As my IETLS exam is getting so closeĀ ā16 of MayāĀ I decided to post about the examās writing section, since itās one of my weakened areas in English.
First of all, Writing in IELTS is two tasks. The first one is writing about a graph or any given data in figures, tables or line charts etc. You should write 150 words in 20 minutes.
Itās easier than the second task!
Here is some of the phrases and vocabulary that can be used in the first task. They are very helpful and will raise your score.
If you are writing about:
āThe graph shows/reveals/describes ⦠(what, who, when, where). It can be clearly seen that ⦠(describe main trends here).
It either rises (increases, climbs, goes up), falls (drops, declines, goesĀ down, decreases), or doesnāt change (remains at the same level, maintains stability).
The highest point of a graph is a peak, and the lowest is a bottom. The speed of change also matters - you should say how fast (rapidly, quickly) or how slowly (gradually, steadily) it happened. and the order of change matters - a rise was preceded by drop and followed by decline.
try to add a littleĀ ācolorā when describing them, because numbers alone are boring.Ā ācolorā means comparison. writeĀ āincreased by 155ā³ orĀ āhad risen to 30%ā instead ofĀ āwent from 100 in 1999 to 300 in 2005ā³.
āThe graph compares ⦠(what, who, when, where). It can be clearly seen that ⦠(describe main trends of 2 graphs here).
Same as Single Line Graph.
In the body of the report, describe the first graph in the first paragraph. In the second one, if 2 graphs are similar, start the paragraph withĀ āSimilarlyā and describe the other graph. If 2 graphs are different, start it withĀ āIn contrastā and describe the other graph.
Also compare the peaks and bottoms of the 2 graphs.
āThe graph reveals/shows/describes ⦠(what, who, when, where). It can be clearly seen that ⦠(describe main trends here).
āThe graph compare ⦠(what, who, when, where). It can be clearly seen that ⦠(describe main trends here).
The same as for Single Line Graph description.
How to describe or compare trends:
If the axis of the bar graph is a time scale - describe how graphās subject changes in time.
Otherwise compare the bars differently - more, less, most, least, etc, in order of appearance.
āThe pie chart compare ⦠(what, who, where, when). It can be clearly seen that ⦠(describe the most noticeable feature).ā
When describing a pie chart, write about:
- the highest, significant or lowest percentage.
- the greatest, smallest proportion.Ā
- the most, least popular, common item.
How to describe and compare pie charts:
Describe and compare the pieces one by one. If a certain piece is two or three times bigger than another, writeĀ ātwice (three times) as many Xs were used as Ysā. Another idea is to writeĀ āX is much more (considerably less) common than Yā.
āThe table compares ⦠(what, who, when, where). It can be clearly seen that (describe the most noticeable trend)ā.
The same as for Single Line Graph description.
How to select and group information:
Describe groups of categories, AKA to divide categories into groups, rather than just throwing the information away. The grouping can be done by similar behaviour.Ā
āThe flow chart/diagram describes/reveals the procedures of/for ā¦ā
Explain the sequence of stages/actions and use words like:
-firstly, secondly, thirdly ā¦
- to begin with, then, after that, in addition, otherwise.
- at the same time, concurrently, simultaneously.
How to describe a process:
Describe every stage of the process one by one. Use linking words to connect stages from the vocabulary section (above). Mention whether or not there are stages that are being performed at the same time. There may be alternative stages (either stage A or B is performed). The main task here is to describe not to compare or contrast.
itās better to use present simple passive tenseĀ āthe letter is writtenā orĀ āthe research is conductedā. Conclusion paragraph is not necessary.