Vocabulary For Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 (part 1)

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vocabulary-for-academic-ielts-writing-task-1-part-2

Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 question requires you to use several vocabularies to
present the data given in a pie/ bar/ line/ mixed graph or to describe a process or a
flow chart. 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. This vocabulary section
aims to help you learn all the vocabularies, phrases and words you need to know
and use in your Academic writing task 1 to achieve a higher band score. The
examiner will use four criteria to score your response: task achievement, coherence
and cohesion, lexical resource, & grammatical range and accuracy. Since "Lexical
Resource" will determine 25% of your score in Task 1, you have to enrich your
vocabulary to hit a high band score. To demonstrate that you have a great lexical
resource, you need to: 

» Use correct synonyms in your writing.

» Use a range of vocabulary.
» Do not repeat words and phrases from the exam question unless there
is no alternative.
» Use some less common vocabulary.
» Do not use the same word more than once/twice.
» Use precise and accurate words in a sentence.

It is advisable that you learn synonyms and use them accurately in your writing in
order to give the impression that you can use a good range of vocabulary.

Graph Writing Vocabulary Index:

Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |
 
The general format for writing academic writing task 1 is as follows:

Introduction + Basic/ General Trends + Details

Description + Summary (optional).

Each part has a specific format and therefore being equipped with the necessary
vocabulary will help you answer task 1 efficiently and will save a great deal of time.

Vocabulary for the Introduction Part:

Starting Presentation Verb Description

Type
The/ the diagram / shows / the comparison
given / table / represents / of…
the figure / depicts / the
illustration /
supplied / graph / chart enumerates / differences…

the / flow chart / illustrates /

presented picture/ presents/ the changes...
/ the presentation/ gives / the number
shown / pie chart / bar provides / of…
the graph/ delineates/ information
provided column graph outlines/ on…
/ line graph / describes / data on…
table data/ delineates/ the proportion
data / expresses/ of…
information / denotes/ the amount
pictorial/ compares/ of…
process shows contrast information
diagram/ / indicates / on...
map/ pie figures / gives data about...
chart and data on / gives comparative
table/ bar information data...
graph and pie on/ presents the trend of...
chart ... information the
about/ shows percentages
data about/ of...
demonstrates/ the ratio of...
sketch out/ how the...
summarises...
 

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. 

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.

Note that, some teachers prefer the "The line graph demonstrates..." instead

of "The given line graph demonstrates...". However, if you write "The given/
provided/ presented...." it would be correct as well.  

Tips:

1. For a single graph use 's' after the verb, like - gives data on, shows/ presents
etc. However, if there are multiple graphs, DO NOT use 's' after the verb.

2. If there are multiple graphs and each one presents a different type of data, you
can write which graph presents what type of data and use 'while' to show a
connection. For example - 'The given bar graph shows the amount spent on fast
food items in 2009 in the UK while the pie chart presents a comparison of people's
ages who spent more on fast food. 

3. Your introduction should be quite impressive as it makes the first impression on

the examiner. It either makes or breaks your overall score.

4. For multiple graphs and/ or table(s), you can write what they present in
combination instead of saying which each graph depicts. For example, "The two
pie charts and the column graph in combination depicts a picture of the
crime in Australia from 2005 to 2015 and the percentages of young
offenders during this period." 

Caution:

Never copy word for word from the question. If you do, you would be penalised.
always paraphrase the introduction in your own words.
 

General Statement Part:

The General statement is the first sentence (or two) you write in your reporting. It
should always deal with:

What + Where + When.

Example: The diagram presents information on the percentages of teachers who

have expressed their views about the different problems they face when dealing
with children in three Australian schools from 2001 to 2005. 

What = the percentages of teachers...

Where = three Australian schools...
When  = from 2001 to 2005...

A good General statement should always have these parts.

Vocabulary for the General Trend Part:

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.

3.  Generally speaking, citizens in the USA had a far better life standard than that of
the remaining countries. 
4.  As can be seen, the highest number of passengers used the London
Underground station at 8:00 in the morning and at 6:00 in the evening.

