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The IELTS writing task 1 is one of the two tasks in the IELTS Academic and General Training tests. In Task 1, you are required to write a report based on a given visual representation such as a graph, chart, table, or diagram. The report should summarise and describe the main features of the visual representation, highlighting the most significant trends and making comparisons where appropriate.
In task 1, the candidate will be assessed on their ability to summarise and describe the visual representation accurately and appropriately, use a range of vocabulary and grammar structures to express their ideas effectively and organise the report clearly and logically. Read the complete article to learn more about the useful words for IELTS Writing Task 1.
This Blog Includes:
- Useful Words to Use in IELTS Writing Task 1
- 1. Verbs for describing trends and changes
- 2. Adjectives for describing the level of change
- 3. Adjectives for describing the magnitude or size of the data
- 4. Adverbs for indicating the speed or frequency of change
- 5. Prepositions for indicating the location or direction of the data
- 6. Phrases for making comparisons
- 7. Additional Useful Comparison Structures
- 8. Summarising & Concluding Phrases for IELTS
- 9. Additional Conclusion Types
- Most Frequently Used Phrases in IELTS Writing Task 1 Letter Writing
- How to Write a Report in IELTS Writing Task-1 & 2
- FAQs
Useful Words to Use in IELTS Writing Task 1
Here are some useful words and phrases you can use in IELTS Writing Task 1 to help you accurately describe the visual representation and demonstrate your writing skills:
1. Verbs for describing trends and changes
| Upward Movement | Downward Movement | Rapid or Sudden Changes | Gradual or Moderate Changes | Peaks & Bottoms |
| Increase | Decrease | Skyrocket | Fluctuate | Peak |
| Rise | Decline | Plummet | Oscillate | Bottom out |
| Grow | Drop | Crash | Stabilize | Hit a high |
| Climb | Fall | Leap | Plateau | Reach a low |
| Surge | Dip | Rocket | Recover | Top |
| Soar | Plunge | Collapse | Level off | Crest |
| Escalate | Slump | Sink | Ease | Touch the lowest point |
| Jump | Shrink | Slide | Moderate | Maximize |
| Spike | Dwindle | Tumble | Adjust | Minimize |
| Double | Halve | Nosedive | Normalize | — |
2. Adjectives for describing the level of change
| Dramatic or Sharp Changes | Moderate Changes | Slight or Minor Changes | Steady or Consistent Changes | Irregular or Unpredictable Changes |
| Rapid | Gradual | Slight | Steady | Erratic |
| Sharp | Moderate | Minimal | Consistent | Unstable |
| Sudden | Steady | Marginal | Continuous | Volatile |
| Significant | Measured | Negligible | Sustained | Sporadic |
| Substantial | Progressive | Modest | Uninterrupted | Irregular |
| Drastic | Controlled | Tiny | Persistent | Unpredictable |
| Severe | Incremental | Subtle | Relentless | Chaotic |
| Abrupt | Gentle | Faint | Even | Fluctuating |
| Explosive | Slow | Minor | Stable | Turbulent |
| Precipitous | Leisurely | Insignificant | Regular | Fitful |
3. Adjectives for describing the magnitude or size of the data
| Large or Strong | Moderate or Medium | Small or Weak | Extreme (Very Large or Small) | Relative Comparison |
| Substantial | Moderate | Minor | Enormous | Greater |
| Significant | Average | Minimal | Massive | Lesser |
| Considerable | Medium | Negligible | Tiny | Highest |
| Noticeable | Middling | Slight | Microscopic | Lowest |
| Pronounced | Intermediate | Marginal | Gigantic | Larger |
| Marked | Standard | Nominal | Colossal | Smaller |
| Ample | Balanced | Trivial | Infinite | Superior |
| Generous | Fair | Petty | Excessive | Inferior |
| Robust | Typical | Fragmentary | Overwhelming | Maximum |
| Heavy | Reasonable | Scant | Insignificant (move to Small/Weak) | Minimum |
4. Adverbs for indicating the speed or frequency of change
| Slow Changes | Erratic Patterns | Steady Patterns |
| Slowly (declined slowly) | Erratically (fluctuated erratically) | Steadily (grew steadily) |
| Gradually (increased gradually) | Sporadically (occurred sporadically) | Consistently (remained consistently high) |
| Gently (rose gently) | Irregularly (varied irregularly) | Constantly (was constantly low) |
| Inch by inch (grew inch by inch) | Unpredictably (moved unpredictably) | Continuously (continued continuously) |
| Bit by bit (declined bit by bit) | Fitfully (changed fitfully) | Perpetually (stayed perpetually stable) |
| Leisurely (advanced leisurely) | Haphazardly (shifted haphazardly) | Uninterruptedly (increased uninterruptedly) |
| At a crawl (progressed at a crawl) | Chaotically (bounced chaotically) | Reliably (performed reliably) |
