Language for IELTS Task 1: describing trends and comparing data

Task 1 rewards precise, varied language for numbers. This page collects what you need, in the order you will need it. Use it to build accuracy, not to decorate: one precise verb is worth more than three fancy ones.

Verbs for change, by size

Match the word to the size of the change. Exaggerating (“soared” for a two-point rise) is an accuracy problem.

• Small: edged up, crept up, dipped, eased back, changed only slightly
• Moderate: rose, grew, increased, fell, declined, dropped
• Large: climbed steadily, surged, soared, plunged, halved, doubled, tripled
• No change: remained stable, stayed at, levelled off, hardly changed
• Up and down: fluctuated between … and …
• Highest and lowest points: peaked at, reached a peak of, hit a low of

Verbs or nouns

Using both structures shows grammatical range:

• Verb: Bus use dipped to 16%.
• Noun: There was a slight dip in bus use, to 16%.
• Verb: Cycling more than tripled.
• Noun: Cycling saw the most striking growth.

Prepositions that change the meaning

• rose to 20%: the new figure
• rose by 8 percentage points: the size of the change
• from 12% to 20%: the start and end
• at 58%: the figure at one point
• with 480,000 visitors: a figure attached to a subject

Comparisons

• twice as many … as / three times as much … as
• more than double / almost half the figure for
• considerably higher than / slightly lower than
• the highest / the second most popular / the least common
• by contrast / whereas / while for contrasting two groups
• respectively for giving two figures in one sentence

Approximations

Use them when they are true, and keep exact figures for the key points:

• just over / just under / roughly / about / nearly / almost
• well over half, around a third, almost two thirds

Tenses

• Past simple for past years: Attendance fell.
• Past perfect for change by a point in the past: By 2025, the share had fallen to 41%.
• Present simple for diagrams, processes and current plans: The pulp is pressed.
• Future forms for projections: The figure is expected to reach 55%.
• Would for proposed plans: The office would be replaced by a café.

A sentence pattern that always works

Subject + verb of change + figure + comparison.

The proportion of drivers fell to 41%, the largest change shown on the chart.

Every Task 1 sample answer lists its most useful phrases, all taken from the essay itself. For the full structure of an answer, read the complete Task 1 guide.