4.  Generally speaking, more men were engaged in managerial positions in 1987
than that of women in New York this year.

5.  As an overall trend, the number of crimes reported increased fairly rapidly until
the mid-seventies, remained constant for five years and finally, dropped to 20 cases
a week after 1982.

6.  At a first glance, it is clear that more percentages of native university pupils
violated regulations and rules than the foreign students did during this period.

7.  At the onset, it is clear that drinking in public and drink-driving were the most
common reasons for US citizens to be arrested in 2014.

8.  Overall, the leisure hours enjoyed by males, regardless of their employment
status, was much higher than that of women.

The structure of the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

(Report Writing):

Introduction:

Introduction (never copy word for word from the question) + Overview/ General
trend (what the diagrams indicate at a first glance).

Reporting Details:
Main features in the Details
+ Comparison and Contrast of the data. (Do not give all the figures.)
+ Most striking features of the graph.

Conclusion:

Conclusion (General statement + Implications, significant comments)

[The conclusion part is optional.]

Tips:

1. Write the introduction and General trend in the same paragraph. Some students
prefer to write the 'General Trend' in a separate paragraph and many teachers
suggest both to be written in a single paragraph. Unless you have a really good
reason to write the general trend in the second paragraph, try to write them both in
the first paragraph. However, this is just a suggestion, not a requirement.

2. Your 'Introduction (general statement + overall trend/ general trend) should

have 75 - 80 words.

3. DO NOT give numbers, percentages or quantity in your general trend. Rather

give the most striking feature of the graph that could be easily understood at a
glance. Thus it is suggested to AVOID -
"A glance at the graphs reveals that 70% of the male were employed in 2001 while
40 thousand women in this year had jobs."

And use a format /comparison like the following:

"A glance at the graphs reveals that more men were employed than their
female counterparts in 2001 and almost two-third of females were
jobless in the same year. "

 Vocabulary to Start the Report Body:

Just after you finish writing your 'Introduction' (i.e. General Statement + General
overview/ trend), you are expected to start a new paragraph to describe the main
features of the diagrams. This second paragraph is called the 'Body Paragraph /
Report Body". You can have a single body paragraph/ report body or up to 3, (not
more than 3 in any case) depending on the number of graphs provided in the
question and the type of these graphs. There are certain phrases you can use to
start your body paragraph and the following is a list of such phrases ---

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...
24. We can see that...
 
Vocabulary to show the changes:

Trends Verb form Noun Form

Increase rise / increase / go a rise / an
up / uplift / increase / an
rocket(ed) / climb / upward trend / a
upsurge / soar/ shot growth / a leap /
up/ improve/ jump/ a jump / an
leap/ move upward/ improvement/ a
skyrocket/ soar/ climb.
surge.
Decrease fall / decrease / a fall / a
decline / plummet / decrease / a
plunge / drop / reduction / a
reduce / collapse / downward
deteriorate/ dip / dive trends /a 
/ go down / take a downward
nosedive / slum / tendency /  a
slide / go into free- decline/ a drop /
fall. a slide / a
collapse / a
downfall.

Steadiness unchanged / level out a steadiness/ a

/ remain constant / plateau / a
remain steady / stability/ a static
plateau / remain the
same / remain
stable / remain static

Gradual   an upward trend

increase ------------ / an upward
tendency / a
ceiling trend

Gradual   a downward
decrease  ------------ trend / a
downward
tendency / a
 descending
trend

Standability/ level(ed) off /  

Flat remain(ed) constant /  No change, a
remain(ed) flat, a plateau.
unchanged /
remain(ed) stable /
prevail(ed)
consistency /
plateaued / reach(ed)
a plateau / stay(ed)
uniform /immutable /
level(ed) out/
stabilize/ remain(ed)
the same.

Examples:

1.  The overall sale of the company increased by 20% at the end of the year.

2.  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 the country remained almost the same as it was 2 years ago.

5.  The population of these two cities has increased significantly in the last two
decades and it is expected that it will remain stable during the next 5 years.
Tips:

1. Use 'improve' / 'an improvement' to describe a situation like economic

condition or employment status. To denote numbers use other verbs/nouns like
increase.

