Language of Change

As you can see, there are several examples of this in the graph, so it is important to learn
how to use these correctly in order to successfully write an IELTS task 1 chart over time.
Here are some examples:

gradually increasing
a slight fall
kept rising
reached a peak
increased at a steady rate
fell
increased sharply
a low of
finish at
stood at
finishing the period at

You will need to practice this type of language, and also make sure you know a variety of
structures to get a better score if you keep repeating the same kind of phrases this will
show you have a more limited range of lexis and grammar.

Making Comparisons
In IELTS task 1, you must also compare the data as you are asked to do in the rubric.

Here are some examples of where comparisons are made between products

It can clearly be seen that ActiveX was the most popular computer package to download,
whilst Net was the least popular of the three

ActiveX and Java showed a similar trend, with both gradually increasing from week 1 to
week 5

However, the purchases of Active X remained significantly higher than for the other
product over this time frame.

In week 1, purchases of ActiveX stood at around 75,000, while those for Java were about
30,000 lower

Java also increased at a steady rate, finishing the period at 80,000

The product that was downloaded the least was Net. This began at slightly under 40,000,
and, in contrast to the other two products, fell over the next two weeks

It then increased sharply over the following two weeks to finish at about 50,000, which
was well below that of ActiveX
Grouping the Data
It is a good idea to divide your answer into paragraphs so it is well organized. To do this,
you should group similar things together into paragraphs or sections.

Describing an IELTS Pie Chart

This lesson will provide you with tips and advice on how to write an IELTS pie chart for
task 1.

To begin, take a look at the pie chart below, and then answer the quiz questions.

____________________________________________________________

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie charts show the main reasons for migration to and from the UK in 2007.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

____________________________________________________________

IELTS Pie Chart Quiz

1. What is the best way to organize your answer?

Write about the pie charts together, comparing each of the reasons

2. What tense should you use to write about the IELTS pie chart?

Past

3. Can you talk about increases and decreases when describing the information?

No

Now take a look at a model answer:

The pie charts illustrate the primary reasons that people came to and left the UK in
2007. At first glance it is clear that the main factor influencing this decision was
employment.

Having a definite job accounted for 30 per cent of immigration to the UK, and this figure
was very similar for emigration, at 29%. A large number of people, 22%, also
emigrated because they were looking for a job, though the proportion of people leaving
the UK for this purpose was noticeably lower at less than a fifth.
Another major factor influencing a move to the UK was for formal study, with over a
quarter of people immigrating for this reason. However, interestingly, only a small
minority, 4%, left for this.

The proportions of those moving to join a family member were quite similar for
immigration and emigration, at 15% and 13% respectively. Although a significant
number of people (32%) gave other reasons or did not give a reason why they
emigrated, this accounted for only 17% with regards to immigration.

173 words

_________________________________________

As you can see, the pie chart description is easy to follow. Here are some key points in
organizing your answer.

Choose the most important points to write about first

These will be the largest ones. As you can see in the model answer, definite job,
looking for work, and formal study were all written about first, in order of
importance, as these are the main reasons that were chosen for moving.

Items such as other are usually less important and account for small amounts, so can
be left till the end.

Make it easy to read

When you write a task 1, you should always group information in a logical way to
make it easy to follow and read.

With an IELTS pie chart, the most logical thing to do is usually to compare categories
together across the charts, focusing on similarities and differences, rather than writing
about each chart separately.

If you write about each one separately, the person reading it will have to keep looking
between the paragraphs in order to see how each category differs.

Vary your language

As with any task 1, this is important. You should not keep repeating the same
structures. The key language when you write about pie charts is proportions and
percentages.

Common phrases to see are "the proportion of" or "the percentage of"
However, you can also use other words and fractions. These are some examples from
the model answer:

A large number of people

over a quarter of people
a small minority
A significant number of people
less than a fifth

This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to fractions or
ratios:

Percentage Fraction

80% four-fifths

75% three-quarters

70% seven in ten

65% two-thirds

60% three-fifths

55% more than half

50% half

more than two

45%
fifths

40% two-fifths

35% more than a third

30% less than a third

25% a quarter

20% a fifth

15% less than a fifth

10% one in ten

5% one in twenty
 If the percentages are not exact as above, then you can use qualifiers to make sure
your description remains accurate. Here are some examples:

Percentage Qualifier

77% just over three quarters

approximately three
77%
quarters

49% just under a half

49% nearly a half

32% almost a third

This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to other
phrases:

proportion / number /
Percentage amount / majority /
minority

75% - 85% a very large majority

65% - 75% a significant proportion

10% - 15% a minority

5% a very small number

The words above are interchageable, though number is for countable nouns and
amount is for uncountable nouns.

IELTS Process Diagram

It is less common in the writing test, but sometimes you will get an IELTS process
diagram to describe.

