Verbs Nouns

Upward Difference Downward Upward Difference Downward

to rise to fluctuate to fall a rise a fluctuation a fall
to increase to vary to decrease an increase a variation a decrease
to surge to vacillate to decline a surge an oscillation a decline
to grow to oscillate to dip a growth an a dip
to peak to alternate to dive a peak inconstancy a downturn
to skyrocket to hover to drop an expansion a cutback
to soar to plunge a build-up a period of
to leap to plummet an stability
to climb to sink advancement a plateau
to shrink an
improvement

to show an upward trend sharply

to show a downward trend suddenly
to hit the highest point rapidly
to hit the lowest point abruptly
to reach a peak dramatically
to show some fluctuation significantly
to fluctuate wildly seriously
to remain stable steadily
to remain static considerably
to remain unchanged substantially
to stay constant remarkably
Phrases to reach a plateau Adverbs greatly
to level off largely
to flatten out markedly
the highest slightly
the lowest gently
the second highest to some degree/extent
the third highest somewhat
gradually
compared to moderately
compared with continuously
relative to wildly

a rise sharp
an increase sudden
a surge rapid
a growth abrupt
a peak swift
a fluctuation immediate
a variation quick
Nouns Adjectives dramatic
a period of stability steep
a plateau significant
steady
a fall considerable
a decrease marked
a decline slight
a dip gradual

Darian Sandmartin // IELTS tips YouTube: www.youtube.com/DarianSandmartin

 Useful phrases for structuring an essay
Paragraph 1. First you paraphrase the question, using as many various synonyms as possible.
Then you give a brief overview of a diagram that can start with phrases:

• Overall, the graph is…

• Key trends of the chart are…
• One of the main features of this diagram is…

Introducing the topic

• The graph shows… / The table reveals…

• The chart displays… / The diagram illustrates…
• Some interesting facts concerning… are revealed in the diagram.
• Several key trends are revealed by the graph showing…

Introducing the first set of data

• Beginning with the…

• I would like to start off with…
• To begin with the…
• Let me begin by describing the…
• From [date] onwards…

Introducing the second set of data

• Meanwhile, the… shows that…

• However, the … line goes in a different direction…
• As for the… , it shows that…
• Turning to the… , it can be seen that…

Introducing the first major trend

• Most importantly, …
• First of all, it is clear that…
• Most noticeably of all, it can be seen that…
• The first result worth pointing out is that…

Introducing lesser trends

• Another trend that can be observed is that…

Darian Sandmartin // IELTS tips YouTube: www.youtube.com/DarianSandmartin
 • It is also worth pointing out that…
• Also worth noting is that…
• Another trends are also present, more specifically…

Exceptions to the main trend

• However, this was not always the case.

• Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning …
• However, it should be pointed out that…
• There was one noticeable exception, however.

Comparing and contrasting

• Similarly, … / By contrast, …
• A similar trend can be observed in…
• The results for… , however, reveal a markedly different trend.

Adding figures

• The figures were X and Y respectively.

• …, at X. / …, with Y. (Usage note: use ‘at’ when you mean ‘the figure was’; use ‘with’
when you mean ‘something had’)
• …, at/with X and Y respectively.

Concluding and summarising

• To sum up, … / In summary, … / In short, …

• Overall, … / On the whole, …
• The main thing that can be observed here is that…
• To conclude, it is worth mentioning…

Darian Sandmartin // IELTS tips YouTube: www.youtube.com/DarianSandmartin

 Model Essay Task 1

The chart shows the average daily viewing figures for Channel One News over a 12-month
period. The Channel One offers news programmes at 1pm, 6 pm, 9:30 pm and 11 pm. Overall, the
number of views of each programme largely depended on the time of the year.

The figure for the 1pm News remained fairly stable, hovering at around 1.3 million
throughout the year. Beginning with the 6 pm News, its January result was 4.8 million viewers. It
fluctuated, but the general trend was downward, and it ended the year at 3.4 million.

As to the figure for the 9:30 News, it gradually increased from 3.2 million viewers per day
in January to a peak of 3.8 million in May. However, this month saw the introduction of the 11pm
News, and the figure for the 9:30 News plummeted, hitting a low-point of 1.1 million in August.
In the same period, the figure for the 11pm news rocketed from 0.2 million to 4.1 million. At this
point, the trend reversed. From August onwards, the figure for the 9:30 news grew steadily,
reaching 3 million by the end of the year. By contrast, the figure for the 11pm News declined
sharply, and in December fell below the 1 million mark.

Darian Sandmartin // IELTS tips YouTube: www.youtube.com/DarianSandmartin