2. Do not use the same word/ phrase over and over again. In fact, you should not
use a noun or verb form to describe a trend/change more than twice; once is
better!

3. To achieve a high band score you need to use a variety of vocabulary as well as
sentence formations.
Vocabulary to represent changes in graphs:

Type of Adverb form Adjective form

Change
Rapid dramatically / dramatic / rapid /
change rapidly / sharply / sharp / quick /
quickly / hurriedly / hurried / speedy /
speedily / swiftly / swift / significant /
significantly/ considerable /
considerably / substantial /
substantially / noticeable.
noticeably.

Moderate moderately / moderate / gradual /

change gradually / progressive / sequen
progressively / tial.
sequentially.  

Steady  steadily/ steady/ ceaseless.

change ceaselessly.

Slight slightly / slowly / slight / slow / mild /

change mildly / tediously. tedious.

Example: 

1.  The economic inflation of the country increased sharply by 20% in 2008.
2.  There was a sharp drop in industrial production in the year 2009. 

3.  The demand for new houses dramatically increased in 2002.

4.  The population of the country dramatically increased in the last decade. 

5.  The price of oil moderately increased during the last quarter but as a
consequence, the price of daily necessities rapidly went up.
 

Vocabulary to represent frequent changes in graphs:

Type of Verb form Noun form

Change
 Rapid wave / fluctuate Waves /
ups and / oscillate / fluctuations /
downs vacillate / oscillations /
palpitate vacillations / 
palpitations

Example: 

1.  The price of the goods fluctuated during the first three months of 2017.

2.  The graph shows the oscillations of the price from 1998 to 2002.

3.  The passenger number in this station oscillates throughout the day and in the
early morning and evening, it remains busy.

4.  The changes in car production in Japan shows a palpitation for the second
quarter of the year. 
5.  The number of students in debate clubs fluctuated in different months of the
year and rapid ups and downs could be observed in the last three months of this
year.

Tips:

1. DO NOT try to present every single piece of data presented in a graph. Rather
pick 5-7 most significant and important trends/ changes and show their
comparisons and contrasts.

2. The question asks you to write a report and summarize the data presented in
graphs(s). This is why you need to show the comparisons, contrasts, show the
highest and lowest points and the most striking features in your answer, not every
piece of data presented in the diagram(s).

Types of Changes/ Differences and Vocabulary to

present them: 

Great change / Huge difference:

Adjectives                           Adverbs
Overwhelming                   Overwhelmingly
Substantial                         Substantially
Enormous                          Enormously

Big change / Big difference:

Adjectives                           Adverbs
Significant                          Significantly
Considerable                     Considerably
Medium change / Moderate difference:

Adjectives                           Adverbs
Somewhat                           Somewhat
Moderate                             Moderately

Minor change / Small difference:

Adjectives                           Adverbs
Fractional                           Fractionally
Marginal                             Marginally
Slight                                 Slightly

Dates, Months & Years related vocabulary and

grammar: 

» From 1990 to 2000, Commencing from 1980, Between 1995 and 2005, After
2012.

» By 1995, In 1998, In February, Over the period, During the period, During 2011.

» In the first half of the year, For the first quarter, The last quarter of the year,
During the first decade.

» In the 80s, In the 1980s, During the next 6 months, In the mid-70s, Next 10
years, Previous year, Next year, Between 1980 - 1990.

» Within a time span of ten years, within five years.

» Next month, Next quarter, Next year, Previous month, Previous year.

» Since, Then, From.

 
Percentage, Portion and Numbers:

Percentages:

10% increase, 25 percent decrease, increased by 15%, dropped by 10 per cent, 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.
Words/ Phrases of Approximation - Vocabulary:

» Approximately
» Nearly
» Roughly
» Almost
» About
» Around
» More or less
» Just over
» Just under
» Just around
» Just about
» Just below
» A little more than
» A little less than.

What criteria would a band 9 graph response satisfy?

