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Playing team sports is an important part of children

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How to use IELTS vocabulary accurately when describing data.

In IELTS writing task 1, vocabulary accounts for 25% of your marks. Being able to use a wide variety of vocabulary accurately will help your score. I did a post on this before about using specific vocabulary in the academic task 1 writing section click here to see that post.

In this post, I want to review this vocabulary and there is an exercise for practice based on a line graph. Notice that the line graph is dynamic, which means it changes over time. This vocabulary can also be used with static data, which doesn't change over time.

Common IELTS academic task 1 vocabulary.

Note that some of these words can change tense such as past tense, present tense, and gerunds (-ing form) Always analyse the task first to make sure you know what tense to use. So obviously if the task shows dates in the past then you would use the past tense.

represents / representing / represented

accounts for / accounting for / accounted for

is made up of

the proportion of/ the figure for/ figures for

Is equal to that of... (comparing equal figures)

consists of / consisted of

comprised / comprises / comprising

constitutes / constituted / constituting

amounts to / amounting to / amounted to

numbered / numbers / numbering

totalled / totals / totalling

according to / regarding the graph / chart / data / diagram

by the end of the period / by the end of the timeframe

More details in this lesson here-> click here to see it
Using the vocabulary in context.

1. The figure for car imports to the UK comprised just over one-fifth (21%).

2. Figures for computer sales in France amounted to 59%.

3. The figure for the employment rate in Spain represented 26%.

4. The amount of rice exported from Vietnam accounted for just under half (49%).

5. The proportion of semiconductor imports to the EU totalled 64%.

6. The number of car imports to Germany consisted of 31% by the end of the timeframe.

7. The total number of doughnuts sold was equal to that of cupcake sales at approximately 41%.

10. The proportion of people that ate at fast-food restaurants showed a sharp decline in 2019.

Practice exercise
Source: Cambridge IELTS 15 book page 49
Study the line chart above and using the vocabulary from the example sentences fill in the gaps below. More than one answer is possible. The first one has been done.

1. The figure for visitors staying on cruise ships represented half a million by 2011.

2. The total _________ ___ visitors __________ ____ 3.5 million by the end of ____ __________.

3. The ___________ of visitors who stayed on an island saw a levelling off from 2013 to 2015.

4. _____________ to the graph, total visitor numbers saw a significant increase throughout the __________.

5. ______________ those who stayed on cruise ships, this __________ witnessed some fluctuations from 2010 to 2013.

6. By the _______ ____ the period, the_________ for visitors who stayed on cruise ships ______________ 2 million.

7. The _____________ of visitors staying on an island _____________ 1.5 million by the _______of the ___________.

8.Overall, total visitor ___________saw a substantial climb throughout the given period _______________ ____ 3.5 million visitors by 2017.

9. By mid 2015, visitors that stayed on an island were _______ _____ _______ _____ those who stayed on cruise ships at just under 1.5million.

Click the blue button below to check the answers. These are my ideas, answers may vary

Answers

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Any questions? leave a comment below.. also check out the correction service at this link if you need professional corrections.

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Using IELTS writing task 1 vocabulary accurately.

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How to use IELTS vocabulary accurately when describing data. Updated: July 2023 In IELTS writing task 1, vocabulary accounts for 25% of your marks. Being able to use a wide variety of vocabulary accurately will help your

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IELTS Part 2 Speaking Standing out from the crowd

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Discourse markers (words like 'however', 'although' and 'Nevertheless') are referred to more commonly as 'linking words' and 'linking phrases', or 'sentence connectors'. They may be described as the 'glue' that binds together a piece of writing, making the different parts of the text 'stick together'. They are used less frequently in speech, unless the speech is very formal.

Without sufficient discourse markers in a piece of writing, a text would not seem logically constructed and the connections between the different sentences and paragraphs would not be obvious.

Care must also be taken, however, to avoid over-use of discourse markers. Using too many of them, or using them unnecessarily, can make a piece of writing sound too heavy and 'artificial'. They are important, but must only be used when necessary.

Key advice

1. What are the different discourse markers that can be used?

2. How can sentence connectors be replaced in order to increase variety in writing?

3. How are paragraphs linked together?

4. Discourse markers in a sample passage of academic English

What are the different discourse markers that can be used?

There are many discourse markers that express different relationships between ideas. The most common types of relationship between ideas, and the sentence connectors that are most often used to express these relationships, are given in the table below. The discourse markers in the table are generally used at the start of a phrase or clause. (a clause is a minimal grammatical structure that has meaning in its own right, and consists of a subject and verb, and often an object too). Sentence connectors do not always begin a completely new sentence; they may be separated from the previous idea with a semi-colon.

Note that there are two particular features of the sentence connectors indicated below:

Sentence connectors can be used to begin a new sentence or a new clause that follows a semi-colon;

Some sentence connectors can be placed in different positions within the sentence: initial position (e.g. Because he is ill, he needs to rest.) and 'mid-way position' at the start of another clause (e.g. He must rest, because he is ill).

How can sentence connectors be replaced in order to increase variety in writing?

