Why This Vocabulary Matters
Whether you're presenting quarterly results, writing a market report or taking IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, you need to describe numbers precisely. "Sales went up a lot" is vague. "Sales rose sharply by 38%, peaking at $2.4 million in the fourth quarter" is precise, professional and exam-ready.
Verbs of Change
| Direction | Verbs |
|---|---|
| Up | rise, increase, grow, climb, go up, surge (suddenly, strongly), soar (very high), rocket (very fast), recover / rebound (after a fall) |
| Down | fall, decrease, decline, drop, go down, dip (slightly, briefly), slump / plummet / plunge (dramatically) |
| No change | remain stable, remain steady, stabilize, level off (after changing), plateau, stay constant |
| Up and down | fluctuate, vary, be volatile |
| Highest / lowest point | peak at, reach a peak of, hit a high of; bottom out at, hit a low of |
Nouns of Change
Every verb above has a noun form, which lets you vary your sentences:
| Verb pattern | Noun pattern |
|---|---|
| Sales increased dramatically. | There was a dramatic increase in sales. |
| Unemployment fell slightly. | Unemployment saw a slight fall. |
| Prices fluctuated. | There were fluctuations in prices. |
| Profits peaked in 2021. | Profits reached a peak in 2021. |
Nouns: a rise, an increase, growth (uncountable), a decline, a decrease, a fall, a drop, a dip, a surge, a slump, a fluctuation, a peak, a plateau.
Describing Degree and Speed
| Degree / Speed | Adverbs | Adjectives |
|---|---|---|
| Very large | dramatically, significantly, substantially, considerably | dramatic, significant, substantial, considerable |
| Medium | moderately, noticeably | moderate, noticeable |
| Small | slightly, marginally, modestly | slight, marginal, modest |
| Fast | sharply, rapidly, steeply | sharp, rapid, steep |
| Slow / regular | gradually, steadily, consistently | gradual, steady, consistent |
- Enrollment rose steadily over the decade.
- There was a marginal decline in customer satisfaction.
Prepositions That Change the Meaning
| Preposition | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to | the final value | Sales rose to $5 million. |
| by | the amount of change | Sales rose by $1 million (by 25%). |
| from... to... | start and end values | Prices fell from $80 to $60. |
| of | after a noun of change | a rise of 25% |
| in | the thing that changed | a rise in sales |
| at | a level | Sales peaked / stood / stabilized at $5 million. |
Sales rose to 20% and Sales rose by 20% mean different things — examiners check this.
Approximation and Proportion
- roughly / approximately / around / about 40%
- just over / just under / nearly / almost half
- well over / well below the national average
- a third (33%), a quarter (25%), three quarters (75%), two in five (40%)
- the vast majority (≈ 80–95%), a significant minority, a small fraction
- double / triple / halve: The number of users doubled. / Costs were halved.
Comparing Data
- Spending on housing was twice as high as spending on transport.
- Canada had the highest proportion of remote workers, followed by Australia.
- In contrast, the rural population declined.
- Whereas online sales tripled, in-store sales remained flat.
- The figure for women was slightly lower than that for men. (Use that / those to avoid repeating the figure.)
Time Expressions
- over the period / over the next five years / during the first quarter
- between 2015 and 2020 / from 2015 to 2020
- by 2030 (projection) — By 2030, the figure is projected / expected / predicted to reach...
- in the following year / thereafter / subsequently
Structure: IELTS Academic Task 1 and Report Summaries
| Part | Content |
|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | Paraphrase what the chart shows (what, where, when). One sentence. |
| 2. Overview | The two or three most important trends or features, no detailed numbers. |
| 3. Detail paragraph 1 | Key figures for one group, trend or period. |
| 4. Detail paragraph 2 | Key figures for another group, with comparisons. |
No conclusion with opinions is needed in IELTS Task 1 — the overview is what examiners look for. Missing an overview is one of the most common reasons scores stay at Band 5–6 for Task Achievement.
IELTS details: about 20 minutes, at least 150 words.
Model Answer
The line graph shows the percentage of employees working from home at least one day a week in three Canadian provinces between 2018 and 2024.
The graph illustrates the proportion of employees in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta who worked remotely at least one day per week from 2018 to 2024.
Overall, remote work increased dramatically in all three provinces, peaking in 2021 before declining moderately. Ontario consistently had the highest proportion of remote workers, while Alberta had the lowest.
In 2018, the figures were relatively low, at around 12% in Ontario and just under 10% in the other two provinces. Between 2019 and 2021, however, the percentages surged, with Ontario reaching a peak of approximately 45% and British Columbia climbing to 40%.
After 2021, all three figures fell gradually. Alberta saw the steepest decline, dropping from 32% to 20% by 2024, whereas Ontario levelled off at roughly 35%, still almost three times its 2018 level.
Common Mistakes
- Rose to vs. rose by: check whether you mean the final value or the change.
- "Increased of 10%" → increased by 10% / an increase of 10%.
- "The number of people is increase" → The number of people increased.
- "Amount of people" → number of people (countable).
- Listing every number instead of selecting key features.
- Opinion or explanation in Task 1: "This is probably because of COVID" is not required — describe, don't explain.
Practice Tips
- Describe one chart a day from a news site in three sentences: overview, biggest change, one comparison.
- Rewrite verb sentences as noun sentences (Sales rose sharply → There was a sharp rise in sales) to build flexibility.
- Make a personal chart — your monthly spending or screen time — and describe it in 150 words.