Task Achievement:

A) Fully satisfies all the requirements of the task.

B) Clearly presents a fully developed response.
What will be assessed by the examiner?
a) How appropriately, accurately and relevantly you fulfil your task requirements.
b) How accurately you write your report and how appropriately you present the
data (compare/ contrast/ show the most striking trends/ features/ data.) 

Coherence and Cohesion:

A) Uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention.

B) Skillfully manages "paragraphing".
What will be assessed by the examiner?
a) No misinterpretation and presentation of data and trends.
b) How well you organise your paragraphs.
c) Overall clarity and fluency of your report and message.
d) How well you have organised and liked the information, data and ideas in your
writing.
e) Logical sequencing and appropriate use of linking devices between and within
your sentences. 

Tips:

 1. Do not incorporate more than 3-4 paragraphs.

 2. Do not use a single paragraph to describe everything.
 3. The conclusion part is optional. If you think that you have already written more
than 170 words and have nothing to say, you can skip the conclusion.

Lexical Resource:

A) Uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of
lexical features.
B) Rare minor errors occur only as "slips".
What will be assessed by the examiner?
a) The range of vocabulary you have used in your writing.
b) How accurately and appropriately you have used words/ phrases while
presenting the graph(s) as a report.

Tips: Do NOT use words/ phrases that are already given in the question. Do so
only if there is no alternative word(s)/ phrase(s) to convey the same meaning/idea.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy:

A) Uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy.

B) Rare minor errors occur only as "slips".
Tips:
Do not use the same sentence structure and data comparison/ contrasting style
over and over again. Bring a variety in your writing to show that you can formulate
different sentence structures without making any grammatical mistakes.

Vocabulary For Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 (part 2)

You do not need to write down every bit of information presented in the graph.
Rather, you are expected to write the most significant features of the graph and the
highest and lowest points are two significant pieces of information you should not
miss in your writing. Following is a list of useful vocabulary to learn by heart and to
use in your graph response.

Graph Writing Vocabulary Index:

Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |
 
Vocabulary to represent the highest and lowest points in graphs:

Type Verb Noun

Highest peaked / a (/the) peak / a (/the)
Point culminated / pinnacle / a (/the)
climaxed / reach the vertex / the highest point/
peak / hit the peak / an (/the) apex / a (/the)
touch the highest summit, a (/the) top, a
point / reach the (/the) pinnacle, a (/the)
vertex/ reach the acme, a (/the) zenith,
apex

Lowest touch the lowest the lowest point / the

Point point / get the lowest mark /
lowest point / bottommost point / rock
reached the nadir bottom point/
bottommost mark / nadir/
the all-time low/ the
lowest level/ the bottom/
rock-bottom

 
Example:

1. The price of the oil reached a peak amounting $20 in February and again
touched the lowest point amounting only $10 in July.

2. Student enrollment in foreign Universities and Colleges increased dramatically

hitting a peak of over 20 thousand in 2004.
 3. The highest number of books was sold in July while it was lowest in December.

4. The oil price reached a peak in 2003 while it was lowest in 2006.

5. The selling volume of the DVD hit the peak with 2 million copies sold in a
month but after just three months it reached the bottom with only 20 thousand
sold in a month. 
 

Vocabulary to show fluctuations/ups and downs/ rise and fall in Verb

forms:

» Be erratic
» Rise and fall erratically
» Changes sporadically
» Rise and fall irregularly
» Changes Intermittently

Date, month & year related Vocabulary and Grammatical rules:

» Between  ...(year/ month)...  and  ...(year/ month)...

» From  ...(year/ month/ day/date)...  to  ...(year/ month/day/date)...
» In  ...(year/ month)...
» On  ...(day/ day of the week/ a date)...
» At ......,  In ......,  By ......
» During  ... (year)...
» Over the period/ over the century/ later half of the year/ the year...
» Over the next/ past/ previous ........ days/ weeks/ months/ years/ decades...

