages:
10% increase, 25 percent decrease, increased by 15%, dropped by 10 per cent, fall at 50%,
reached to 75%, tripled, doubled, one-fourth, three-quarters, half, double fold, treble, 5 times
higher, 3 timers lower, declined to about 49%, stood exactly at 43%.

Fractions:
4% = A tiny fraction.
24% = Almost a quarter.
25% Exactly a quarter.
26% = Roughly one quarter.
32% Nearly one-third, nearly a third.
49% = Around a half, just under a half.
50% Exactly a half.
51% = Just over a half.
73% = Nearly three quarters.
77% = Approximately three quarter, more than three-quarter.
79% = Well over three quarters.

Proportions:
2% = A tiny portion, a very small proportion.
4% = An insignificant minority, an insignificant proportion.
16% = A small minority, a small portion.
70% = A large proportion.
72% = A significant majority, A significant proportion.89% = A very large proportion.
89% = A very large proportion.

Words/ Phrases of Approximation - Vocabulary:

» Approximately
» Nearly
» Roughly
» Almost
» About
» Around
» More or less
» Just over
» Just under
» Just around
» Just about
» Just below
» A little more than
» A little less than.

Sample 1:

The chart below shows how much money is spent in the budget on different sectors by the UAE
government in 2000.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.
Sample 2

The pie charts below show the online sales for retail sectors in New Zealand in 2003 and
2013.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

Sample 3:
The graph below shows the top priorities by business companies in the USA in 2016.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Top Priorities by Company Size

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graphs below show the average monthly expenditure on children’s sports and participation
in different sports in the UK from 2008 to 2014.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

Average monthly spending on children’s sports

Participation in three
different sports

The diagram shows the procedure for university entry for high school graduates.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.