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IELTS2C1- UNIT 1

WRITING
Term Definition Image
A horizontal line of data in a
Row
table.

Column A vertical line of data in a table.

A type of graph that uses lines to

Line
show changes in data over time
graph
or categories.

A circular chart divided into

Pie chart sectors, each representing a
proportion of the whole.

A graph that uses bars

Bar
(rectangles) to show comparisons
chart
among categories.

A part or section of something,

Segment often used to refer to pieces of a
pie chart.

A set of data arranged in rows

Table
and columns.
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Horizont The x-axis on a graph, running

al axis from left to right.

Vertical The y-axis on a graph, running

axis from bottom to top.

A guide on a graph or chart that

Key explains what each color, line, or
symbol represents.

A continuous mark on a graph,

Line often used to connect data points
in a line graph.

The heading of a graph or chart

Title that explains what the data
represents.

USEFUL ADVERBS IN WRITING CHART:

Trend Word (Verb) Word (Noun) Past Tense (Verb)
Upward Trend Words to rise a rise rose
to increase an increase increased
to climb a climb climbed
to grow a growth grew

to go up — went up

to decrease a decrease decreased

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Downward Trend to drop a drop dropped

Words
to fall a fall fell
to decline a decline declined

to go down — went down

Word Word
Other Vocabulary Meaning
(Verb) (Noun)

To change
to a continually,
fluctuate fluctuation especially up
and down.

To decrease
to dip a dip slightly and
temporarily.

To stay constant
to remain without
—
steady significant
changes.
To continue in
the same
to remain
— condition
stable
without
fluctuating.
To stay the
to remain
— same over a
unchanged
period of time.
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To stop
increasing or
to level off —
decreasing and
remain stable.

To increase
to rocket /
— rapidly and
to soar
significantly.

To reach the
(reach) a highest point or
to peak at
peak of value at a
certain time.
To reach a high
hit a high
— point in value
of
or amount.
To reach the
hit a low lowest point in
—
of value or
amount.
To reach the
lowest or worst
to bottom
— point before
out
beginning to
rise or improve.

To reach a
stable level
after a period of
to plateau — growth or
decline, with no
significant
further changes.
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Category Time Phrases Meaning/Notes

Describes changes that took place slowly over time,

steady / gradual
without specifying the extent of the change.
over the next three Refers to a specific period of three days following a
days particular event or point in time.
Indicates that something occurred three days after a
three days later
previous event.
Describes something happening following a period of
after three days
three days.
over the following Refers to the subsequent three days following an event
three days or change.
the next three days Used to describe data or trends occurring over the
Describing show upcoming three days.
Time from...to... / Used to specify the start and end of a time period or
Periods between...and... range.
the last year / the final Refers to the most recent or final year in a period of
year time.
the first year / initially Refers to the start or first year of a given time period.
over the period /
Refers to a general or specific time frame during which
given period / period
changes occur.
given
at the beginning of the Describes events or changes occurring at the start of a
period given time period.
at the end of the Describes events or changes occurring at the conclusion
period of a given time period.
Refers to a duration of ten years; 'ten-year' must be
over a ten-year period
hyphenated.
you must have an When describing a period, always include the
article (a/the) appropriate article before 'period,' 'year,' etc.
Important
Notes the word "year" has When used with hyphenated phrases (e.g., "ten-year"),
no 's' the word "year" remains singular, with no plural 's'.
When describing a time span (e.g., "ten-year period"),
ten-year has a hyphen
always include a hyphen between the number and "year."

Writing task 1 (Chart – Graph)

1. Understanding the Task

 Write at least 150 words (about 20 minutes) : Don’t write too short or too long.
 Summarize the information: You just need to describe what you see in the chart. Don’t
add your own opinion.
 Answer all parts of the question: Describe the main trends (what goes up or down),
compare the data, and highlight key points.
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2. Structure of Your Writing

You can divide your answer into 4 paragraphs:

Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paraphrase the task. That means write the question in a different way.

Example:

 Task: "The graph shows the number of students enrolling in online courses from 2010 to
2020."
 Introduction: "The graph shows how many students joined online courses between 2010
and 2020."

Some notes when paraphrasing the task:

Diversify introductory phrases.

- the graph/chart/table/diagram

- gives information about/on

- provides information about/on

- shows

- illustrates

- represents

- depicts

- gives reason why (đưa ra lý do nếu biểu đồ đưa ra lý do cho vấn đề nào đó)

- explains why ( chỉ dùng nêu biểu đồ có đưa ra giải thích)

- compares (chỉ khi có một vài nội dung được so sánh)

 Note with the word “compare,” you can say:

 compares something in terms of something

Example: the charts compare two cities in terms of the number of employed people.

 compares something in year1 and year2

Example: the graph compares the population in 2000 and 2013.