Presenting Percentages:

You can present "percentage data" in one of three different ways. It is suggested
that you use all these formats in your report writing instead of repeating the same
style to show percentages in your writing.
% = In percentage / in %. (20%, 25 percentage, ten per cent etc.)
% = In proportion. (two out of five, every student out of three etc.)
% = In fraction. (one-third, two-fifth, a quarter etc.)

Vocabulary to show how many times...

» Exactly the same.

» Roughly the same
» Practically the same
» Twice
» Thrice
» Four times
» Five times
...............
» Ten times
...............
» Hundred times.

Vocabulary to show how much changed...

» Halved
» Equalled
» Doubled
» Trebled /tripled
» Quadrupled (fourfold /four times)
» Pentadrupled (fivefold /five times)
» Hexadrupled (sixfold /six times)
» Septupled (sevenfold /seven times)
» Octupled  (Eightfold/eight times)
» Nonupled (Ninefold/ nine times)
.................
Centupled (hundredfold/ hundred times)
Vocabulary to represent comparison in graphs:

Type Word(s) should be used

Similar about / almost / nearly /
roughly / approximately /
around / just about / very
nearly /

Just over just above / just over / just

bigger / just beyond / just
across

Just just below / just beneath /

short just short / just under / just a
little

Much well above / well above / well

more beyond / well across / well
over

Much less well below / well under / well

short / well beneath

 
Example: 

1. The number of high-level women executives is well below the number of male
executives in this organization, where approximately 2000 people work at
executive levels.

2. About 1000 people died in the highway car accident in 2003 which is well
above the statistics of all other years.

3. The number of domestic violence cases was just below 500 in March which is
just a little over than the previous months.

4. The average rainfall in London in 2014 was just above the average of two
other cities.

5. The salaries of male executives in three out of four companies were well above
the salaries of female executives in 1998.
 
Expressions to focus on an item in the graph:

Use the following expression to focus on an item in the graph.

» With regards to
» In the case of
» As for
» Turning to
» When it comes to ..... it/ they .....
» Where ... is/are concerned,......
» Regarding
 

Compare and contrast:

Useful Vocabulary to make Comparison and Contrast: 

» Similarly, In a similar fashion, In the same way, Same as, As much as, Meanwhile.
» However, On the contrary, on the other hand, in contrast. 

Make sure you the appropriate comparative and superlative form of the words when
you make a comparison. Here is a basic overview of the comparative and
superlative forms to help you remember what you already know.

One-Syllable

Adjectives with one syllable form their comparatives and superlatives form. In your
academic writing task 1, you will often use such comparison and contrast related
words.

cheap » cheaper » cheapest   ||   large » larger » largest    ||   

bright » brighter » brightest etc.

Exceptions:

good » better » best   ||   bad » worse » worst etc.

Examples:

1. The fast-food items in uptown restaurants were comparatively cheaper than

that of city restaurants.

2. The largest proportion of water was used in the agriculture sector in most of
the Asian countries while the European countries used the highest percentage
of water for industrial purposes. 

3. The price of the book in store "A" is cheaper than the price of store "B".

4. The temperature decreased further and that made the weather condition
worse.
 5. The temperature was better in mid-April but in mid-July, it became worse.
 
Two Syllables

Some adjectives with two syllables form their comparatives and superlatives:

pretty » prettier » prettiest    ||    happy » happier » happiest etc.

Examples:

1. Customers were happier than now, according to the survey, as the price was
cheaper in 1992.

2. The overall production level of this company made the authority happier as it
was doubled in the last quarter of the year. 

But many form their comparatives and superlatives using 'more':

striking » more striking » most striking    ||    common » more

common » most common || clever » more clever/cleverer » most
clever/cleverest etc.
 
Three or more Syllables

All adjectives with three or more syllables form their comparatives and superlatives
using 'more' & 'most':

attractive » more attractive » most attractive   ||   profitable » more

profitable » most profitable   ||  expensive » more expensive » most
expensive.

Examples:

1. Custom-made cars were more expensive in 2014 than they are now.
 2. The factory offered more attractive overtime rates and that motivated more
employees to work for extra time. 
 
