In this post: Adverbs graded by degree, the verb and noun patterns for describing trends, frames for start points, peaks and end points, bar charts and tables as trend charts, and projected years.
Writing About Trends · 3 parts
- 1. Chart types, plans and trend verbs
- 2. Two patterns, peaks and projections (you are here)
- 3. Comparisons, mistakes and practice
✦ In this post
4. Adverbs by degree: don’t let dramatically do all the work
Almost every one of my trend-chart essays used dramatically, and only looking back did I realise that adverbs come in grades too. Adverbs modify verbs (S + V + adv) and adjectives modify nouns (a + adj + N), so learn them together.
| Degree | Adverbs (with verbs) | Adjectives (with nouns) |
|---|---|---|
| Very large | dramatically, sharply, substantially | dramatic, sharp, substantial |
| Clear | significantly, considerably, markedly | significant, considerable, marked |
| Moderate | moderately, steadily | moderate, steady |
| Slow | gradually | gradual |
| A little | slightly, marginally | slight, marginal |
✗ My original From 1999 to 2009, it experienced a steadily growth, finishing the period at approximately 40%.
→ Better From 1999 to 2009, it experienced steady growth, finishing the period at approximately 40%.
(Task 28) Growth is a noun, so it needs the adjective steady; growth is usually uncountable, so no a. Or use the verb version: it grew steadily.
5. Two essential patterns: verb sentences and noun sentences
Every trend description fits into one of these two patterns. Alternate them throughout the essay and your LR and GRA will naturally show variety.
Pattern A: subject + verb + adverb
The proportion of internet users in Canada rose dramatically between 1999 and 2003.
Pattern B: There was a + adjective + noun + in + subject
There was a dramatic rise in the proportion of internet users in Canada between 1999 and 2003.
Pattern B variation: subject + saw / experienced / witnessed + a + adjective + noun
Canada witnessed a dramatic rise in internet use between 1999 and 2003.
These three sentences are demonstrations. Note that the subject of witnessed should be something that can “experience” a change, such as a country, region or period, or the figure / the number itself.
When should you use which? A simple rule: use Pattern A to describe the full movement of a line, because the verb can carry a long chain (rose …, after which it fell …, before recovering …); use Pattern B to highlight the change in a particular period, as in There was a sharp drop in the prices of all three metals in June, which makes the June fall the focus of the sentence. Alternate them, and don’t start three sentences in a row the same way within one paragraph.
Also, the subject in Pattern B is easy to get wrong. There was a dramatic rise in Canada suggests the country itself rose, which is unclear; write There was a dramatic rise in the proportion of internet users in Canada. What follows in should be the figure that changed.
My own sentences: where I used the patterns well
✓ Good As regards Nickel, it began at 6% increase in January, after which the increase dropped dramatically to about 1% and then levelled off in March and April.
(Task 8) Start point + after which + fall + levelling off: three stages of movement in one sentence. Small fix: began with a 6% increase.
✓ Good Regarding Canada, beginning with just 10%, the percentage of Internet users rose dramatically and overtook that in the USA at roughly 40% in 2002.
(Task 28) A participle phrase gives the start point, and the main clause covers the rise and the overtaking; overtook that in the USA uses that in place of the percentage.
✓ Good Starting at about 27% in 1990, spending in Portugal dropped steadily in the following fifteen years, ending up at 20% in 2005.
(Task 40, Band 7.5) Starting at …, S + V + adv, ending up at …: start point, trend and end point all at once. This is the frame I most recommend memorising.
6. Writing start points, end points and peaks
| Position | Sentence frame | My original or a demonstration |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Starting at / Beginning with X in [year], … S stood at X in [year]. | … starting at nearly 6%, it was the lowest compared with other two nations in 1999. (Task 28; small fix: the other two nations) |
| Middle | …, after which it fell to X. … before recovering to X. | after that it dipped to just below 60 in 2010 and recovered to about 66 in 2020. (Task 29) |
| Peak | S peaked at X in [year]. S reached a peak of X in [year]. | … but peaked in 2000, with Italia reached nearly 23.5% … (Task 40; small fix: with Italy reaching) |
| Crossing | A overtook / surpassed B in [year]. A was overtaken by B. | … was surpassed by that for transport in 2003 at approximately 0.9 million (Task 36) |
| End | …, finishing the period at X. …, ending up at X in [year]. | … finishing the period at 15% in 2005. (Task 40) |
My own sentences: common mistakes and how to fix them
✗ My original After that, it dropped dramatically and overtook other industries at around 1.75 million in 1996.
