Vocabulary for Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 (part 1)

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.
The general format for writing academic writing task 1 is as follows:

Introduction + Basic/ General Trends + Details Description + Summary (optional).

Vocabulary for the Introduction Part

Starting Presentation Type Verb Description

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

Examples:
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.
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.

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 up / uplift / rocket(ed) / a rise / an increase / an upward trend / a
climb / upsurge / soar/ shot up/ improve/ jump/ growth / a leap / a jump / an
leap/ move upward/ skyrocket/ soar/ surge. improvement/ a climb.
Decrease fall / decrease / decline / plummet / plunge / a fall / a decrease / a reduction / a
drop / reduce / collapse / deterioriate/ dip / dive downward trends /a downward
/ go down / take a nosedive / slum / slide / go tendency / a decline/ a drop / a slide / a
into free-fall. collapse / a downfall.
Steadiness unchanged / level out / remain constant / a steadiness/ a plateau / a stability/ a
remain steady / plateau / remain the same / static
remain stable / remain static
Gradual an upward trend / an upward tendency /
increase a ceiling trend
------------
Gradual a downward trend / a downward
decrease tendency / a descending trend
------------
Standability/ level(ed) off / remain(ed) constant / remain(ed)
Flat unchanged / remain(ed) stable / prevail(ed)
No change, a flat, a plateau.
consistency / plateaued / reach(ed) a plateau /
stay(ed) uniform /immutable / level(ed) out/
stabilise/ remain(ed) the same.

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 change dramatically / rapidly / sharply / quickly / dramatic / rapid / sharp / quick / hurried /
hurriedly / speedily / swiftly / significantly/ speedy / swift / significant / considerable /
considerably / substantioally / noticably. substantial / noticable.
Moderate moderately / gradually / progressively / moderate / gradual / progressive
change sequentially. / sequential.
Steady change steadily/ ceaselessly. steady/ ceaseless.

Slight change slightly / slowly / mildly / tediously. slight / slow / mild / 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.

 Vocabulary to represent frequent changes in graphs:

Type of Change Verb form Noun form

Rapid ups and wave / fluctuate / oscillate / waves / fluctuations /
downs vacillate / palpitate oscillations / 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.

 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.