Guide to IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Vocabulary: Meanings & Sample Sentences
Learn the vocabulary that examiners expect in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1. This focused resource gives clear meanings and ready-to-use IELTS-style sample sentences so you can describe IELTS charts, tables, maps, and processes accurately and confidently.
Why this vocabulary helps
Good vocabulary for Task 1 does three things: it names trends and values precisely (e.g., “rose by 12%”), it links ideas clearly (e.g., “whereas”, “in contrast”), and it shows variety (using verbs, nominalizations, and degree adverbs). Practise these words with real charts and aim to mix basic and advanced phrases — that combination improves both clarity and your lexical resource score.
Scoring high in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 depends as much on accurate data description as on precise vocabulary. This page groups Task 1 words into Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced levels and pairs every term with a simple meaning and an IELTS-style sample sentence. This is perfect for quick study and real-test practice. Whether you’re describing a rising trend, comparing proportions, or explaining a map or process, these phrases help you vary language, avoid repetition, and demonstrate the lexical range examiners reward. Save time: use the provided templates and sample sentences to write clear, band-ready Task 1 responses.
Below find comprehensive IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 vocabulary from basic to advanced words with clear meanings and ready-to-use sample sentences to boost your band score.
Basic verbs
Start from these basic verbs if you’re building confidence. You can use simple verbs and phrases immediately to report trends and numbers accurately.
| Word | Meaning | IELTS-style sample sentence |
|---|---|---|
| increase | to become larger in number or amount | The number of visitors increased from 2,000 to 3,500. |
| rise | to move up or grow | Prices rose steadily over the five-year period. |
| go up | informal: to move higher | The export figures went up in 2018. |
| decrease | to become smaller in number or amount | The population decreased slightly between 2010 and 2015. |
| drop | to fall suddenly or noticeably | Sales dropped by 10% in the second quarter. |
| fall | to move downward | The unemployment rate fell to 4%. |
| remain stable | to stay at the same level | The rate remained stable throughout the year. |
| reach | to get to a particular level or point | The temperature reached 30°C in July. |
| peak | to reach the highest point | Visitor numbers peaked in August. |
| fluctuate | to change frequently up and down | The exchange rate fluctuated during the period. |
| level off | to stop rising or falling and become steady | After 2016 the trend levelled off. |
| account for | to be a part or share of the whole | Services accounted for 45% of total exports. |
Intermediate verbs & phrases
Add precision and variety with phrasal verbs, comparative structures, and useful reporting verbs that lift your band score.
| Word / Phrase | Meaning | IELTS-style sample sentence |
|---|---|---|
| climb | to increase gradually | The demand for online courses climbed over five years. |
| climb steadily | rise without big changes | Enrolment climbed steadily from 2012 to 2018. |
| surge | a sudden large increase | Exports surged in 2020 due to higher demand. |
| soar | to rise quickly and by a large amount | Oil prices soared in mid-2014. |
| dip | a small or temporary fall | There was a small dip in April sales. |
| decline gradually | to decrease slowly over time | Paper usage declined gradually over the decade. |
| recover | to return to a previous level after falling | Employment recovered after the recession. |
| rebound | a quick recovery after a fall | The market rebounded in the next quarter. |
| constitute | to make up or form | Electronics constituted 30% of total revenue. |
| represent | to be a part or percentage of the total | The figure for education represented 20% of spending. |
| surpass | to become greater than | In 2017 online sales surpassed physical store sales. |
| remain unchanged | to show no change | The proportion remained unchanged at 10%. |
Advanced verbs & expressions
Use these expressions to show sophistication — nominalizations, nuanced degree adjectives, and topic-specific verbs for maps and processes.