→ Better After that, it dropped dramatically and fell below the figure for other industries at around 1.7 million in 1996.
(Task 36) The electricity line was falling and was overtaken by “other industries”, so it needs the passive was overtaken by, or fell below. Overtook says exactly the opposite, and this kind of mistake directly affects TA.
✗ My original However, the proportion of the UK was far fewer than that of Italia …
→ Better However, the proportion in the UK was far lower than that in Italy …
(Task 40) Proportions, values and percentages are high/low; fewer only goes with countable nouns (fewer people).
✗ My original … ending up the second common choice with nearly 51.
→ Better … ending up as the second most popular activity, with about 54 participants.
(Task 29) On the graph, table tennis had about 54 participants in 2020, not 51; and second most popular needs most. Estimating too conservatively is another way of misreading the visual.
✗ My original Additionally, with ten-twelfths of months in 2014 witnessed an upward trend in the range of approximately 0.5% and 1.5%.
→ Better In ten of the twelve months, copper prices rose by between approximately 0.5% and 1.5%.
(Task 8) The original has no main verb, so it is an incomplete sentence; the fraction is also far too roundabout.
7. Bar charts and tables can be trend charts too
Many people think trend vocabulary is only for line graphs, but any bar chart or table with two or more years is written in the same way as a line graph; the figures are just harder to read. I learned this the hard way with the US household income bar chart (Task 5): the task covered three years (2007, 2011 and 2015) and five income groups. I split it into two paragraphs, lower-income groups and higher-income groups, which was the right idea, but there were three problems:
- The overview only said which group was largest and which was smallest, without describing the overall change across the three years.
- I misread the data: the $25,000–$49,999 group in 2007 was about 27 million households, but I wrote 26m; I also typed 2007 as 2017.
- I labelled one group households in less than $74,999, but the paragraph actually covered three groups, so it wasn’t precise; the three lower-income groups would be better.
That essay got only TA 5, overall 6. Compare the later road spending bar chart (Task 40): the four countries’ movements could be summarised as Italy down-up-down, the UK down-up-down, Portugal steadily down and the USA down-up-up. I grouped them into two pairs by trend, and that essay scored 7.5. When reading a bar chart, I suggest drawing a small arrow for each group on the question paper first: the first step with a bar chart is to “see the bars as a line”.
8. Projected years: is expected / projected to
If the horizontal axis extends into the future (for example to 2030 or 2040), the task will usually say projections or forecast. Past years still take the past simple; future years need the language of prediction. Among the 50 essays I wrote in 2024 I happened not to get a projection task, but I put together these patterns in my notes. All the sentences below are demonstrations:
| Pattern | Demonstration |
|---|---|
| S + is expected to + V | The proportion is expected to reach 60% by 2040. |
| S + is projected to + V | Car production in the UK is projected to fall slightly after 2030. |
| It is predicted that + S + will + V | It is predicted that the gap between the two countries will narrow. |
| by + future year + will have + past participle | By 2040, the figure will have doubled. |
| this upward trend is expected to continue | Overall, all four countries became more urbanised, and this upward trend is expected to continue. |
Projection tasks have one more small trap: the dividing year between past and future. If the solid line runs to 2020 and a dotted line continues from 2020 to 2040, use the past simple before 2020 and is expected to after it. For the body, you could also consider one paragraph for the past and one for the future; as long as each paragraph has a topic sentence, the reader won’t be confused.
Continue reading · Part 3 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Task 1 Structure (post 3 of 7)
← Previous: What Goes in a Task 1 Overview? From Listing Numbers to Seeing the Big Picture
Next →: How to Write About Static Charts in IELTS Task 1: Proportions, Comparisons and “Respectively”
Task 1 Structure · Task 2 Structure · Topic Guides · Writing Language · Band Score Samples · Practice Methods · Speaking & Study Tips
✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
← Back to IELTS notes in English
Leave a Reply