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.

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
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 sdeadily significant
considerably rapidly slowly.

Describing 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.
2. Noun phrase + verb + adverb
Example:
The price of oil rose gradually.
The price of oil has risen dramatically.

3. There + be + noun + in + noun phrase

Example:
There was a fall in literacy levels. There has been an increase in the cost of coffee.

4. 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.

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

Chart

1. Line Chart (sometimes called a line graph)

2. Bar Chart
3. Pie Chart
4. Proportional Bar Chart

Identifying Main Features

This is often the area most students struggle with, and it is because of one main
reason. Students need to prioritise. Prioritising means you should choose two or
three significant features and write about these. The examiner expects you to do
this, and the question will often specifically say ‘select main features.’ There should
be 2 or 3 main features for you to comment on.
When students don’t do this, they write about every single piece of data they see.
This results in them not summarising (this is a summarising task), not writing an
effective overview and spending too much time on it. How many students do you
know who spent too much time on task 1 and didn’t finish task 2?
Things that you should be looking for include:
• High/low values
• Erratic values
• Biggest increase/decrease
• Volatile data
• Unchanging data
• Biggest majority/ minority (pie charts)
• Biggest difference/similarities
• Major trends
• Notable exceptions
 Overview Process TASK ONLY

The overview is probably the most important paragraph in the whole essay. If you
do not write an overview it is extremely difficult to get a high mark in IELTS Task
1, however, if you learn how to write a good one, you are far more likely to get the
score you deserve.
Overviews for process questions can be done quite easily by asking yourself a few
questions. The answers to these questions will allow you to form 2 overview
sentences.
1. Is it a man-made or natural process?
2. How many stages are there?
3. What is produced?
4. Where does it start and where does it end?
5. Is it cyclical or linear?
6. Are any materials added?
You might not be able to answer all of these for each process question, but you will
always be able to answer enough of them to be able to write a good overview.

Overview of Process
The overview is probably the most important paragraph in the whole essay. If you
do not write an overview it is extremely difficult to get a high mark in IELTS Task
1, however, if you learn how to write a good one, you are far more likely to get the
score you deserve.
Overviews for process questions can be done quite easily by asking yourself a few
questions. The answers to these questions will allow you to form 2 overview
sentences.
1. Is it a man-made or natural process?
2. How many stages are there?
3. What is produced?
4. Where does it start and where does it end?
5. Is it cyclical or linear?
6. Are any materials added?
You might not be able to answer all of these for each process question, but you will
always be able to answer enough of them to be able to write a good overview.
Detail Each Stage of the Process
Now that we have paraphrased the question and provided an overview we need to
tell the examiner about each stage in more detail.
You can:
• say what each stage does
• what it produces
• if any materials are added
• and/or discuss the relationship with the previous or subsequent stages.
Sequencing the Process
Try to sequence your language and make your details easier to read by using
language like:
• Firstly
• First of all
• Secondly
• After that
• From this
• Where
• Following that
• Subsequently
• Before that
• In turn
• Then
Make sure you know the meaning and grammar of the words and phrases above
before you use them. Do not use them if you are not 100% sure about how they
should be used in a sentence.
Sample Answer
Question– The pie chart below shows the main reasons why agricultural land
become lesson productive. The table shows how these causes affected three regions
of the world during the 1990s. (graphs in picture above).
Answer
The pie graph displays the principal causes why farming land deteriorates while the
table illustrates how three regions of the planet were affected by these factors in the
1990s.
As you can see all I have done is change the words in the questions using synonyms
and then connected them using the word ‘while’.
We can clearly see from the pie chart that there are three primary causes of
farmland degradation, and over-grazing is the major one. The table shows that
Europe had a far higher percentage of unproductive land compared to the other two
regions in this time period.
For this paragraph I have picked out the main features from each graph and wrote
them in a general way. Notice that I have not included any numbers. We will
support our ideas with number in the next two paragraphs. Also, notice that I am
using the present simple for the pie chart because there is no date and the past tense
for the table because it was in the 1990s.
The pie chart represents four causes, with over-grazing representing the biggest
proportion at just over a third. Widespread clearing of trees and the over-use of
crops constitute nearly one third and just over a quarter respectively.
Here I have varied my language by using synonyms for the causes and proportions
and fractions for the data.
The table shows that nearly one quarter of Europe’s entire surface had fallen victim
to degeneration. Only a small proportion of North America’s total land became less
productive at 5% and Oceania was marginally higher with a value of 13%.
(151 words)
Task1 map

How to Describe General Changes

As this is an IELTS writing task 1 question, we must write an overview, where we
generally talk about the main changes between the two maps.
Below are some examples of general statements we could use to describe change in
towns and cities.
1. Over the period, the area witnessed dramatic changes.
2. From 1995 to 2005, the city centre saw spectacular developments.
3. The village changed considerably over the period.
4. During the 10-year period, the industrial area was totally transformed.
5. Over the past 20 years, the residential area was totally reconstructed.
6. Over the period, the old docks were totally redeveloped.
7. Between 1995 and 2005, the old houses were rebuilt.
8. The central business district was completely modernised during the period.
Pick two or three of the most noticeable differences in the map and write a general
statement for each. This will be your overview paragraph.
The more specific changes should be included in your main body paragraphs.
How to Describe Locations
You will also be expected to describe where things are maps and describe where
changes have occurred.
You can use ‘to the left’ and ‘to the right’, but a better way is to use ‘north’, ‘south’,
‘east’ and ‘west’. I normally advise my students to draw the symbols on the
question paper if they are not already there.
Examples:
The forest to the south of the river was cut down.
A golf course was constructed to the north of the airport.
The houses in the southwest of the town were demolished.
The green fields to the city’s northwest were redeveloped as a park.
The airport in the city’s centre was relocated to the northeast of the river.
The school to the southeast was knocked down and a new one was built to
the east of the forest.
Finally, you will also be expected to use prepositions of place, e.g.
at/in/on/by/beside/to/off/from, to describe where things are.
Examples:
Dramatic changes took place in the city centre.
To the town’s south is a golf course surrounded by trees.
A new school was built next to the swimming pool.
The old road running from north to south was replaced by a new motorway.
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.