| Painstakingly (recovered painstakingly) | Desultorily (changed desultorily) | Dependably (remained dependably constant) |
| Lazily (moved lazily) | Capriciously (swung capriciously) | Unvaryingly (continued unvaryingly) |
| Crawlingly (rose crawlingly) | Randomly (fluctuated randomly) | Invariably (showed invariably similar) |
5. Prepositions for indicating the location or direction of the data
| Slow Changes | Erratic Patterns | Steady Patterns |
| Slowly (declined slowly) | Erratically (fluctuated erratically) | Steadily (grew steadily) |
| Gradually (increased gradually) | Sporadically (occurred sporadically) | Consistently (remained consistently high) |
| Gently (rose gently) | Irregularly (varied irregularly) | Constantly (was constantly low) |
| Inch by inch (grew inch by inch) | Unpredictably (moved unpredictably) | Continuously (continued continuously) |
| Bit by bit (declined bit by bit) | Fitfully (changed fitfully) | Perpetually (stayed perpetually stable) |
| Leisurely (advanced leisurely) | Haphazardly (shifted haphazardly) | Uninterruptedly (increased uninterruptedly) |
| At a crawl (progressed at a crawl) | Chaotically (bounced chaotically) | Reliably (performed reliably) |
| Painstakingly (recovered painstakingly) | Desultorily (changed desultorily) | Dependably (remained dependably constant) |
| Lazily (moved lazily) | Capriciously (swung capriciously) | Unvaryingly (continued unvaryingly) |
| Crawlingly (rose crawlingly) | Randomly (fluctuated randomly) | Invariably (showed invariably similar) |
| Progressively (changed progressively) | Unsystematically (shifted unsystematically) | Repeatedly (rose repeatedly over time) |
| Moderately (expanded moderately) | Bizarrely (varied bizarrely) | Routinely (was routinely updated) |
| Measuredly (grew in a measured way) | Wildly (changed wildly) | Methodically (rose methodically) |
| Softly (increased softly) | Aimlessly (moved aimlessly) | Systematically (rose systematically) |
| Evenly (moved evenly) | Divergently (developed divergently) | Sustainably (developed sustainably) |
6. Phrases for making comparisons
| Direct Comparison | Contrast | Similarity | Superiority | Inferiority |
| Compared to. | In contrast | Similarly… | Greater than | Less than |
| Compared with | Conversely | Likewise… | Higher than | Lower than |
| Relative to | On the other hand | In the same way… | More significant than | Less substantial than |
| By comparison | Whereas | Mirroring this… | Exceeds | Falls short of |
| When compared to | While | Following a similar pattern… | Outperforms | Underperforms |
| In comparison to | Whilst | Equally… | Surpasses | Lags behind |
| Juxtaposed with | However | Comparable to… | Overshadows | Pales in comparison to |
| Set against | On the contrary | In parallel… | Dominates | Is dwarfed by… |
| Weighed against | Differing from | Shows parallels with… | Takes precedence over | Is secondary to |
| Alongside | Contrary to | Bears resemblance to | Prevails over | Is inferior to |
7. Additional Useful Comparison Structures
| Ratio Comparisons | Extreme Differences | Gradual Differences | Alternative Views | Precise Contrasts |
| Twice as much as | Dramatically different from | Marginally different from | Alternatively | In sharp contrast |
| Half as much as | Strikingly unlike… | Slightly more than | Viewed differently | Diametrically opposed to |
| Three times higher than | Poles apart from | A shade less than | Another perspective shows | Directly contradicts |
| A fraction of | Worlds apart from | Almost equivalent to | When viewed otherwise | Stands in opposition to |
| Proportionally more than | Completely dissimilar to | Nearly identical to | Taking another approach | Presents an inverse relationship to |
8. Summarising & Concluding Phrases for IELTS
| General Summarizers | Strong Conclusions | Neutral Overviews | Data-Driven Conclusions | Transitional Conclusions |
| In summary. | It is evident that | Overall | The data reveals | To summarise |
| To conclude | Clearly | As a whole | The figures demonstrate | Briefly |
| In conclusion | Undoubtedly | Broadly speaking | Statistics indicate | In short |
| To sum up… | Without doubt | Generally | The trends show | All things considered |
| Ultimately | It is clear that | On the whole | Analysis suggests | Taking everything into account |
| In essence | It is apparent that | All in all… | The evidence points to | By way of summary |
| In brief | Manifestl | Essentially… | This illustrates | To recapitulate |
| In the final analysis | Obviously | For the most part | These findings imply | To put it succinctly |
| In retrospect | Unquestionably,… | Predominantly | This highlights. | Making a long story short |
