The graph below shows the proportion of four different materials that were recycled from 1982 to

2010 in a particular country.

The words and phrases in bold can all be changed in some way to make the description your own. How
could you change or add to:
1. The graph…
2. … the proportion of …
3. … four different materials …
4. … from 1982 to 2010 …
5. … in a particular country …

The graph shows a particular country was recycled the proportion of four different materials from 1982 to
2010.
Exercise 2
STEP 1.9 Writing an overview – example Here is one possible way to write an overview for this graph:

Overall, the proportion of paper and cardboard that was recycled was the highest of the four classes of
material, but this category experienced a decline after 1994, whereas there was a continuing
upward trend in the recycling of the other materials.

How could you summarise the main points in one sentence? What information would you include? Think
about the following questions:

1. Which materials were recycled most or least?

2. Was the trend the same for all four types of material?

3. Are there any other changes you should include?

Once you’ve answered these questions, write one or two sentences for the overview, share in the
comments and tell us how you feel you got on. You can compare your overview with the example
in the Downloads, but remember that is only one possible version.

During 1982 to 2010 there is a register of recycling trend of four class of material, in the graph we can
observe paper and cardboard are the highest material recycled but with a reduction of 10 % from 1994
to 2010. On the other hand, the others three materials have been increasing since 1986, highlighting the
Aluminum with 40% since 1982.
Task: Describing numbers
Now look at this pie chart.

 Smartphone use (Click to expand,

click back to return to this page)

Can you say these percentages in different ways?

1. 20%

2. 35%

3. 29%

Use your answers to make three sentences about the pie chart. Write your answers in the
comments below and compare and comment on other people’s. You will get more practice in
talking about numbers in Step 1.12.

The 20 % of time spent on smartphones is in utilities.

The highest time spent on smartphone is 35% in games.

In social networking the time spent it is 20% utilities.

Task: Making comparisons
Look at these two pie charts:

Smartphone and tablet use (Click to expand, click back to return to this page)

Select some key points to compare, then write a few sentences in the comments using the language
above.

Let us know how you felt about this exercise - if you found it easy or more difficult.

- Nowadays there are a high use in tablets and smartphones, but the biggest different in the time
spent is in games, 57% more time than 35% in smartphone.
1.14
10 MORE STEPS TO GO
Review of key language for describing
trends
521 comments
A summary of essential expressions for describing trends over time.

How did you get on with task of suggesting different ways to describe changes in the last step? Don’t
worry if you couldn’t think of many! Remember, Task 1 is short - only 150 words. You don’t need
hundreds of different ways to describe changes, only enough to make sure that you can accurately
describe things and don’t repeat the same words and structures over and over again. In this step we will
look at the verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs and other expressions you need to describe any dynamic
graph, chart or table. Take a look at the list below. Are any of them new for you?

Describing trends
Verbs to describe a general increase

 Go up

 Rise

 Increase

 Climb

Verbs to describe a sudden, large increase

 Jump

 Shoot up

 Rocket

Verbs to describe a general decrease

 Go down

 Fall

 Decrease

 Drop
Verbs to describe a large decrease

 Plunge

 Plummet

To give more a more detailed description, you can use any of the general verbs with additional adverbs.

Speed

 To describe a change that happens quickly, you can also use rapidly or sharply.

 To describe a change that happens slowly, you can also use gradually.

 To describe a change that happens by approximately the same amount each month/year etc. you
can use steadily.

Amount
To describe a large increase or decrease, you can use considerably, significantly or substantially.
To describe a smaller increase or decrease, you can use slightly or moderately.

Alternative structures
Remember that it is important to show your range of vocabulary and grammar in your writing tasks and
avoid repetition. If you are describing a series of changes, you not only need to vary the words you
choose, but also the forms you use.

 You can use the verb + adverb forms above - ‘sales increased substantially in 2016.’

 You can also use the adjective + noun form together with there is/was. For example, ‘there was
a substantial increase in sales in 2016, followed by a slight drop in 2017.’ Be careful to use the
correct prepositions!

 Another possibility is to use the verb see or witness - ‘2016  saw a substantial increase

in  sales.’

Other useful expressions

Finally, there are a number of other useful expressions to describe particular changes:

 If a value goes up and down repeatedly, we say it fluctuates.

 If a value stays the same for a period of time, we can say that it remains stable.

 If it fluctuates, then stops fluctuating, we can say it stabilises or levels off.

 If a number reaches a high point and then drops back again, we can say it peaks at a certain
number or reaches a peak. For example, ‘the share price peaked at $115’ or ‘the share
price reached a peak of $115.’ Again, be careful to use the correct prepositions.

There are other possibilities too, and you can find them all in the document in the download section below.
Task
After all that vocabulary, it’s time to get some practice using it! In the next step, you’ll use this language to
describe graphs and charts. But for now we’d like you to use some of the language above to complete
these three sentences about you:

1. Since starting this course, my knowledge of the IELTS Writing test has ……………….

2. There has been ………………. in my understanding of how the test is assessed.

3. My hopes of achieving the band score that I need have ……………….

Post your answers in the comments.

Since starting this course, my knowledge of the IELTS Writing test has increased moderately.

There has been rising in my understanding of how the test is assessed

My hopes of achieving the band score that I need have increased rapidly
  
Bar chart showing academic staff in 2012 (Click to expand, click back to return to this page)

It describes the situation in 2012. So you must use the past simple tense in the task. If you mix up your
tenses and use, for example, the present perfect, you will lose points for grammatical range and
accuracy.

ask

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verbs below. Some may be passive.

be / dominate / have

Engineering (1) ……was…dominated………… by male academics whereas education (2) ……

had…………… the highest percentage of female academics. Notably, three quarters of the academic staff
in education (3) ………were………… women, with just 25% males.

Post your answers in the comments below.