| Word / Phrase | Meaning | IELTS-style sample sentence |
|---|---|---|
| escalate | to rise quickly, often strongly | Health-care costs escalated between 2010 and 2015. |
| plummet | to fall very quickly and by a large amount | Admissions plummeted after the policy change. |
| contract / shrink | to become smaller in size or amount | The sector contracted by 8% last year. |
| skyrocket | to increase extremely quickly | Tourist numbers skyrocketed following the new route. |
| exhibit little change | to show almost no difference | The export ratio exhibited little change over the period. |
| oscillate | to move back and forth between values | The exchange rate oscillated between 1.2 and 1.4. |
| a marginal increase | a very small rise | There was only a marginal increase in wages. |
| a dramatic surge | a very large sudden rise | The chart shows a dramatic surge in demand in 2019. |
| the lion’s share | the largest part of something | Agriculture took the lion’s share of total land use. |
| negligible proportion | a very small part | Renewables made up a negligible proportion in 2005. |
| underpin | to support or form the basis of | Strong exports underpin the country’s growth. |
| constitute the bulk of | make up most of | Services constituted the bulk of GDP. |
Adjectives & adverbs (degree / speed)
| Word | Meaning | IELTS-style sample sentence |
|---|---|---|
| slight / slightly | small in degree | There was a slight increase in demand. |
| modest / modestly | small to moderate | Income rose modestly over the period. |
| marginal / marginally | very small | The market share fell marginally. |
| steady / steadily | consistent, without big changes | The figure rose steadily each year. |
| substantial / substantially | large in amount | Car production increased substantially. |
| significant / significantly | important or large enough to notice | Exports grew significantly after 2016. |
| sharp / sharply | sudden and large | Profits fell sharply in Q3. |
| dramatic / dramatically | strikingly large or sudden | Water usage dropped dramatically after the campaign. |
| gradual / gradually | slow over time | Road accidents decreased gradually. |
| negligible / negligibly | so small it is not important | The change was negligibly small. |
Proportions, fractions & comparison phrases
| Phrase | Meaning | IELTS-style sample sentence |
|---|---|---|
| the majority of | more than half | The majority of students preferred online classes. |
| a minority of | less than half | A minority of respondents chose option B. |
| one-third / two-thirds | fractions of the whole | One-third of the workforce worked remotely. |
| half | 50% | Half of the sample reported satisfaction. |
| approximately / roughly | about, not exact | Approximately 40% of energy came from coal. |
| just over / just under | slightly more / less than | Just over 20% of visitors stayed more than a week. |
| X was twice as high as Y | X = 2 × Y | In 2018, exports were twice as high as imports. |
| X was half that of Y | X = 0.5 × Y | Rural employment was half that of urban areas. |
| the highest / the lowest | top / bottom values | The highest percentage was recorded in 2019. |
| a large / small proportion | big / small share | A large proportion of funding went to education. |
Map / Process vocabulary
Learn directional and structural verbs (e.g., “merge into”, “flow into”) so your descriptions of diagrams and maps are clear and correctly sequenced.
| Word / Phrase | Meaning | IELTS-style sample sentence |
|---|---|---|
| adjacent to | next to | The new car park is adjacent to the station. |
| upstream / downstream | nearer/further along the flow | Wastewater is treated downstream of the plant. |
| clockwise / anticlockwise | direction of movement | The conveyor rotates clockwise. |
| split into | divided into parts | The site is split into three sections. |
| merge into | join together | Several small streams merge into the river. |
| inlet / outlet | entrance / exit for a flow | The inlet directs water into the tank. |
| flow / flow into | movement of liquid / enter | Sewage flows into the treatment works. |
| conveyor belt | moving belt for transport | Goods are moved along a conveyor belt. |
| construction / demolition | building / tearing down | Construction of the terminal began in 2014. |
| platform / terminal | area for boarding or processing | Passengers enter the terminal via Gate A. |
Nominalizations (nouns formed from verbs) — useful to vary sentence structure
| Nominalization | Meaning | IELTS-style sample sentence |
|---|---|---|
| an increase | the act or result of increasing | There was a significant increase in Internet users. |
| a decline | the act or result of decreasing | The chart shows a steady decline in coal use. |
| a recovery | the process of returning to previous levels | The recovery in tourism began in 2021. |
| a peak | the highest point | The sales peak occurred in December. |
| a plateau | a period of little or no change after growth | After 2017 the data reached a plateau. |
| a fluctuation | repeated changes up and down | Fluctuations in demand were evident throughout the year. |
Useful sentence templates (fill with your data)
Swap verbs for nouns (e.g., “an increase” instead of “increased”) and use tested sentence templates to build error-free Task 1 paragraphs fast.
| Template | Example filled |
|---|---|
| Between YEAR and YEAR, X increased from A to B, a rise of C (units/percent). | Between 2010 and 2020, international student numbers increased from 45,000 to 120,000, a rise of 167%. |
| X accounted for Y% of the total in YEAR, making it the largest/smallest category. | In 2019, services accounted for 40% of exports, making it the largest category. |
| While X declined, Y rose, with Y surpassing X by Z percentage points. | While coal declined, renewables rose, with renewables surpassing coal by 12 percentage points. |
| After peaking at A in YEAR, X fell sharply to B in YEAR. | After peaking at 80,000 in 2015, admissions fell sharply to 52,000 in 2018. |
| The figure for X remained relatively stable, fluctuating between A and B. | The employment rate remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 68% and 71%. |
| X was twice as high as Y in YEAR. | In 2018, online sales were twice as high as in-store sales. |