| At its core | It must be concluded that | Chiefly | The pattern confirms | Cutting to the chase |
9. Additional Conclusion Types
| Tentative Conclusions | Comparative Conclusions | Predictive Conclusions | Emphatic Conclusions | Balanced Conclusions |
| It would appear that | Compared to the beginning | This suggests future | Above all | On balance |
| One might conclude | Relative to X | Projecting forward | Most significantly | Weighing everything |
| The data implies | Unlike the initial period | This may lead to | It is crucial to note | All factors considered |
| There appears to be | Whereas early trends | Potentially | Importantly | After careful consideration |
| This seems to indicate | Mirroring/contrasting with | This could result in | It bears emphasising that | Fairly speaking. |
Most Frequently Used Phrases in IELTS Writing Task 1 Letter Writing
Strong use of phrases plays a vital role in achieving a high score in the IELTS General Writing Task 1 (Letter Writing). Test-takers must have a solid understanding of idioms and phrases to ensure clear and effective communication throughout the writing task. Here are some common and useful phrases you can incorporate into your letters:
| Type of Letter | Greeting/Salutation | Opening | Body | Closing | Signing Off |
| Formal | Dear SIr/Madam Hi Hello | Inform You, Disclose you that, Ask you about | I’m really sorry for that, I’m writing to complain about… I would like to suggest you | Thank you for your attention. I would like to thank you for your time. I hope the situation will be resolved soon. | Yours faithfully Yours obediently |
| Semi-Formal | Hi Mr. (Name) Hello (Name) | Explain my condition, Inform you that Express my experience | I’m really sorry to hear this… The reason behind this incident is… I’m writing to request you… I would like to thank you for… | Hopefully, the issue will be fixed soon. I’m waiting to hear from you… Thank you for your cooperation. | Best wishes All the best |
| Informal | Hi (Name) Hello (Name) Hey (Name) | Hi, how are you? I’m writing this letter to tell you I hope you are doing well. | I’m sorry for what happened… I tell you this would work… I’m suggesting this product… | I hope that you can solve this issue… Waiting for your response… If anything, let me know… | With love Yours lovingly |
| Category | Phrases |
| Greetings | Dear Sir or Madam, / Dear [Name], / Hello, / To whom it may concern, |
| Opening Lines | I hope this letter finds you well. / I am writing to inform you that… |
| I am writing to express my concern about… / I am writing in response to… | |
| I am writing regarding… / I would like to bring to your attention… | |
| Stating Purpose | The purpose of this letter is to… / I would like to… / I am writing to request… |
| I am contacting you to… / I am reaching out because… | |
| Making Requests | I would appreciate it if you could… / Could you please… / Would it be possible to… |
| I kindly ask you to… / Please let me know if you can… | |
| Offering Help | I am happy to assist with… / Please let me know how I can help. |
| I would be glad to offer my support. / I can help you with that matter. | |
| Giving Information | I would like to inform you that… / It is important to note that… |
| Just to let you know… / You may find it useful to know that… | |
| Apologizing | I apologize for the inconvenience caused. / I am really sorry for… |
| Please accept my sincere apologies. / I deeply regret the situation. | |
| Expressing Gratitude | Thank you very much for… / I really appreciate your help. |
| I am grateful for your assistance. / Many thanks for your time and support. | |
| Making Complaints | I am dissatisfied with… / I would like to file a complaint about… |
| I am not happy with the service. / This issue has caused great inconvenience. | |
| Inviting Someone | I would like to invite you to… / You are welcome to join us for… |
| It would be a pleasure to have you… / We would love to see you at… | |
| Making Suggestions | I suggest that we… / It might be a good idea to… |
| I recommend that you… / Perhaps we could consider… | |
| Concluding Lines | I look forward to your reply. / Please respond at your earliest convenience. |
| If you need further details, feel free to contact me. / I await your response. | |
| Closings | Yours sincerely, / Yours faithfully, / Best regards, / Warm wishes |
How to Write a Report in IELTS Writing Task-1 & 2
The IELTS Writing section consists of two tasks – Task 1 and Task 2. Task 1 requires you to write a report based on a given graph, chart, or diagram, while Task 2 requires you to write an essay on a given topic. Here are some tips for each task:
Task 1:
- Analyse the given data carefully and identify the main trends or patterns.
