Writing Task 1 (Academic) is 33 percent of your Writing band but students often spend 10 minutes on it because they don’t have the chart-description language pre-loaded. This guide gives you the 30 phrases that cover any line graph, bar chart, table, pie chart, map or process — pre-tested against past papers.
Verbs of change — line graphs and bar charts
- rise / climb / increase / grow
- Rose sharply / climbed steadily / increased gradually / grew slightly.
- fall / decline / drop / decrease
- Fell dramatically / declined steadily / dropped slightly / decreased gradually.
- fluctuate
- Sales fluctuated between 200 and 400 units across the period.
- plateau / level off / remain stable
- Numbers plateaued in 2018 before levelling off through 2020.
- peak at / reach a peak of
- Visitor numbers peaked at 2.4 million in July.
- hit a low / bottom out at
- Sales bottomed out at 60,000 units in early 2008.
Adverbs of degree
- sharply / dramatically / steeply
- Used for big, sudden changes.
- steadily / gradually / consistently
- Used for smooth, predictable change.
- slightly / marginally
- Used for small changes, especially under 5 percent.
- rapidly / quickly
- Used for fast change without specifying the direction.
Comparison phrases
- X was twice / three times as many as Y
- Sales of EVs were three times as high as sales of hybrids in 2024.
- X was significantly higher / lower than Y
- Coffee consumption was significantly higher in Europe than in Asia.
- in contrast / by contrast
- Tea consumption fell across Europe; in contrast, it rose 8 percent in North America.
- the gap between X and Y narrowed / widened
- The gap between male and female participation narrowed by half over the period.
- X overtook / surpassed Y
- Online sales overtook in-store sales for the first time in 2021.
Approximation language
- approximately / roughly / around / about
- Approximately 60 percent of households reported owning a smartphone.
- just over / just under
- Just under a third of respondents preferred the original design.
- the vast majority / a small minority
- The vast majority — over 80 percent — chose option B.
Process / map specials
- the process consists of [n] stages
- The water-treatment process consists of five distinct stages.
- first / next / subsequently / finally
- First the raw material is heated; subsequently it is cooled and filtered; finally it is packaged.
- is converted into / transformed into
- The slurry is converted into pellets and stored before despatch.
- in the [year] map / in the present-day version
- In the 1965 map, the village had a single high street.
- has undergone substantial development
- The waterfront has undergone substantial development since 1990.
The Task 1 paragraph that earns Band 7
The line graph illustrates changes in coffee and tea consumption across four regions between 2000 and 2020. Overall, coffee consumption rose substantially in every region while tea consumption declined or remained stable. The most striking change was in North America, where coffee consumption climbed from 4kg per person to over 7kg, an increase of roughly 75 percent. Tea consumption in the same region fluctuated marginally, finishing slightly below its 2000 figure.
Notice the structure — overview first (one sentence), then 2 grouped trends in detail. Five chart-description collocations stitched together. ~70 words; the full Task 1 needs roughly 170.
Pick the right chart phrase
- 1
Sales rose to a high of 2,400 in March, then _______ to 1,800 in April, before stabilising for the rest of the year.
Pick one. You'll see why straight away.
- 2
The vast majority of respondents — _______ 80 percent — chose option B over option A.
Pick one. You'll see why straight away.