Increasing Categories

 The number of people watching TV and

movies increased from 1980 to 2020.

 The number of people watching TV and movies grew from

1980 to 2020.

 The number of people watching TV and movies rose from

1980 to 2020.

 The number of people watching TV and

movies climbed from 1980 to 2020.

 The number of people watching TV and movies went

up from 1980 to 2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was an increase in the number of

people watching TV and movies.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was a growth in the number of

people watching TV and movies.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was a rise in the number of

people watching TV and movies.

Decreasing Categories
 The number of people playing video games decreased from

1980 to 2020.

 The number of people playing video games declined from

1980 to 2020.

 The number of people playing video games dropped from

1980 to 2020.

 The number of people playing video games fell from 1980 to

2020.

 The number of people playing video games went down from

1980 to 2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was a decrease in the number of

people playing video games.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was a decline in the number of

people playing video games.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was a drop in the number of

people playing video games.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was a fall in the number of people

playing video games.

Stable Categories
 The number of people playing music stayed at the same

level from 1980 to 2020.

 The number of people playing music was constant from

1980 to 2020.

 The number of people playing music remained stable from

1980 to 2020.

 The number of people playing music remained

unchanged from 1980 to 2020.

Fluctuating Categories

 The number of people studying fluctuated from 1980 to

2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there were fluctuations in the number

of people studying.

As the British Council explains, you must learn all of this

vocabulary before your test if you need a high score.

Descriptive IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary

Now that you know the basics, you need to learn adverbs and

adjectives that that will allow you to be more descriptive.

But first, we must understand the difference

between rate and amount.

Rate vs Amount

To help you understand, let’s look at these two images.

Even though both hills are 1 km high, we can see that they climb

upwards at different rates.

The rate is how steep the hills are, and the amount is the 1 km

climb.

You can see how this applies to a Task 1 question in the image

below.

Don’t worry!

You don’t need to know the exact angle (∠) to describe the rate.

You’ll just describe the rate in a general way, using the adverbs

and adjectives below.

Adverbs of Rate

 steeply
  rapidly

 gradually

 slowly

Adjectives of Rate

 steep

 rapid

 gradual

 slow

Adverbs of amount

 dramatically

 substantially

 significantly

 considerably

 modestly

 moderately

 slightly

 marginally

Adjectives of amount

 dramatic

 substantial
  significant

 considerable

 modest

 moderate

 slight

 marginal

So why do we need to separate rate from amount?

Because adverbs and adjectives of rate can only be used with

some graphs.

We can only use them when we see the angle (∠) of the increase

or decrease.

For example, the way the information is presented in the bar graph

and line graph below allows us to see the angle (∠) of increase or

decrease for each category.

However, the pie charts and table only show numbers, so no

angles are visible.

Therefore, we can only use the adverbs and adjectives of rate with

the bar graph and the line graph.

On the other hand, we can see the amount of change in all four

questions above.

That means we can use adverbs and adjectives of amount with all

chart types.

A side note that you might find interesting is that all four graphs

above represent the same information.

Examples of Descriptive IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary

Even though there are several suitable adverbs and adjectives in

each of the descriptions below, we never use more than one.

Increasing Categories

 The number of people watching TV and

movies increased steeply/rapidly/dramatically/substantially/sig

nificantly/considerably from 1980 to 2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was

a steep/rapid/dramatic/substantial/significant/considerable inc

rease in the number of people watching TV and movies.

 The number of people reading

books increased modestly/moderately from 1980 to 2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was a modest/moderate increase

in the number of people reading books.

 The number of people working

out increased gradually/slowly/slightly/marginally from 1980 to

2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was

a gradual/slow/slight/marginal increase in the number of

people working out.

Decreasing Categories

 The number of

people baking decreased gradually/slowly/slightly/marginally fr

om 1980 to 2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was

a gradual/slow/slight/marginal decrease in the number of

people baking.

 The number of

people gardening decreased modestly/moderately from 1980 to

2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was

a modest/moderate decrease in the number of people gardening.