In your writing, you will want to spend some time ensuring that your work has a sense of variety. In order to do this, you might think of the following:

Use conjunctions as well as/instead of sentence connectors. A conjunction is a word like 'and', 'but', etc, which is used to join two ideas together into a complex sentence. Unlike sentence connectors such as 'However', etc, a conjunction cannot be used at the beginning of a sentence and must come at a mid-point, at the end of one clause and the beginning of another. It is usually possible to rephrase a pair of sentences that use a sentence connector by using a conjunction instead. For example, instead of saying 'He studied French; however, his wife studied Physics', it might actually be more natural to say 'He studied English but his wife studied Physics'. Similarly, instead of saying 'English is hard; therefore, one must spend a lot of time practising it', we can say: 'English is hard so one must spend a lot of time practising it.' These are simple examples, but the principle of paraphrase can be extended to other, more complex sentences.

Use conjunctions at least some of the time. Words like and and but may seem boring, but they help to lighten the style of your writing. This in turn helps the writing to sound less pompous and formal. And in any case, in writing, it is often helpful to use a variety of structures rather than just saying things in one way.

It can also be helpful to omit discourse markers if they do not serve any useful purpose. Knowing when to omit the discourse marker is a subtle aspect of language use and comes with more practice and wider reading.

Try joining two clauses together by making one subordinate to the other. If we go back to the sentence 'He studied English but his wife studied Physics', we can rephrase this as follows: 'He studied English whereas his wife studied Physics', or 'He studied English while his wife studied Physics.' The clause beginning with while/whereas issubordinate. this means that it is used to qualify/add extra information to the sentence, but cannot stand on its own.

Remember, it can be tedious to read a piece of writing which has too many discourse markers. The writing can seem pedantic, heavy and over-pompous. You are ideally seeking a light, flowing style, not a heavy or forced one.

How are paragraphs linked together?

In much the same way that ideas within a paragraph are linked, a new paragraph must be linked in some way with the previous one. This, too, necessitates the use of discourse markers.

In the table below are some different ways in which the opening of a paragraph can link back to what has happened before. The three basic types of paragraph-paragraph relationship are : reinforcement of idea; contrast of ideas; and concession. Indicating these relationships builds a 'bridge' between paragraphs and makes reading the text easier.

Relationship with previous paragraph: Reinforcement of idea

Possible linguistic formula

a) A further example of this phenomenon can be seen in Foucault's work.

b) Jones (1999) further demonstrates this point in his most recent research.

Relationship with previous paragraph: Contrast of ideas

Possible linguistic formula

a) Jones, meanwhile/on the other hand, expresses this notion as 'self-defence'.

b) This argument is not, however, accepted by all critics. For instance, Smith (1999) holds that....

Relationship with previous paragraph: Concession

Possible linguistic formula

a) Although the ideas of Jones (1999) are interesting and useful, they do not take account of the growing problems of identity theft.

b) While Roberts (2006) emphasises the importance of Foucault's notion of the panopticon, the opposite view is held by other commentators. For example,...

In your own writing, it is useful to consider the following points:

Do my paragraphs serve a definite purpose?

What is the exact link between the paragraph I have written and the previous paragraph? Is that link clear?

Are my paragraphs laid out strategically, in order to help me to organise my materials to best effect?

Do my paragraphs help me to build up my ideas in a logical and gradual fashion?

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Discourse markers (words like 'however', 'although' and 'Nevertheless') are referred to more commonly as 'linking words' and 'linking phrases', or 'sentence connectors'. They may be described as the 'glue' that binds together a piece of writing, making the different parts of the text 'stick together'.

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Adjectives to Enhance Description- Sensory

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Task Achievement (TA) is how well the question is answered. If all parts of the question are dealt with and the ideas are logical or the data is accurate and well summarized, then TA will be high.

Coherence and Cohesion (CC) is how well structured the answer is, and if ideas are signaled and logically follow on from one another in paragraphs. Referencing and substitution are also important for good CC so the candidate doesn't repeat the same things too many times.

Lexical Resource (LR) is the range of vocabulary a candidate uses. The wider the range of vocabulary a candidate uses to accurately express themselves, then the higher their band score will be. Spelling and word formation are also important for good LR.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA) will receive a high band score if the candidate uses lots of complex sentences with few errors. Complex sentences are sentences that have subordinate clauses such as relative clauses. Punctuation, using full stops and commas accurately, is also important for GRA.

The public band descriptors for task 1 and 2 are below.

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Task Achievement (TA) is how well the question is answered. If all parts of the question are dealt with and the ideas are logical or the data is accurate and well summarized, then TA will be high. Coherence and Cohesion (CC) is how well structured the answer is, and if ideas are signaled and logically follow on from one another in paragraphs.

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Welcome to my Free IELTS TEST PREPARATION WEBSITE: containing IELTS tips, model answers, topics, practice lessons, and videos created from many years of experience teaching IELTS. My name is Liz and I am the author and teacher of this website.

Please read this whole page carefully to learn about IELTS and learn how to use this free website for your preparation. Most of the lessons and tips are for people aiming for IELTS band score 7, 8 & 9. Although, people who only need band 6 can also benefit.

IELTS = International English Language Testing System. It is the world's biggest English language test with test centres in most countries. This means it is a test which accepts international English, not only British English.

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Watch the video to learn the essential steps to prepare successfully for your IELTS test. When you prepare for IELTS, there is no particular place to start. Just start where you want to start. This video will help make sure you cover all the vital aspects of preparation before your test.

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IELTS Preparation with Liz: Free IELTS Tips and Lessons, 2023

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