Increase

Describing an increase

Student numbers in English language schools in this country increased from 66 000 in 2008  
 .to just over 84 000 in 2009

 .The number of students increased by almost 30% compared with the previous year

 .Student numbers shot up/increased dramatically in 2009

.The proportion of Spanish students rose sharply from 5% in 2008 to 14% in 2009

 .There was a significant rise in student numbers in 2009  

.The 2009 figure was 84 000, an increase of 28% on the previous year

.The 2009 figure was 84 000, 28 per cent up on the previous year 

As the chart shows, this can partly be explained by a dramatic increase in students from  
Spain

Fall
 Describing a decrease

.Car crime in Oxford fell significantly last year

 .Car crime fell by about a quarter over a 12-month period  

.The number of stolen vehicles dropped from 1 013 to 780, a fall of 26 per cent

.According to this data, 780 vehicles were stolen, 26% down on the previous year 

 .There was an 11% drop in reported thefts from motor vehicles, from 1 871 to 1 737  

These figures show that, as far as car crime is concerned, the main trend is downwards

although / even though / though You can use these words to show contrast between two
clauses or two sentences. Though is used more in spoken than in written English. You can
use although, even though and though at the beginning of a sentence or clause that has a
verb. Notice where the commas go: Although/Even though/Though everyone played well,
we lost the game. ◇ We lost the game, although/even though/though everyone played
well. You cannot use even on its own at the beginning of a sentence or clause instead of
.although, even though or though: Even everyone played well, we lost the game
howeverWays of saying ‘but’ Politicians have promised to improve road safety. So far,
however, little has been achieved. Despite clear evidence from road safety studies, no new
measures have been introduced. Politicians have promised to improve road safety. In spite
of this/Despite this, little has been achieved so far. Although politicians have promised to
improve road safety, little has been achieved so far. Some politicians claim that the new
transport policy has been a success. In fact, it has been a total disaster. Government
campaigns have had a measure of success, but the fact remains that large numbers of
accidents are still caused by careless drivers

neverthelessConceding a point and making a counter-argument While the film is

undoubtedly too long, it is nevertheless an intriguing piece of cinema. It can be argued that
the movie is too long. It is nonetheless an intriguing piece of cinema. The film is
undoubtedly too long. Still, it is an intriguing piece of cinema. Of course, huge chunks of the
book have been sacrificed in order to make a two-hour movie, but it is nevertheless a
successful piece of storytelling. Critics are wrong to argue that the film's plot is too
complicated. Certainly there are a couple of major twists, but audiences will have no
difficulty following them. It is true that you cannot make a good movie without a good
script, but it is equally true that a talented director can make a good script into an excellent
film. It remains to be seen whether these two movies herald a new era of westerns, but
there is no doubt that they represent welcome additions to the genre

Verbs for reporting an opinion Some critics argue that Picasso remained a great master all
his life. Others maintain that there is a significant deterioration in quality in his post-war
work. Picasso himself claimed that good art is created, but great art is stolen. As Smith has
noted, Picasso borrowed imagery from African art. As the author points out, Picasso
borrowed imagery from African art. The writer challenges the notion that Picasso's
sculpture was secondary to his painting. It has been suggested that Picasso's painting was
influenced by jazz music

perhapsMaking an opinion sound less definite Most cybercrime involves traditional crimes,

such as theft and fraud, being committed in new ways. Phishing is
perhaps/possibly/probably the best-known example of this. It seems/appears that the more
personal data which organizations collect, the more opportunity there is for this data to be
lost or stolen. It seems clear that introducing national ID cards would do little to prevent
identity theft. It could be argued that the introduction of national ID cards might actually
make identity theft easier. It is possible that/It may be that the only way to protect
.ourselves against DNA identity theft is to avoid the creation of national DNA databases

according toReporting someone's opinion Photography is, according to Vidal, the art form
of untalented people. For Vidal, photography is the art form of untalented people. His view
is that photography is not art but merely the mechanical reproduction of images. Smith
takes the view that photography is both an art and a science. In Brown's view, photography
should be treated as a legitimate art in its own right. James is of the opinion that a good
painter can always be a good photographer if he or she so decides. Emerson believed that a
photograph should only reflect what the human eye can see

opinionGiving your personal opinion In my opinion, everyone should have some

understanding of science. Everyone should, in my opinion, have some understanding of
science. It seems to me that many people in this country have a poor understanding of
science. This is, in my view, the result of a failure of the scientific community to get its
message across. Another reason why so many people have such a poor understanding of
science is, I believe, the lack of adequate funding for science in schools. Smith argues that
science is separate from culture. My own view is that science belongs with literature, art,
philosophy and religion as an integral part of our culture. In this writer's opinion, the more
the public know about science, the less they will fear and distrust it

impersonalGiving opinions using impersonal language It is vital that more is done to prevent
the illegal trade in wild animals. ◇ (Compare: We have to do more to stop people trading
wild animals illegally.) It is clear that more needs to be done to protect biodiversity. ◇
(Compare: We clearly need to do more to protect biodiversity.) It is unfortunate that the
practice of keeping monkeys as pets still continues. ◇ (Compare: It's absolutely terrible that
people still keep monkeys as pets.) It is difficult for many people to understand the reasons
why certain individuals choose to hunt animals for sport. ◇ (Compare: I can't understand
why anyone would want to kill animals for fun.) Unfortunately, it would seem that not
enough is being done to support tiger conservation. ◇ (Compare: Governments aren't doing
enough to help tiger conservation.) There is no doubt that the greatest threat to polar bears
comes from global warming. ◇ (Compare: I believe that the greatest threat…)