 The number of people playing video

games decreased steeply/rapidly/dramatically/substantially/sig

nificantly/considerably from 1980 to 2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there was

a steep/rapid/dramatic/substantial/significant/considerable de

crease in the number of people playing video games.

Big or No Rate Changes in Categories

In the next set, we will look at adverbs and adjectives you can use

when there’s a big change in the rate

(suddenly/sharply/sudden/sharp) and adverbs and adjectives for

when there is no change in the rate

(steadily/consistently/steady/consistent).

 The number of people doing woodwork increased by about

10 from 1980 to 1990 and suddenly/sharply increased to 200

people in 2000. After that, it steadily/consistently decreased until

2020.

 From 1980 to 1990, there was an increase of about 10 in the

number of people doing woodwork, and there was

a sudden/sharp increase to 200 people in 2000. After that, there

was a steady/consistent decrease.

Stable Trends & Fluctuations

And now, adverbs and adjectives to describe stable trends and

fluctuations.

 The number of people playing

music remained completely stable from 1980 to 2020.

 The number of people studying remained relatively stable

from 1980 to 2020.

 The number of people studying fluctuated slightly from 1980

to 2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there were slight fluctuations in the

number of people studying.

 The number of people playing board

games fluctuated wildly/considerably/substantially from 1980 to

2020.

 From 1980 to 2020, there

were wild/considerable/substantial fluctuations in the number of

people playing board games.

IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary for Estimates

Sometimes, the questions will show you exact numbers, like in the

table below.

For questions like this, just copy the number into your essay.

However, some questions don’t show the numbers like this, and

you need to use the y-axis to estimate, such as in the line graph

below.

For graphs like this, you can never be 100% sure what the number

is.

To make sure we are correct, we use approximations.

You will find examples of these below.

 The number of people painting in 1980

was approximately/roughly/about/around 100.

 The number of people painting in 2000

was approximately/roughly/about/around/just above/just

over 100.
 The number of people painting in 2020

was approximately/roughly/about/around/almost/just

below/just under/nearly 100.

You can see that some of these words were only used when

‘painting‘ was definitely above 100, some when ‘painting‘ was

definitely below 100, and others can be used in all situations.

 Definitely above: just above, just over.

 Definitely below: almost, just below, just under, nearly.

 Above or below: approximately, roughly, about, around.

IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary for Predictions

So far in this lesson, all of the data we looked at was in the past.

However, there are times when the question will contain future

predictions, like in the chart below.

As there’s no guarantee that these predictions will come true, we

cannot use grammar structures like ‘will’ or ‘going to’ to describe

them.

Instead, we must use phrases like these;

 is expected to
 is forecast to

 is predicted to

 is projected to

 is shown to

Here’s an example;

 The number of people doing woodwork increased by about

10 from 1980 to 1990 and suddenly increased to 200 people in

2000. After that, it has steadily decreased, and this trend is

predicted to continue until 2040.

Using the word “increase” in IELTS Task 1

The word ‘increase‘ can be used as a verb or noun.

Prices increased by 25% from 2008 to 2010.

There was a 25% increase in prices from 2010 to 2011.

A 25% increase can be seen from 2008 to 2010.

Prices saw a 25% increase from 2008 to 2010.

Prices experienced a 25% increase from 2008 to 2010.

Prices show a 25% increase from 2008 to 2010.

Variation: use ‘an increase of 25%’ instead of ‘a 25%

increase’

Other words that mean “increase”

 rise (verb or noun)

 grow (verb) growth (noun)

 jump (verb or noun) “large AND fast increase”

 leap (verb) “large AND fast increase”

Prices leapt by 25% from 2008 to 2010.

 NOTE: If you use these words inside a dependent

clause, you might need to change them into a gerund.

Prices show a dramatic change from 2008 to

2010, rising by 25%.

Using the word “decrease” in IELTS Task 1

The word ‘decrease‘ can be used as a verb or noun.

Prices decreased by 25% from 2010 to 2011.

There was a 25% decrease in prices from 2010 to 2011.

A 25% decrease can be seen from 2010 to 2011.

Prices saw a 25% decrease from 2010 to 2011.