- Structure your report with an introduction, main body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- Use appropriate vocabulary and grammar to describe the data accurately.
- Use a variety of sentence structures and linking words to show the relationships between the data.
Task 2:
- Read the instructions and the given topic carefully.
- Brainstorm and organise your ideas before you start writing.
- Structure your essay with an introduction, main body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- Use a variety of sentence structures, vocabulary, and grammar to express your ideas clearly and coherently.
- Use linking words and phrases to show the relationships between your ideas and to make your writing more cohesive.
Remember to manage your time wisely and practice writing regularly to improve your skills.
So that was all about the most useful phrases for IELTS Writing Task 1. Hope the blog has answered your queries.
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FAQs
Ans. Some of the useful words which students can use for the IELTS writing task are verbs for describing trends and changes such as increasing, rising, growing, and going up. Adverbs indicate the speed or frequency of change such as quickly, steadily, slowly, and gradually.
Ans. The IELTS Writing section consists of two tasks – Task 1 and Task 2. Task 1 requires you to write a report based on a given graph, chart, or diagram, while Task 2 requires you to write an essay on a given topic. Students can structure their reports with an introduction, main body paragraphs, and a conclusion. They can also use appropriate vocabulary and grammar to describe the data accurately.
Ans. The IELTS writing task 1 has a set word count which is over 150 words. There is no set upper limit. The essay can exceed 200 words as well.
Ans. Count every single word separately. If you write a word 10 times it is counted as 10 words for Task 1. This means you have 140 words more to write as the minimum word limit is 150.
Ans. Useful words help you clearly describe data and trends. Try using:
– Increase, rise, grow (for upward trends)
– Decrease, drop, decline (for downward trends)
– Remain steady, plateau (for no change)
– Slightly, sharply, significantly (for describing degree)
– Compared to, in contrast, whereas (for making comparisons)
– These words make your report sound structured and academic.
Ans. Powerful words in IELTS writing are those that show clarity, precision, and a formal tone. Use words like:
– Substantial, notable, gradual, dramatic (to describe changes)
– Illustrates, demonstrates, depicts (for describing graphs or trends)
– Consequently, therefore, furthermore, in addition (to link ideas smoothly)
– Avoid informal words like a lot or huge and use more specific alternatives.
Ans. To reach 8.5, aim for clear structure, varied vocabulary, and accurate grammar.
– Organise your writing into well-developed paragraphs.
– Avoid repetition, use synonyms and paraphrasing.
– Practice task responses under time pressure.
– Get your writing checked by someone experienced, so you know where you lose marks.
Also, understand the band descriptors and write with those in mind.
Ans. A good Task 1 answer does three things well:
– Summarises the main trends or changes without copying the question.
– Groups similar data points together (don’t describe every number).
– Uses accurate vocabulary and clear comparisons.
– Start with an overview, then support with key figures. Keep your tone formal and neutral.
We hope this blog on the topic ‘Most useful words for IELTS Writing Task 1′ helped you learn something new. If you are planning to study abroad, preparing for the IELTS exam is a key step in your journey. For expert guidance, call us at 1800 572 000.
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