Vocabulary to present Linkers:

1. However...
2. On the other hand...
3. Similarly...
4. On the contrary...
5. Meanwhile...
6. In contrast...
7. By comparison...

Vocabulary to show that something/a trend is similar or

the same:

Use the following vocabularies if both subjects are the same/ identical:

... Identical to/ Identical with ...

... Equal to with ...
... Exactly the same ...
... The same as ...
... Precisely the same ...
... Absolutely the same ...
... just the same as ...

Use the following vocabularies if both subjects are not identical but
similar:

... Almost the same as ...

... Nearly the same as ...
... Practically the same as ...
... Almost identical/ similar ...
... About the same as ...
Way to show that something/a trend is just the
reverse/opposite:

» The reverse is the case...

» It is quite the opposite/ reverse...

Rules of Time Preposition use:

'In'
»» Use preposition 'in' when you talk about years, months, decades, centuries,
seasons.

Example:

Years= in 1998, in 2015 etc.

Months= in January, in December etc.
Decades= in the nineties, in the seventies etc.
Centuries= in the 19th century, in the 14th century, in the 1980s etc. 
Seasons= in summer, in winter, in autumn etc.
»» Use preposition 'in' to talk about past or future.
Example:

Past time= in 1980, in the past, in 1235, in the ice age, in the seventies, in the last
century etc.
Future time = in 2030, in the future, in the next century etc.
»» Use preposition 'in' when you talk about a long period.

Example:

in the ice age, in the industrial age, in the iron age etc.

'On'

»» Use preposition 'on' when you talk about days (days of the weeks or special
days).
Example:

Days of the week= on Sunday, on Friday, on Tuesday. 

Special days= on New Year's Day, on your birthday, on Independence Day, on
holiday, on wedding day etc. 
»» Use preposition 'on' when you talk about dates.

Example:

on July 4th, on 21st January 2015, on 5th May etc.

»» Use preposition 'on'  when you talk about times (like morning/ afternoon/
evening/ night) of a day. 

Example:

on Friday morning, on Saturday afternoon, on Sunday evening, on Monday evening

etc.
However, notice the below list that shows further use of prepositions 'in' and 'on'
for periods of the days versus periods. This is often confusing and mistakenly used
by IELTS candidates. Look at those, notice the use and memorise it. 

in on
in the morning on Sunday morning
in the afternoon on Monday afternoon
in the evening on Tuesday evening

'At'

»» Use preposition 'at' when you need to express an exact time.

Example:

At eight o'clock, at 10: 45 am, at two p.m, at nine o'clock.

»» Use preposition 'at' when you talk about meal times

Example:

At breakfast time, at lunchtime, at dinner time etc.

»» Use preposition 'at' when you talk about weekends, holiday periods, or the
nighttime.

Example:

At the weekend, at Christmas, at Easter, at night etc.

Words to make a comparison /contrast:

A bit/ slightly/ a little/ only just/ approximately/ about/ almost/ precisely/ quite/
nearly/ considerably/ a huge/ a great deal/ quite a lot/ completely/ exactly...

Example:

» This year the population growth of the country is slightly higher than the previous
year.
» This year the population grown is almost twice than that of 2007.
» Sale of the company has increased quite a lot this year.

Using Appropriate Prepositions:

You must use the correct preposition in IELTS writing task 1 to get a high score. Be
accurate about the uses of to, by, of, off, in, on, for etc.

Examples:

» Papers are sold by the ream.

» Oranges are purchased and sold by the dozen.
» Students enrollment in the University has increased by 2% this year.
» Eggs are counted in dozens.
» Rice is measured in kg.
» He is junior to me by 4 years.
» The employees are paid per week in this factory.
» All these products are made of glasses.

Vocabulary - Using the appropriate "Prepositions":

» It started at..., The sale started at $20..., It peaked at...

» It reached at/to..., It reached the lowest point /nadir at...
»It increased to 80 from 58. It decreased from 10 to 3.
»There was a drop of six units. It dropped by 3 units.
»It declined by 15%. There was a 10% drop in the next three years.

