IELTS Academic Writing

Task 1 — Useful phrases

IELTS Writing Task 1 –
Useful phrases
Being able to use appropriate vocabularies, presenting the main trend, comparing & contrasting data
and presenting the logical flow of the graph ensure a high band score in your Academic IELTS
writing task 1.

Introductory statements
 According to the graph … – Согласно графика …
 As it is evident from the graph …- Как видно из графика …
 It may be concluded from the chart that … — Можно сделать вывод из диаграммы,
что …
 The graph presents data showing… — На графике представлены данные,
показывающие …
 The graph provides strong evidence that … — График предоставляет убедительные
доказательства того, что …
 As it may be seen from the chart … — Как это видно из диаграммы …
 As the chart illustrates… — Как диаграмма иллюстрирует …
 The chart plainly indicates that… — Диаграмма ясно указывает, что …
 The chart is about … – Данная диаграмма о …
 The chart is divided into … parts. — Диаграмма разбита на … частей.
 The chart neither proves nor refutes the contention that… — Диаграмма, как не
доказывает, так и не опровергает утверждения того, что …
 The line graph displays … — Линейный график отображает …
 The line graph clearly shows …- Линия графика ясно показывает …
 The bar graph/chart shows … — Гистограмма показывает …
 The bar chart deals with …- Гистограмма имеет дело с …
 The pie charts disclose/reveal … — Круговые диаграммы показывают …
 The pie chart compares the …- круговая диаграмма сравнивает …
 The diagram contains data about … — Диаграмма/схема содержит данные о …
 The table provides information about … — Таблица предоставляет информацию о …

Examples:

1. The bar chart displays information about motor vehicle production in three
countries: the USA, Germany and Japan in 2000 and 2001.
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.

Verbs describing a change

 increase = rise = go up = uplift — увеличиться, возрасти
 decrease = fall = go down — уменьшиться, упасть
 be unchanged = level out = remain constant = remain steady = remain the same =
remain stable = remain static — оставаться без изменений, быть стабильным
 climb — подняться
 rocket = skyrocket — стремительно, быстро увеличиться
 reduce — снижаться
 decline — идти на спад
 wane — идти на убыль, уменьшаться
 plummet = plunge — стремительно упасть
 double — увеличиться вдвое
 triple — утроиться
 halve — сократиться наполовину
 peak at… — достигнуть пика
 bottom out at… — достигнуть низшей точки
 fluctuate — колебаться
 remain stable (steady, constant) — оставаться стабильными (постоянными)
 level out — выровняться
 plateau at — стабилизироваться на (каком-либо уровне)
Examples:
1. The overall sale of the company increased by 20% at the end of the year.
2. The price of crude oil was increasing rapidly, but during the fourth quarter of
2010 plummeted from $143 to $43 per barrel. 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 at this University.
4. The population of these two cities increased significantly in the last two decades and
it is expected that it will remain stable during the next 5 years.

Adverbs describing a change

 Dramatically — разительно
 Sharply — резко
 Steeply — круто
 Substantially — существенно
 Significantly — значительно
 Markedly — выражено
 Rapidly — быстро, стремительно
 Suddenly — внезапно
 Moderately — умеренно
 Slightly — слегка
 Steadily — устойчиво, равномерно
 Gradually — постепенно
 Slowly — медленно

Compare and Contrast

 more than — больше, чем
 less than = fewer than — меньше, чем
 the same as — такой же, как …
 similar to — подобный
 comparable — сравнительный
 identical — идентичный
 different — различный, другой
 twice as much as … — вдвое больше, чем …
 three times as much as … — в три раза больше, чем …
 approximately — приблизительно, примерно
 almost = nearly — почти

Examples:

1. The curve X is significantly / slightly / much larger / smaller / higher / lower than …
2. There is a strong correlation between the X and the Y.
3. The X and Y seem to be inversely correlated.
 Percentages
10% increase, 25 percent decrease, increased by 15%, dropped by 10 percent, 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.

Linking sentences
 In contrast, … — В отличие
 In comparison, … — В сравнении
 Similarly, … — Подобным образом
 On the other hand, … — С другой стороны
 However, … — Тем не менее
 Whereas, … — Тогда, как …
 While… — В то время, как …
 But – но
 Although, … — хотя…

Examples:

1. The most popular form of the holiday among the Welsh was self-catering with over
60% choosing to cook for themselves. In contrast, only 5 % of the English chose this
form of vacation and hotel accommodation was much more popular at 48%.
2. The total number of online sales rose significantly by nearly 20% between 2008 and
2012, whereas the phone sales gradually decreased in the same period.
 Describing maps
Sometimes you are given a task to describe a map or plan. Use Map Vocabulary in such case.

Conclusion (optional)
 Generally, …- В общих чертах, …
 Overall, … — В целом, …
 To conclude, … — В заключении, …
 To sum up, … — Подводя итоги, …

Examples:

1. To sum up, the demand for electric hairdryers has shown a strong upward trend over
the given period.
2. Generally, in 2011 the distribution of revenue between the sectors remained the same
as it was in 2010.