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Describing Trends For IELTS Task 1

how to describe bar graph trends for ITETS

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122 views11 pages

Describing Trends For IELTS Task 1

how to describe bar graph trends for ITETS

Uploaded by

luzhan100
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Describing Trends

In IELTS writing task 1, you may have to describe trends.


This may come up in a line graph, bar chart or when
comparing more than one chart.

There are two main grammatical structures we can use to


describe trends.

1. There + be + adj. + noun + in + noun phrase

Example:

There was a gradual rise in the price of oil.

There has been a sharp drop in the price of oil.

Possible adjectives

Gradual moderate

Modest sharp

Dramatic slight

Steep steady

Significant considerable

rapid
Possible nouns:

Variation decline

Decrease dip

Drop fall

Peak fluctuation

Growth increase

Rise slump

2. Noun phrase + verb + adverb

Example:

The price of oil rose gradually.

The price of oil has risen dramatically.

Possible verbs:
Rise jump

Grow climb
Increase rocket

Fall drop

Decline decrease

go down plummet

plunge

Possible adverbs:
Gradually moderately

Modestly sharply

Dramatically slightly

Steeply steadily

Significantly considerably

Rapidly slowly

Describing Increases and Decreases


When describing any of the charts in IELTS writing task 1,
you might have to describe increases and decreases. There
are three main ways you can describe increases and
decreases.

1. Noun phrase + verb + adverb

Example:

The price of property fell sharply

The percentage of homes dropped dramatically.

2. There + be + noun + in + noun phrase

Example:

There was a fall in literacy levels.

There has been an increase in the cost of coffee.

3. Using fractions

Example:

The price of oil halved in less than a year.

The price of oil has halved since July.

By July, the price of oil has halved.

Making Comparisons
IELTS writing task 1 will often require comparing data
sources, groups and times. Here are five grammatical
structures you can use to make comparisons.

1. More/few/less + noun + than

Example:

Overall, more people preferred public transport to taxis.

2. of one syllable -er + than

Example:

A higher number of people preferred public transport to


taxis.

3. More/less + adj. of more than one syllable +

than

Example:

Taxis were more popular than public transport.

4. of one syllable -est.

Example:

The highest % of commuters preferred taxis.

5. The most/least + adj. of more than one syllable.


Example:

The least popular mode of transport was buses.

Summarising
IELTS writing task 1 is essentially a summarising task.
Your overview paragraph should contain two or three
sentences summarising the main features of the graph. To
help you do this, here are some short phrases.

 To summarise, the most marked change is….

 Overall, it is clear….

 Overall, the majority/minority….

 In sum, the most noticeable trend is….

Don’t say ‘to conclude’. This is only for discursive essays.

Tenses
Using the appropriate tenses in IELTS writing task 1 is
essential if you want to get a high band score.

The key is to look at the chart’s title and the information on


both axes to establish what time frame is used. This will
help you establish what tense you should use.

Example:

 If the time is one point in the past, for example,

January 1990, then we should use the past tense.


 If it has projections for the future, for example, 2045,

we use future tenses.

 If there is no time, we use the present simple.

Below are a range of tenses that could be used in task 1.


Remember, the tense you use will depend on the
information displayed in the graph. This is not a complete
list of tenses, and an awareness of all the English tenses
will help you achieve the IELTS score you need.

1. Present Perfect:

We use this tense generally to talk about an action that


happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact
period is not important.

In writing task 1, we use this tense to talk about changes in


data that have happened over a period of time.

Example

The price of oil has fallen by $5 a barrel every week since


July.

2. Present Perfect Continuous

We use this tense to show that something started in the


past and has continued up until now.
Example

Oil prices have been decreasing since July.

3. Future Perfect

We use this tense to state that something will be finished at


a particular time in the future.

We often use it with ‘by’ or ‘in’.

Example

The price of oil will have reached $300 a barrel by 2020.

4. Past Simple

Use this tense to talk about an action that started and


finished at a specific time in the past.

Example

The price of oil fell from $150 in Jan 2014 to $50 in Jan
2015.

Approximations, Percentages and Fractions


You will have to deal with percentages in many of the IELTS
writing task 1 questions. This is a good opportunity to
express these percentages differently and boost your
score. A way of varying this language is to express them as
fractions or proportions.
Remember that you should vary your language as much as
possible to score high in the ‘lexical resource’ part of the
test.

For instance, use approximations. E.g. 49% can be


expressed as “nearly a half”.

Below are a range of expressions that can be used to


express percentages.

Fractions
73%- nearly three quarters

51%- just over a half

49%- just under a half

32%- nearly a third

3%- a tiny fraction

50%- exactly a half

26%- roughly one quarter

49%- around a half

24%- almost a quarter

77%- approximately three quarters

Proportions
70%- a large proportion

71%- a significant majority


15% a small minority

3%- an insignificant minority


Both maps display an island before and after it was
developed for tourism.

The island is approximately 250 metres long, has palm


trees dotted around it, is surrounded by ocean and has a
beach to the west. Over the period, the island was
completely transformed with the addition of a hotel and a
pier; however, the eastern part of the island appears to
have been left undeveloped.

The most noticeable additions are the hotel rooms. 6


buildings, surrounding some trees, have been built in the
west of the island, and 9 buildings have been constructed
in the centre of the island. A reception building and a
restaurant have been developed between the two
accommodation areas.

A pier has also been built on the island’s south coast,


allowing yachts access to the resort. Apart from the trees,
the beach remains the only natural feature to remain
relatively untouched; however, it appears to be used for
swimming.

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