Advanced English Vocabulary for IELTS

Writing Task 1

Using the word “increase” in IELTS Task 1

The word ‘increase‘ can be used as a verb or noun.
Prices increased by 25% from 2008 to 2010.
There was a 25% increase in prices from 2010 to 2011.
A 25% increase can be seen from 2008 to 2010.
Prices saw a 25% increase from 2008 to 2010.
Prices experienced a 25% increase from 2008 to 2010.
Prices show a 25% increase from 2008 to 2010.
Variation: use ‘an increase of 25%’ instead of ‘a 25% increase’

Other words that mean “increase”

• rise (verb or noun)
• grow (verb) growth (noun)
• jump (verb or noun) “large AND fast increase”
• leap (verb) “large AND fast increase”
Prices leapt by 25% from 2008 to 2010.
NOTE: If you use these words inside a dependent clause, you might need to change them
into a gerund.
Prices show a dramatic change from 2008 to 2010, rising by 25%.

Using the word “decrease” in IELTS Task 1

The word ‘decrease‘ can be used as a verb or noun.
Prices decreased by 25% from 2010 to 2011.
There was a 25% decrease in prices from 2010 to 2011.
A 25% decrease can be seen from 2010 to 2011.
Prices saw a 25% decrease from 2010 to 2011.
Prices experienced a 25% decrease from 2010 to 2011.
Prices show a 25% decrease from 2010 to 2011.
Variation: You can use ‘a decrease of 25%’ instead of ‘a 25% decrease’

Other words that mean “decrease”

• fall (verb or noun)
• reduce (verb) reduction (noun)
• sink (verb) “large AND fast decrease”
• plummet (verb) “large AND fast decrease”
Prices leapt by 25% from 2010 to 2011.
NOTE: If you use these words inside a dependent clause, you might need to change them
into a gerund.
Prices show a dramatic change from 2010 to 2011, falling by 25%.

Describing statistics that “don’t change”

Any of these adjectives can be used to describe statistics that don’t change or that change
very little in an IELTS Task 1 chart. When using any of the adjectives below, you should
use the verbs ‘remain’, ‘stay’, or ‘is’ (usually in the past tense).
• stable
• steady
• unchanged
• the same
• static
• consistent

The price remained stable from 2015 to 2016.

Words to use for ‘large AND fast change’

• dramatic (adjective)
• sharp (adjective)
There was a dramatic increase in the price from 2016 to 2017.
• dramatically (adverb)
• sharply (adverb)

The price increased dramatically from 2016 to 2017.

Words to use for ‘slow change over a long

time’
• steady (adjective)
• gradual (adjective)
There was a steady increase in the price from 2017 to 2020.
• steadily (adverb)
• gradually (adverb)

The price increased steadily from 2017 to 2020.

Words that mean ‘small’

These adjectives and adverbs could be used to describe small increases, small decreases,
or small differences.
• insignificant (adjective) = very small
• slight (adjective)

There was an insignificant increase in the price from 2014 to 2015.

• slightly (adverb)

The price increased slightly from 2014 to 2015.

Words that mean ‘large’

These adjectives and adverbs could be used to describe large increases/decreases, , large
amounts or large differences.
• considerable
• marked
• noticeable
• significant
• substantial

There was a considerable increase in the price from 2014 to 2015.

These adverbs and adverbs could be used to describe large increases/decreases, , large
amounts or large differences.
• considerably
• markedly
• noticeably
• significantly
• substantially

The price increased considerably from 2014 to 2015.

Comparing Numbers in IELTS Task 1

Here are some useful ways to describe numbers using vocabulary. Don’t just give
statistics—compare them to another part of the test!
‘2-fold’ is an adjective meaning “twice as much”. It should ONLY be used to describe
‘increases’ in the size or amount of something.
• 2-fold = twice as much as before
• 3-fold = three times as much as before
• 4-fold = four times as much as before
• 5-fold = five times as much as before

The price increased 2-fold from 2011 to 2013.

The price shows a 2-fold increase from 2011 to 2013.
There was a 2-fold increase in the price from 2011 to 2013.
Variation: You can also write ‘…-fold’ words as ‘twofold‘, ‘threefold‘, etc.
You can also these words to make comparisons:

• double (adjective or noun)

• triple (adjective or noun)
• quadruple (adjective or noun)
• quintuple(adjective or noun)
The price doubled from 2011 to 2013.
The price in 2013 was double the price in 2011.

Estimating Numbers in IELTS Task 1

A useful tip for IELTS Writing Task 1 responses is to add words that tell the IELTS
Examiner you are only giving an estimated number, not the exact number from the chart.
If you do this, you don’t have to worry about being totally correct with your numbers. This
can be really useful if it is difficult to identify exact amounts in IELTS Task 1 charts. Study
this vocabulary for IELTS Task 1 writing responses.
Words that mean ‘just BELOW the number’
• almost
• close to
• nearly
The price increased by nearly 25%.
The above sentence means the exact price increase could have been any percentage
between 22% to 24%.

Words that mean ‘either just ABOVE or BELOW the number’

• about
 • approximately
• around
• roughly
The price increased by approximately 25%.
The above sentence means the exact price increase could have been any percentage
between 22% to 28%.

Words that mean ‘just ABOVE the number’

• more than
• over
The price increased by over 25%.
The above sentence means the exact price increase could have been any percentage
between 26% to 28%.