Formal and Informal expressions and words:

Few more informal expressions with their formal versions are given below. Since
IELTS is a formal test, your writing should be formal as well. Using informal words
or expressions should be avoided. Some of the informal words are so frequently
used that it would be tough for you to eliminate them from your writing. However,
we would suggest you make a habit of using formal words and expressions instead-
for your performance and band score's sake.

Informal Formal
Go up Increase
Go down Decrease
Look at Examine
Find about Discover
Point out Indicate
Need to Required
Get Obtain
Think about Consider
Seem Appear
Show demonstrate/
illustrate
Start Commence
Keep Retain
But However,
So Therefore/
Thus
Also In addition,/
Additionally
In the meantime, In the interim
In the end Finally,
Anyway Notwithstanding
Lots of/ a lot of Much, many
Kids Children
Cheap Inexpensive
Right Correct
I think In my opinion
Vocabulary For Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 (part 3)
IELTS Writing Task 1 vocabulary:
Graph Writing Vocabulary Index:
Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |

Following are the vocabularies for Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 grouped as Noun,
Verb, Adjective, Adverb, and Phrase to help you improve your vocabulary and
understanding of the usages of these while describing a graph.

Noun:

Increase:

A growth: There was a growth in the earning of the people of the city at the end
of the year.
An increase: Between noon and evening, there was an increase in the
temperature of the coast area and this was probably because of the availability of
sunlight at that time.
A rise: A rise of the listener in the morning can be observed from the bar graph.
An improvement: The data show that there was an improvement in the traffic
condition between 11:00 am till 3:00 pm.
A progress: There was progress in the law and order of the city during the end of
the last year.

Rapid Increase:

A surge: From the presented information, it is clear that there was a surge in the
number of voters in 1990 compared to the data given for the previous years.
A rapid increase/ a rapid growth/ a rapid improvement: There was a rapid
growth in the stock value of the company ABC during December of the last year.
N.B: Following adjectives can be used before the above nouns to show a rapid
growth/ increase of something:
Rapid, Sudden, Steady, Noticeable, Mentionable,
Tremendous, huge, enormous, massive, vast, gigantic,
monumental, incredible, fabulous, great etc.
(The above list is the words which are actually adjective and can be used before
nouns to show the big changes)

Highest:

A/ The peak: Visitors number reached a peak in 2008 and it exceeded 2 million.

Top/ highest/ maximum: The oil prices reached the top/ highest in 1981 during
the war.
N.B: Some of the words to present the highest/ top of something are given below:
Apex, pyramid, zenith, acme, obelisk, climax, needle,
spire, vertex, summit, tower, most, greatest, max, tops,
peak, height, crown...

Changes:

A fluctuation: There was a fluctuation in the passenger numbers who used

railway transportation during the year 2003 to 2004.
A variation: A variation in the shopping habit of teenagers can be observed from
the data.
A disparately/ dissimilarity/ an inconsistency: The medicine tested among
the rabbits shows an inconsistency of the effect it had.
 
Steadiness:

Stability: The data from the line graph show the stability of the price in the retail
market from January till June for the given year.
A plateau: As is presented in the line graph, there was a plateau of the oil price
from 1985 to 1990.
Decrease:
A fall: There was a fall in the price of the energy bulbs in 2010 which was less than
$5.
A decline: A decline occurred after June and the production reached 200/day for
the next three months.
A decrease: After the initial four years, the company’s share price increased, and there was a decrease in the bearish
market.
Using 'Nouns' and 'Verbs' to describe trends in a graph:
Direction:

Verbs                                                       Nouns
» Increased (to)                                         An increase
» Rose (to)                                                A rise
» Climbed (to)                                           An upward trend
» Went up (to)                                           A growth

Direction:
Verbs                                                       Nouns
» Surge                                                     A surge
» Boomed (to)                                           A boom / a dramatic increase.  

