SOME ADVICE ON WRITING TASK 1

1 Openings HAI JIM CHUYEN LUYEN THI IELTS BAO DAM 0984467000
Begin by rewriting the title that you are given, but using different language, and make a general comment on the statistics.
USEFUL PHRASES
Use synonyms:
• The bar chart shows the number of children leaving school at the age of 16 between 1995 and 2000.
 The bar chart illustrates the number of children who left school after they reached 16 years of age over a five year period, starting in 1995.
Make a general comment: Overall, the numbers are significantly lower in the later years of the study.
2 The main body
Start with the most interesting point from the statistics. This is often the category that has shown the greatest increase or decrease over the period of the study, although it may also be the category that is the largest or the smallest.
USEFUL PHRASES
Describe a large change:
 The most interesting growth occurred in the cities of Jakarta and Bombay.
 The greatest change can be seen in the figures for the United States.
Describe the largest / smallest category:
 Tokyo had by far the largest population in the year 1992.
 The highest levels of smoking can be seen in Europe.
 Levels of literacy were lowest in the African countries in the survey.

increase
 Last year, the number of burglaries increased by 15 percent.
 The percentage of households with a computer increased from 32.9% to 52%.
 The world's population is increasing at a rate of 91 million people each year.
 Land prices have increased dramatically during the last thirty years. (=by a surprisingly large amount)
 The ratio of women to men in management positions has been increasing steadily. (=more women are becoming managers)
! Increase = to rise / to expand/ to soar / to escalate
! To double / to triple /to quadruple

Since 1990, U.S. imports of foreign goods have grown at a rate of 7.7 percent per year.
During the last 15 years, earnings have tripled for men and doubled for women.
After two years of no growth, the economy started to expand again in 2003.
Interest rates soared to over 100 percent.
Energy costs have escalated.
! STUDY NOTE: Grammar
The -ing forms of many of these verbs can also be used as adjectives, for example:
 the increasing demand for cheap goods
 rising unemployment
 the growing problem of industrial pollution
 soaring inflation
 escalating fuel costs
Continue to add comments on the information in order of importance. Try to make connections between the different parts of the chart.
USEFUL PHRASES
Contrast results:
 This trend is reversed in the under 16 category.
 While the number of male smokers has fallen, the number of female smokers has remained stable.
 There was a clear distinction between the answers given by men and women.
Find similarities:
 There was a similar trend in the United States.
 A similar pattern can be observed among the unemployed.
What you say when comparing things or people
compared to/with used when comparing things or people, especially when comparing numbers or amounts:
This year's profits are much higher compared to last year's.
The average male now has a life expectancy of 77.6 years, compared with 75 in 1960.
Total spending on health care represents about 4 percent of GDP. Compared to most other advanced economies, that figure is low.
Mortality rates are lower for women as compared with men.
by comparison/in comparison when compared with another thing, person etc:
Young male drivers have far more accidents by comparison with other groups.
Wages are low in comparison with the US.
The amount of money spent on advertising milk pales in comparison to (=is much less than) the money spent on advertising beer.
as against/as opposed to conjunction used when you are comparing two figures or pieces of information, in order to show how they are different:
The company achieved sales of $404 million, as against $310 million in the previous year.
One study predicted that 42% of female university graduates would remain single the rest of their lives, as opposed to just 5% of male graduates.
unlike preposition used when saying that people or things are different:
Unlike his brother, he had no interest in music.
The drug has very few side effects, unlike other drugs that are used to treat this illness.
in contrast/by contrast used when mentioning the difference between two things, people, countries etc that you are comparing:
In contrast to the south of the island, the north is still untouched by tourism.
The US and Australia, in contrast with most other leading industrialized nations, chose not to sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
Studies show that each execution costs $3.5 million. By contrast it costs about $600,000 to keep someone in prison for life.
in proportion to/in relation to used when considering the relationship between the amount or size of something compared to another thing:
People from Sweden pay the highest rates of tax in proportion to their incomes.
His head is big in proportion to the rest of his body.
Britain's national debt was greater than that of the US in relation to the size of its economy.
3 Ending your description
You should keep a general comment on the statistics for the last sentence. It is important not to speculate about the information or make suggestions, unless you are specifically asked to do so in the question.
USEFUL PHRASES
Conclude your findings:
 Overall, there was a general rise in pollution in all three countries.
 Finally, we can see that there were significant differences in the results for the different socio-economic groups.
4 Describing percentages
Try to generalize about percentages, rather than repeat the exact figure that you are given.
USEFUL PHRASES
Use fractions:
 A third of the money was spent on entertainment.
 Three quarters of the respondents stated that they were travelling for business purposes.
The general construction for fractions is: a + third + of + the + plural verb.
 For example: A quarter of the people had never smoked in their lives.

Half is an exception: a + half + of + the + singular verb, or half + the + singular verb.
 For example: A half of the money was spent on food. =Half the money was spent on food.
Use proportions:
 Two out of three people felt that the government should be responsible, compared to only one in four who felt that it was the responsibility of business and industry. (Instead of two thirds or a quarter.)
If the first number is 1, use the preposition in. If the first number is higher than 1, use the preposition out of. For example: One in three people would like to see the government pay for higher education.
Three out of four people said that they had smoked at some time in their lives.

Use general vocabulary to describe the size of something:
 The majority of the people felt that it would have a negative influence.
 A small minority claimed that they had seen no improvements.
5 Comparing between categories
You will often have to compare the results of two different categories in the statistical information.
USEFUL PHRASES
Use a general comparative adjective + than:
 The figures for France were significantly lower than the other three groups.
 Levels of pollution were slightly better the following year.
We often use comparative adjective + than when the difference is small and must be expressed as a percentage:
 The amount was 50% lower than the previous year.
 The numbers were only 20% higher than the results before the change.
Use as + adjective + as:
 The figures were three times as high in France as in Germany.
 The newer model was four times as popular as the older version.
as + adjective + as particularly useful for large changes expressed as multiples:
 The figures were twice as high as the previous year.
6 Describing trends
Many factual descriptions require you to compare information over a period of time.
USEFUL PHRASES
Describe increases:
 The number of people smoking more than ten cigarettes a day rose significantly in the five year period.
Describe decreases:
 There was a significant drop in the number of deaths caused by heart disease.
 The number of people using public transport fell significantly between 1950 and 2005.
Describe future predictions:
 The statistics predict an increase in the levels of pollution in these major cities in the next five years.
7 Identifying categories
Introduce the category with the word number, amount, level, proportion, percentage, rate, quantity
Use the + amount + of + uncountable noun + singular verb:
 The amount of carbon dioxide in the air has increased.
Use the + number + of + plural noun + singular verb:
 The number of people unemployed rose sharply.
Use the + level + of + noun + singular verb:
 The level of fast food consumption has risen.
Use the quantity of + (un)countable noun

The level of production = The rate of production
The level of expenditure = The rate of expenditure
The level of unemployment = The rate of unemployment
Level being represented by a bar graph / Level + rise
Rate being represented by a line graph / Rate + increase