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Structure for writing a good Introduction: SUBJECT + NAME OF THE CHART/GRAPH/DIAGRAM

The/ the given / the supplied / the presented / the shown / the provided
+
diagram / table / figure / illustration / graph / chart / flow chart / picture/ presentation/ pie chart /
bar graph/ column graph / line graph / table data/ data / information / pictorial/ process diagram/
map/ pie chart and table/ bar graph and pie chart

VERBS:

shows / represents / depicts / enumerates / illustrates / presents/ gives / provides / delineates/

outlines/ describes / delineates/ expresses/ denotes/ compares/ shows contrast / indicates /
figures / gives data on / gives information on/ presents information about/ shows data about/
demonstrates/ sketch out/ summarises...

DESCRIPTION (WHAT-WHERE-WHEN)

the comparison of…

the differences…
the changes...
the number of…
information on…
data on…
the proportion of…
the amount of…
information on...
data about...
comparative data...
the trend of...
the percentages of...
the ratio of...
how the...

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.
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Paragraph 2: Overview
Write a summary of the most important trends. Don't mention numbers here, just general
information.

1. In general, ...

2. In common, ...

3. Generally speaking, ...

4. Overall, ...

5. It is obvious, ...

6. As it is observed, ...

7. As a general trend ...

8. As can be seen, ...

9. As an overall trend/ As overall trend, ...

10. As it is presented, ...

11. It can be clearly seen that, ...

12. At the first glance, ...

13. It is clear,

14. At the onset, ...

15. It is clear that, ...

16. A glance at the graph(s) reveals that, ...

EXAMPLE:

1. In general, the employment opportunities increased till 1970 and then declined throughout the next
decade.

2. As it is observed, the figures for imprisonment in the five mentioned countries show no overall pattern,
rather shows the considerable fluctuations from country to country.

Paragraph 3-4: Details

Describe the important details, using numbers and specific information.

 In paragraph 3, you can describe what happened at the beginning and any big changes.
 In paragraph 4, you can write about the end of the period or other comparisons.
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EXAMPLE:

 "In 2010, there were 10,000 students, but this number rose to 50,000 by 2015."
 "By 2020, the figure had grown even more, reaching 150,000 students."

VOCABULARY TO START THE REPORT BODY:

1. As it is presented in the diagram(s)/ graph(s)/ pie chart(s)/ table... 2. As (it 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 the 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...

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EXAMPLE

1. It is clear from the data that the number of women participating in swimming increased during the
period.

2. As the diagram suggests, the number of women participating in swimming increased during the period.

3. It is explicitly observed that the number of women participating in swimming increased during the
period.

3. Useful Vocabulary and Grammar

 Words to describe changes:

 Increases: increase, rise, grow, go up

 Decreases: decrease, drop, fall, go down
 No change: remain stable, stay the same, level off

 Adverbs to show how big the change is:

 Big changes: dramatically, significantly, sharply

 Small changes: slightly, gradually, slowly

 Comparison words:

 "X was higher than Y throughout the period."

 "While A increased, B decreased."

4. How to Group and Compare Data

 Group similar information together: If two things increased at the same time, write
about them together.
 Compare different trends: If one thing goes up and another goes down, compare them.

Example:

 "Both the UK and Australia saw a steady rise in the number of students from 2010 to
2020."
 "However, in the USA, the number was lower by the end of the period."

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

 Forgetting the overview: Always include a summary of the trends in paragraph 2.

 Writing too many details: Only describe the most important points, not every small
number.
 Unclear sentences: Use simple sentence structures and avoid making them too long.
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SAMPLE:

Introduction: The table shows percentages of consumer expenditure for three categories
of products and services in five countries in 2002.

Overview: It is clear that the largest proportion of consumer spending in each country went
on food, drinks and tobacco. On the other hand, the leisure/education category has the
lowest percentages in the table.

Detail 1: Out of the five countries, consumer spending on food, drinks and tobacco was
noticeably higher in Turkey, at 32.14%, and Ireland, at nearly 29%. The proportion of
spending on leisure and education was also highest in Turkey, at 4.35%, while expenditure
on clothing and footwear was significantly higher in Italy, at 9%, than in any of the other
countries.

Detail 2: It can be seen that Sweden had the lowest percentages of national consumer
expenditure for food/drinks/tobacco and for clothing/footwear, at nearly 16% and just over
5% respectively. Spain had slightly higher figures for these categories, but the lowest
figure for leisure/education, at almost 2%. (155 Words)