Direction:

Verbs                                                       Nouns
» Decreased (to)                                       A decrease
» Declined (to)                                          A decline
» Fell (to)                                                  A  fall
» Reduce (to)                                            A reduction
» Dipped (to)                                          
» Dropped (to)                                           A drop
» Went down (to)                                       A downward trend

Direction:
Verbs                                                       Nouns
» Plunge                                                 
» Slumped (to)                                          A slum / a dramatic fall.
» Plummeted (to)

Direction:

Verbs                                                       Nouns
» Remained stable (at)                                            
» Remained static (at)
» Remained steady (at)
» Stayed constant (at)
» Levelled out (at)                                  A level out
» Did not change                                    No change
» Remained unchanged                         No change
» Maintained the same level
» Plateaued (at)                                      A plateau
Direction:

Verbs                                                       Nouns
» Fluctuated (around)                               A fluctuation

» Oscillated                                               An oscillation

Direction:

Verbs                                                       Nouns
» Peaked (at)                                             The peak/ apex/ zenith/ summit/ the
highest point

Direction:
Verbs                                                       Nouns
» Bottomed (at)                                         The lowest point/ the bottom/
bottommost point    

Use 'adjective/adverb' to indicate the movement of a trend.

Examples:
1. There has been a slight increase in the unemployment rate in 1979 at which
point it stood at 12%.
2. The price of gold dropped rapidly over the next three years.
 

Use 'adjective' to modify the 'Noun' form of a trend and use 'adverb' to
modify the 'verb' form of a trend.

Greater or Higher?

We usually use 'greater' when we compare two numbers, and 'higher' while
comparing two percentages or ratio. Reversely, 'smaller or fewer' could be used to
compare two numbers and 'lower' to compare two percentages or ratios. The
following table would make it clear ---
Examples:

1. The number of male doctors in this city was greater than the number of female
doctors. 
2. The number of European programmers who attended the seminar was fewer
than the number of Asian programmers.
3. The percentage of male doctors in this city was higher than the percentage of
female doctors.
4. During 2010, the inflow of illegal immigrants was lower than that of 2012.
5. the birth rate in Japan in 2014 was higher than the birth rate in 2015. 

Vocabulary to compare to what extent / to (/by) what degree

something is greater/higher than the other.

» Overwhelmingly, Substantially, Significantly. Considerably.

» Moderately, Markedly.
» Hardly, Barely, Slightly, Fractionally, Marginally.

Vocabulary to show the sequence:

» Subsequently, Respectively, Consecutively, Sequentially.

» Previous, Next, First, Second, Third, Finally, Former, Latter.

Tips:
"The market shares of HTC, Huawei, Samsung, Apple and Nokia in 2010 were 12%,
7%, 20%, 16% and 4% globally."

The above sentence makes it ambiguous to understand which mobile brand had
what percentage of market share. If there are more than 2 values/ figures, you
should always use 'consecutively/ sequentially/ respectively'. Using either of these
words would eliminate any doubt about the above sentence as it will clearly state
that the percentages of market shares mentioned here would match the mobile
brands sequentially (i.e. first one for the first brand, the second one for the second
brand and so on.)

"The market shares of HTC, Huawei, Samsung, Apple and Nokia in 2010 were 12%,
7%, 20%, 16% and 4% respectively in the global market."
    
Note: You do not need to use 'consecutively/ sequentially/ respectively'  if
there are only two values to write.

Vocabulary to show transitions:

Vocabulary to describe different types of data/trends in a paragraph while showing

a smooth and accurate transition is quite important. Following word(s)/ phrase(s)
would help you do so in an excellent way...

» Then
» Afterwards
» Following that
» Followed by
» Next
» Subsequently
» Former
» Latter
» After
» Previous
» Prior to
» Simultaneously
» During
» While
» Finally.
Few More Vocabularies:

Few more useful vocabulary to use in your report writing:

» Stood at
» A marked increase
» Steep
» Gradual
» Hike
» Drastic
» Declivity
» Acclivity
» Prevalent
» Plummet
Useful phrases for describing graphs:
» To level off
» To reach a plateau
» To hit the highest point
» To stay constant
» To flatten out
» To show some fluctuation
» To hit the lowest point
» Compared to
» Compared with
» Relative to