Prices experienced a 25% decrease from 2010 to 2011.

Prices show a 25% decrease from 2010 to 2011.

Variation: You can use ‘a decrease of 25%’ instead of

‘a 25% decrease’

Other words that mean “decrease”

 fall (verb or noun)

 reduce (verb) reduction (noun)

 sink (verb) “large AND fast decrease”

 plummet (verb) “large AND fast decrease”

Prices leapt by 25% from 2010 to 2011.

NOTE: If you use these words inside a dependent

clause, you might need to change them into a gerund.

Prices show a dramatic change from 2010 to

2011, falling by 25%.

Vocabulary IELTS Writing Task 1 Increase Decrease

Describing statistics that “don’t change”

Any of these adjectives can be used to describe statistics that

don’t change or that change very little in an IELTS Task 1 chart.

When using any of the adjectives below, you should use the

verbs ‘remain’, ‘stay’, or ‘is’ (usually in the past tense).

 stable

 steady

 unchanged

 the same

 static

 consistent

The price remained stable from 2015 to 2016.

Words to use for ‘large AND fast change’

 dramatic (adjective)

 sharp (adjective)

There was a dramatic increase in the price from 2016 to 2017.

 dramatically (adverb)

 sharply (adverb)

The price increased dramatically from 2016 to 2017.

Words to use for ‘slow change over a long time’

 steady (adjective)

 gradual (adjective)

There was a steady increase in the price from 2017 to 2020.

 steadily (adverb)
 gradually (adverb)

The price increased steadily from 2017 to 2020.

Words that mean ‘small’

These adjectives and adverbs could be used to describe small

increases, small decreases, or small differences.

 insignificant (adjective) = very small

 slight (adjective)

There was an insignificant increase in the price from 2014 to 2015.

 slightly (adverb)

The price increased slightly from 2014 to 2015.

Words that mean ‘large’

These adjectives and adverbs could be used to describe large

increases/decreases, , large amounts or large differences.

 considerable

 marked

 noticeable

 significant

 substantial

There was a considerable increase in the price from 2014 to 2015.

These adverbs and adverbs could be used to describe large

increases/decreases, , large amounts or large differences.

 considerably

 markedly

 noticeably

 significantly

 substantially

The price increased considerably from 2014 to 2015.

Comparing Numbers in IELTS Task 1

Here are some useful ways to describe numbers using vocabulary.

Don’t just give statistics—compare them to another part of the test!

‘2-fold’ is an adjective meaning “twice as much”. It should ONLY

be used to describe ‘increases’ in the size or amount of something.

 2-fold = twice as much as before

 3-fold = three times as much as before

 4-fold = four times as much as before

 5-fold = five times as much as before

The price increased 2-fold from 2011 to 2013.

The price shows a 2-fold increase from 2011 to 2013.

There was a 2-fold increase in the price from 2011 to 2013.

Variation: You can also write ‘…-fold’ words as

‘twofold‘, ‘threefold‘, etc.

You can also these words to make comparisons:

 double (adjective or noun)

 triple (adjective or noun)

 quadruple (adjective or noun)

 quintuple(adjective or noun)

The price doubled from 2011 to 2013.

The price in 2013 was double the price in 2011.

Estimating Numbers in IELTS Task 1

A useful tip for IELTS Writing Task 1 responses is to add words

that tell the IELTS Examiner you are only giving an estimated

number, not the exact number from the chart. If you do this, you

don’t have to worry about being totally correct with your numbers.

This can be really useful if it is difficult to identify exact amounts in

IELTS Task 1 charts. Study this vocabulary for IELTS Task 1

writing responses.
Words that mean ‘just BELOW the number’

 almost

 close to

 nearly

The price increased by nearly 25%.

The above sentence means the exact price increase could

have been any percentage between 22% to 24%.

Words that mean ‘either just ABOVE or BELOW the

number’

 about

 approximately

 around

 roughly

The price increased by approximately 25%.

The above sentence means the exact price increase could

have been any percentage between 22% to 28%.

Words that mean ‘just ABOVE the number’

 more than

 over
The price increased by over 25%.