IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary: Words for Graphs, Charts and Diagrams

Aswathy Mohandas

03/11/2026

9 min read

IELTS Writing Task 1 vocabulary is the small set of words you use again and again to describe a graph, chart, table, process or map: verbs for change, adverbs for speed, phrases for approximate figures, and connectors for comparison. Examiners do not reward rare words for their own sake. They reward words used precisely and naturally to describe what the chart shows.

This guide gives you that vocabulary by job, with example sentences, and shows how the official band descriptors judge it. Every example uses figures invented by Galvanize for practice. It applies to IELTS Academic Writing Task 1; in General Training, Task 1 is a letter.

What vocabulary does IELTS Writing Task 1 test?

Vocabulary is marked under Lexical Resource, one of the four criteria that each make up a quarter of your Task 1 score. According to the official IELTS Academic Writing format page, Task 1 asks you to describe visual information in your own words, in at least 150 words, in about 20 minutes.

The official IELTS Writing band descriptors (updated May 2023) describe Lexical Resource at each band. In summary:

Two things follow from this. Precision matters more than rarity: “rose slightly” used correctly beats “skyrocketed” used for a two per cent change. And memorised phrases count against you, so learn the words below as tools to fit the data, not as sentences to paste in.

Which words describe an upward or downward trend?

Most line graphs and many bar charts and tables show change over time. You need a verb and a noun for each direction, so you can vary your sentences.

The preposition carries the number, and getting it wrong changes the meaning:

• rise to a level: “Sales rose to 400 units” (the new figure).
• rise by an amount: “Sales rose by 150 units” (the size of the change).
• a rise of an amount: “There was a rise of 150 units.”
• stand at a figure: “In 2010, sales stood at 250 units.”
• from … to: “Sales grew from 250 to 400 units.”

Two common slips: raise needs an object (“the company raised prices”), so a figure rises; and increase as a verb takes no “of” (“increased by 10%”, not “increased of 10%”).

How do you describe the speed and size of a change?

A verb on its own says the direction. An adverb or adjective says how big or fast the change was. You can use either pattern, and switching between them is an easy way to vary your writing:

• Verb + adverb: “The number of students rose sharply.”
• Adjective + noun: “There was a sharp rise in the number of students.”

Match the word to the data. If a figure moves from 50 to 52, “dramatically” is inaccurate, and inaccurate word choice is exactly what the Lexical Resource criterion penalises. Keep “dramatic” for the largest change on the chart, and use it once.

Which phrases describe approximate figures and proportions?

Charts rarely land on round numbers, and you do not need to quote every exact figure. Approximation words let you report the key figures quickly and accurately:

• Close to a figure: approximately, roughly, about, around (“roughly 30%”).
• Just above or below: just over, slightly more than, just under, nearly, almost (“just under half”).
• Exactly: exactly, precisely, a total of (“a total of 1,200 visitors”).

For pie charts and percentages, fractions and quantity words make a welcome change from repeating numbers:

Watch the difference between per cent and percentage points. If a share rises from 20% to 30%, it has risen by ten percentage points, which is an increase of 50%. Writing “rose by 10%” there is a factual error. For a full pie chart walkthrough, see our guide to IELTS pie charts.

How do you compare figures in Task 1?

The task asks you to “make comparisons where relevant”, so comparison language is not optional. These are the structures you will use most:

• Comparatives and superlatives: “Rail travel was more popular than air travel”; “Spain had the highest figure.”
• Multiples: “Twice as many women as men cycled to work”; “three times higher than in 2000.”
• Contrast in one sentence: whereas, while (“Coffee sales rose, whereas tea sales fell.”).
• Contrast across sentences: In contrast, By comparison, On the other hand.
• Similarity: Similarly, Likewise, a similar pattern, followed the same trend.
• Ranking: the largest share, the second-largest, the smallest, ranked third.

Use respectively only when the order is unmistakable: “Exports to France and Germany were 20% and 35% respectively.” If a reader has to work out which figure belongs to which country, write two clauses instead.

What vocabulary do you need for a process diagram or a map?

Processes and maps show no trends, so they need a different set of words.

Process diagrams describe stages in order. Use sequencing words and, for man-made processes, the passive voice, because what happens to the material matters more than who does it:

• Sequencing: First, To begin with, Next, Then, After that, Once …, Following this, Finally.
• Passive verbs: “The beans are dried in the sun and then transported to a factory, where they are roasted.”
• Stage words: stage, step, phase, the final product, the cycle begins again.

Maps show how a place changed between two dates, or compare two plans. You need verbs for change, usually in the passive, and words for location:

• Change: was built, was constructed, was replaced by, was converted into, was extended, was demolished, was relocated.
• Location: to the north of, in the south-east corner, next to, opposite, alongside, across the river from.

For example: “By 2020, the car park to the east of the station had been converted into a shopping centre, and the old school was demolished to make way for housing.”

How do you write the overview?

The overview is the sentence or two that sums up the main features without detailed figures. The band descriptors expect at least an attempted overview at Band 6 and a clear one at Band 7, so it needs its own vocabulary:

• Openers: Overall, …; In general, …; It is clear that …
• Main features: The most striking feature is …; … saw the greatest change; … remained the most popular throughout the period.

For example: “Overall, the number of online shoppers rose in all three age groups, and the 18–30 group remained the largest throughout.” Avoid “In conclusion”: Task 1 is a report, not an essay, and has no conclusion to draw.

How do you vary vocabulary without repeating yourself?

Repetition is one of the things that holds Lexical Resource down. Three habits help:

1. Paraphrase the question. Copied wording does not show your vocabulary. “The graph shows the number of people who used the library” can become “The line graph illustrates how many visitors the library had.”
2. Rotate the subject. “The number of cars”, “car ownership”, “the figure for cars” and “the total” can all refer to the same line.
3. Alternate the pattern. Switch between verb + adverb (“fell steadily”) and adjective + noun (“a steady fall”).

Do not swap words just for variety if the meaning changes. “Plummeted” is not a synonym for “fell slightly”.

Which vocabulary mistakes cost marks in Task 1?

• Overstating the change. Calling every rise “dramatic” is inaccurate, and the descriptors reward precision.
• “Number” versus “amount”. Use “the number of” for things you can count (students, cars) and “the amount of” for things you cannot (water, money spent, energy).
• Per cent versus percentage points. A change from 20% to 30% is ten percentage points, not 10%.
• Memorised openings. Stock sentences that do not fit the chart are exactly the “memorised phrases” and “formulaic language” the descriptors mark down.
• Informal words. “Went up a lot” or “a huge jump” is too casual for an academic report. Use “rose considerably” or “a substantial increase”.
• Explaining the data. Words such as “because” or “due to” usually signal a reason that is not in the chart. Describe what you see; do not explain it.

For vocabulary beyond Task 1, including topic words for Task 2 and Speaking, see our IELTS vocabulary guide. To see how your Lexical Resource score feeds into your Writing band, read our guide to IELTS band scores. When you are ready to use this vocabulary under time pressure, take our free IELTS mock test.