Handout · Day 2

Language for Trends & Comparisons

Duration: 90 minutes Module: Writing Focus: Trend vocabulary, prepositions, passive voice for objective description

Objectives

0:00 – 0:10

Warm-Up: Synonyms for "Increase"

If you write "increase" five times in 150 words, you'll cap your Lexical Resource at Band 5. Build variety from day one.

The 8 trend categories you need
CategoryVerbs / phrases
Strong/sharp increasesurge, soar, rocket, escalate, skyrocket, boom
Moderate/steady increaserise, climb, grow, go up, increase
Strong/sharp decreaseplummet, plunge, slump, drop dramatically, fall sharply
Moderate/steady decreasefall, drop, decline, decrease, go down, reduce
Stable / no changeremain stable, stay constant, level off, plateau, remain steady
Fluctuatefluctuate, vary, oscillate, dip and rise
Reach highest pointpeak, reach a peak, hit a maximum, top out
Reach lowest pointhit a low, bottom out, reach a trough

Quick matching quiz — intensity

Mark each verb: S = Strong · M = Moderate · ST = Stable · F = Fluctuate

  1. Surge →
  2. Climb →
  3. Plummet →
  4. Remain steady →
  5. Fluctuate →
  6. Plateau →
  7. Grow →
  8. Dip slightly →
  9. Escalate →
  10. Level off →

1 S · 2 M · 3 S · 4 ST · 5 F · 6 ST · 7 M · 8 M (slight = small change) · 9 S · 10 ST

Notice "dip slightly" combines a moderate verb (dip) with a softener (slightly). You can do this in your own writing too: "rose slightly", "fell sharply", "climbed steadily".

Noun ↔ Verb conversion

Convert each verb to a noun, or vice versa.

  1. increase (verb) → (noun)
  2. a decline (noun) → (verb)
  3. drop (verb) → (noun)
  4. a surge (noun) → (verb)
  5. fluctuate (verb) → (noun)

1 an increase · 2 to decline · 3 a drop · 4 to surge · 5 a fluctuation

Use this in your writing: "Sales rose" → "A rise in sales was observed". Doubles your vocab range with one trick.

0:10 – 0:40

Passive Voice for Task 1

Passive voice makes your writing sound objective and formal — exactly what Task 1 needs. Don't overuse it, but mixing it with active voice signals "Band 7+" grammatical range.

How to form the passive

Structure: Subject + be (in correct tense) + past participle

  • Present simple: is / are + past participle
  • Past simple: was / were + past participle
  • Present perfect: has / have been + past participle
  • Future: will be + past participle
Useful Task 1 passive structures
  • "A rise/fall/peak was observed in [X]."
  • "An increase was seen / recorded / noted."
  • "Sales were shown to climb steadily."
  • "More roads were built between 1990 and 2000."

Exercise 1 — Convert active to passive

Focus on the data/change, not the doer.

  1. The population rose sharply in 2020. →
  2. Exports dropped by 20% last year. →
  3. The company increased production in the second quarter. →
  4. Tourists visited the city more frequently between 2015 and 2019. →
  5. Sales of electric cars will grow significantly by 2030. →
  1. "A sharp rise in the population was recorded in 2020."
  2. "A 20% drop in exports was seen last year."
  3. "Production was increased in the second quarter."
  4. "The city was visited more frequently between 2015 and 2019."
  5. "Significant growth in electric car sales will be seen by 2030."

Exercise 2 — Which sounds more IELTS-appropriate?

Circle the more natural choice for Task 1.

  1. (a) The graph shows that sales rose steadily.   (b) It can be seen from the graph that a steady rise occurred in sales. →
  2. (a) People bought more smartphones in 2022.   (b) A significant increase was observed in smartphone sales in 2022. →
  3. (a) The factory produced twice as much waste.   (b) Twice as much waste was produced by the factory. →

1 = a — both work, but (a) is more concise; (b) is unnecessarily wordy.

2 = b — Task 1 should avoid personal subjects like "people" when the chart shows sales/data. The passive keeps the focus on the data.

3 = a — active is cleaner here. Forcing passive ("by the factory") doesn't add anything.

Rule of thumb: use passive where the data is the focus and the doer is unimportant. Don't force it.

0:40 – 0:55

Prepositions for Data

Wrong prepositions cost you a lot of small marks. Memorise these patterns.

Trend preposition patterns
PatternUseExample
from X to Ystart & end value"rose from 30 to 50"
by Xamount of change"rose by 20%"
at Xspecific value at a time"stood at 50% in 2010"
of Xquantity belonging to noun"a rise of 20%"
between X and Yrange"between 1990 and 2000"
over the periodentire time span"over the period shown"

Fill in the right preposition

  1. Sales rose 100 250 between 2010 and 2020.
  2. The figure stood 30% in 1990.
  3. There was an increase 15% over the period.
  4. Unemployment fell 5 percentage points.

1 from / to · 2 at · 3 of · 4 by

0:55 – 1:20

Practice: Bar Graph Description

Look at the bar chart below. Write a short description (about 4–6 sentences) using at least 3 different trend/comparison verbs and at least one passive structure.

Bar chart titled 'Favourite leisure activities of teenagers in Canada', comparing boys and girls across sports, computer games, music and shopping.
Favourite leisure activities of teenagers in Canada (% of boys and girls)
Data summary — Favourite leisure activities (%)
ActivityBoysGirls
Sports2812
Computer games1916
Music2121
Shopping368

Your bar graph description

Target: 100+ words
Words: 0 Not saved yet
15:00
Practice — 15 min

Compare with the Band 8 model

The bar chart compares the favourite leisure activities of teenage boys and girls in Canada across four categories: sports, computer games, music and shopping.

Overall, shopping was the most popular activity among boys while being the least popular among girls, and music was the only activity enjoyed equally by both groups.

Shopping was favoured by 36% of boys, making it their most popular choice, whereas only 8% of girls selected it. Sports showed a similar gender gap, chosen by 28% of boys but just 12% of girls. In contrast, music was equally popular, with 21% of both boys and girls, and computer games were fairly close, attracting 19% of boys and 16% of girls.

What to notice: comparison language includes whereas, while, in contrast; one passive structure ("shopping was favoured by…"); precise figures are grouped to show the gender pattern rather than listed one by one.

Last 25 min

End-of-Class Task 1 — Timed + Instant AI Feedback

Today's focus is trends and comparisons — these two pie charts need both. Write a full Task 1 answer (150+ words) in 20 minutes, comparing 2015 with 2040 and highlighting the biggest shifts. Then Get AI Evaluation on your language and Submit by email for your teacher's full mark.

Pie charts Two pie charts comparing energy capacity by source in 2015 (6.688 GW) and 2040 (11.678 GW): fossil fuels, wind, nuclear, solar and other renewables.
The charts show energy capacity by source in 2015 and projected for 2040.
Task 1 prompt

The charts below show the proportion of energy capacity by source in one country in 2015 and projections for 2040. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Your Task 1 response

Target: 150+ words · 20 min
Words: 0 Not saved yet
20:00
Task 1 — 20 min
1:20 – 1:30

Wrap-Up & Homework

Quick recap: what are three synonyms for "increase"? What's one passive structure you can use as a template?

Tonight's homework

Describe a pie chart on energy capacity (2015 vs projected 2040). Use trend vocabulary and at least 2 passive structures. About 25 minutes.

Open homework →

Practice online (free)

A little extra self-study for this skill — each link opens in a new tab. These are free resources; some may ask you to create a free account.