This should follow the same format as any task 1:

1. Introduce the diagram

2. Give an overview of the main point/s
3. Give the detail
What is an IELTS Process Diagram?
To begin, look at this question:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram illustrates the process that is used to

manufacture bricks for the building industry.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the

main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

A process will have a number of stages that are in time order. So you should start at
the beginning, and describe each stage through to the last one.
In the example above, this is fairly clear. It begins with the digging of the clay, and ends
with delivery.

Processes are not always this clear, and you may have to look more carefully to spot the
beginning, and there may also be two things happening at the same time.

So it is important that you look at other sample processes to get a good understanding
of how they can vary.

Introduce the Diagram

As with any task 1, you can begin by paraphrasing the rubric:

The diagram explains the way in which bricks are made for the building industry.

As you can see, this has been taken from the question, but it has not been copied. You
need to write it in your own words.

Highlight the main points

An IELTS process diagram is different to a line, bar, pie chart or table in that there are not
usually key changes or trends to identify. However, you should still give an overview of
what is taking place.

The public band descriptors state that to achieve a band 6 or more for task
response the student must provide an overview in a task 1.

As there are no trends to comment on, you can make a comment on, for example, the
number of stages in the process and how it begins and ends:

Overall, there are eight stages in the process, beginning with the digging up of clay and
culminating in delivery.

Giving the detail

Now you need to explain the IELTS process diagram, and there are two key aspects of
language associated with this:

Time Connectors

A process is a series of events, one taking place after the other. Therefore, to connect
your stages, you should use time connectors. Here is the rest of the answer with the
time connectors highlighted (notice that you simply go from the beginning to the end of
the process):
To begin, the clay used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a large digger.
This clay is then placed onto a metal grid, which is used to break up the clay into smaller
pieces. A roller assists in this process.

Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is turned into
bricks by either placing it into a mould or using a wire cutter. Next, these bricks are
placed in an oven to dry for 24 48 hours.

In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process. They are
heated in a kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging from 200c to
1300c), followed by a cooling process in a chamber for 2 3 days. Finally, the bricks
are packed and delivered to their destinations.

These connectors are the same you would use to write a graph over time when you
explain a series of changes.

These are some common IELTS process diagram connectors:

To begin
Following this
Next
Then
After
After that
Before**
Subsequently
Finally

** If you use before, this means that you will be mentioning a later stage before an
earlier stage, so you need to use it carefully. If you can use it properly though, it will get
noticed.

Here is an example using stages four and five:

Before being dried in the oven, the mixture is turned into bricks by either placing it into a
mould or using a wire cutter.

The Passive

When we describe an IELTS process, the focus is on the activities, NOT the person doing
them.

When this is the case, we use the passive voice, not the active.

This is a brief explanation of how to use the passive voice, but if you are new or unsure
about using it, you should do some further study and practice.

Most sentences use this structure:

Subject + Verb + Object

(S) A large digger (V) digs up (O) the clay in the ground.

In the active voice (as above), the digger is doing the verb i.e. the digger is doing the
digging.

(S) The clay in the ground (V) is dug up (O) by the digger.

So throughout most of your description for your IELTS process diagram, you should be
using the passive voice.

This is difficult as some verbs cannot take the passive. For example, 'to go' cannot be
passive, so it is kept in the active voice:

...the bricks go through a heating and cooling process.

This is why you need to make sure you practice the passive so you know exactly how to
use it.

Also, as you will see from the description, it is more usual to to comment on who or what
is doing the action so the 'by...." phrase is excluded.

Here is the same example description with uses of the passive highlighted:

To begin, the clay (which is) used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a
large digger. This clay is then placed onto a metal grid, which is used to break up the
clay into smaller pieces. A roller assists in this process.

Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is turned into
bricks by either placing it into a mould or using a wire cutter. Next, these bricks are
placed in an oven to dry for 24 48 hours.

In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process. They are
heated in a kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging from 200c to
1300c), followed by a cooling process in a chamber for 2 3 days. Finally, the bricks are
packed and delivered to their destinations.

Vocabulary for Describing Graph Trends

Word Part of Speech Example Sentence
Total expenditure
verb: to increase, is
increased from $33,611m
increasing, has increased,
to $39,165m from 1995 to
increased
1996.
increase
noun: an increase of
From 1995 to 1996 there
$5,554m
was an increase in
an increase in spending of
expenditure of $5,554m.
$5,554m
Expenditure on primary
verb: to decrease, is
education decreased from
decreasing, has decreased,
decrease decreased 22.2% to 21.5% from
1995 to 1996.
noun: a decrease of 0.7% From 1995 to 1996 there
 a decrease in spending of was a decrease in
0.7% expenditure of 0.7%.
Total expenditure rose
verb: to rise, is rising, has from $33,611m to
risen, rose $39,165m from 1995 to
rise 1996.
From 1995 to 1996 there
noun: a rise of $5,554m
was a rise in expenditure
a rise in spending of $5,554m
of $5,554m.
Expenditure on primary
verb: to fall, is falling, has education fell from 22.2%
fallen, fell to 21.5% from 1995 to
fall 1996.
From 1995 to 1996 there
noun: a fall of 0.7%
was a fall in expenditure
a fall in spending of 0.7%
of 0.7%.
Expenditure on primary
verb: to drop, is dropping, has education dropped from
dropped, dropped 22.2% to 21.5% from
drop 1995 to 1996.
From 1995 to 1996 there
noun: a drop of 0.7%
was a drop in expenditure
a drop in spending of 0.7%
of 0.7%.
After an introductory clause
Spending rose in all three
that includes some analysis;
years, increasing from
-ing e.g. 'Spending rose in all three
17.6% to 18% from 1995
forms years', an '_ing' form can be
to 1996, and then rising
used to describe numbers and
again to 18.2% in 1997-8.
dates.

Compare and Contrast Language for graphs

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce you to compare and contrast language which
is needed to write about graphs.

To begin, take a look at the graph below.

1. Which country has the highest level of pollution?

2. Which country has the lowest?
The country with the higest level of pollution is USA and the country with the lowest is
New Zealand.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Being able to compare and contrast data is an essential skill for IELTS writing, especially
in Task 1. Comparatives and superlatives are one common way to do this.

Comparatives are used to compare two things:

Leopards are faster than tigers.

Superlatives are used to compare one thing against a group of others:

The leopard is the largest of the four big cats.

Here are the basics of how they are formed:

Example
Comparative Superlative
Word

Words with one syllable high higher the highest

more the most

Words with three syllables productive productive
productive
or more
less the least
productive productive
Words ending in y wealthy wealthier the
 wealthiest

Short words ending with a

hot hotter the hottest
consonant/vowel/consonant

Irregular good better the best

Other Important Language

Comparatives and superlatives are useful to compare and contrast, but they won't be
enough.

Here are some other useful words and structures:

Transitions

1. The Middle East produces high levels of oil; however, Japan produces none.
2. The USA produces large amounts of natural gas. In contrast, South Korea produces
none.
3. European countries make great use of solar power. On the other hand, most Asian
countries us this method of power generation very little.

Subordinating Conjunctions

1. The Middle East produces high levels of oil, whereas / while Japan produces none.
2. Whereas / While the Middle East produces high levels of oil, Japan produces none.
3. Although the Middle East produced 100 tons oil, Japan produced none.

Other Structures

1. Developing countries are more reliant on alternative energy production than developed
countries.
2. Solar power accounts for far less of the total energy production than gas or coal does.
3. Hydropower is not as efficient as wind power.
4. Like Japan, South Korea does not produce any natural gas.
5. The Middle East produces twice as much oil as Europe.
6. Western countries consume three times more oil than the Middle East.
7. Russia consumes slightly more oil than Germany.
8. The UAE produced the same amount of oil as Saudi Arabia.
Using Approximate Data
When you compare and contrast, you also need to learn phrases so you can refer to data
that is not exact.

For example:

7.1 just over 7 million tonnes

approximately 7 million tonnes
65.6 nearly 70 million tonnes
almost 70 million tonnes

IELTS GRAPHS ;a common mistake

Look carefully at the IELTS graphs below and their titles. Underneath each is a brief
descriptive sentence about the graphs.

What is wrong with them?

From 1975 to 2000, hamburgers increased dramatically from 10 to 100 times per year. At
the same time, fish and chips fell significantly to just under 40.
While buses fell from just over 25% to around 16% in 2000, cars increased dramatically
to over 35%. Meanwhile, bikes fell over this time frame.

Did you find what the errors were?

Can hamburgers increase and fish and chips fall? Can a car increase, or a bus and a bike
fall?

No, but the consumption of hamburgers or fish and chips can fall or rise, and the use of
a car, bike or bus can increase or decrease.

There are a number of ways that the sentences in the IELTS graphs could have been
written correctly, but here are some possibilities:

From 1975 to 2000, the consumption of hamburgers increased dramatically from 10 to

100 times per year. At the same time, the number of times that fish and chips were
eaten fell significantly to just under 40.

While bus usage fell from just over 25% to around 16% in 2000, cars as a mode of
travel increased dramatically to over 35%. Meanwhile, the use of bikes fell over this
time frame.

Check your subject

When you are analysing your task 1 before you write about it, look very carefully to
identify what the subject is i.e. what is it exactly that is being measured?
A common mistake when writing about IELTS graphs in task 1 of the test is to get the
subject wrong.

The first graph is about the consumption of fast foods.

The second graph is about the use of four types of transport.

Getting this wrong will significantly detract from your response to the task.