You're staring at a pie chart for IELTS Task 1. One slice takes up roughly half the circle. Another is maybe a quarter. So you write: "50% of people like coffee. 25% prefer tea."
Technically correct. But flat as a pancake. Here's what matters: examiners mark your Lexical Resource against a specific band descriptor. At Band 6, you use "some range of vocabulary." At Band 7? You use vocabulary "precisely and appropriately." That word "precisely" changes everything. Writing "approximately half" instead of "50%" shows you actually understand the data's nuance. It shows you're thinking like an analyst, not just reading numbers aloud.
Most students miss this. They learn one way to say something, then repeat it eight times in the same essay. The examiner reads "50% of respondents" five times on one page, and your score flatlines.
Let's fix that. Over the next 20 minutes, you'll learn the exact vocabulary examiners want to see, and you'll see side-by-side examples of weak versus strong language. By the end, you'll have a working toolkit you can use immediately on your next practice test.
Here's a paradox worth understanding. IELTS Task 1 asks you to describe data, not to list numbers. When you see a graph showing 48% in one category and 52% in another, you don't recite those exact figures. You shouldn't.
The band descriptors reward you for identifying trends and patterns, not for reciting raw data. So when numbers sit close together (48% and 52%), you describe them as "roughly equal" or "similar proportions." When they're far apart (15% and 78%), you use stronger language: "the vast majority" versus "a tiny fraction."
This flexibility is your advantage. You get to use richer vocabulary. You score higher for showing you understand what the numbers mean, not just what they say. That's the difference between Band 5 and Band 7 right there.
Let's start with the fundamentals. These are the phrases you'll use most often in Task 1 when you're describing proportions.
Notice something important? None of these require you to use actual percentages. That's intentional. Band 7 writing moves past number-reading into interpretation. You're telling the examiner: "I understand what this data means."
Weak: "67% of employees were satisfied with their salary. 33% were not satisfied."
Good: "A significant proportion of employees (67%) expressed satisfaction with their salary, while roughly one-third remained dissatisfied."
Same data. The second version uses proportional language, adds grammatical variety, and shows interpretation. That shift alone can move you from Band 6 to Band 7.
Sometimes data divides cleanly into halves, thirds, or quarters. You need English that sounds natural here, not robotic.
Fractional language often reads better than percentages. Compare: "75% of users upgraded" versus "Three-quarters of users upgraded." The fraction version flows better and feels more natural in academic writing.
But here's the critical part: only use fractions when they match the actual data. If your chart shows 76%, you can call it "three-quarters." If it shows 61%, don't—that's too far off. Stick to "a significant proportion" instead. The examiner will verify your accuracy, and imprecision costs you marks.
Good: "Two-thirds of the budget was allocated to infrastructure, while the remaining third supported administrative costs."
What about 8%? Or 12%? Small numbers need special care. "A minority" works, but you can be sharper.
When describing numbers that change over time, you also need movement language:
Real data writing isn't about isolated numbers. It's about showing how numbers relate to each other. This is where comparison vocabulary becomes essential—and where most students plateau.
These phrases let you compare without constantly writing "X percent versus Y percent." That variety is what examiners reward under Lexical Resource.
Good: "Considerably more respondents in the UK (76%) than in France (51%) supported the measure, representing a 25 percentage point gap."
Weak: "76% of UK respondents supported the measure. 51% of French respondents supported it. The difference was 25%."
Sometimes you're not describing a single percentage. You're breaking down how something divides across categories or parts of a whole. Proportion vocabulary is essential here.
These words take your IELTS writing from "I can read numbers" to "I can interpret data professionally." That's exactly what Band 7 looks like.
You lose points when you mix imprecise and precise language carelessly.
If you write "roughly half the respondents" and then later write "exactly 48% of respondents," you've created confusion. Pick one approach per sentence. Use "roughly," "approximately," or "around" before numbers when you're estimating. Use hard numbers only when precision matters to your argument.
Another trap: repeating the same phrase on the same page. If you say "a significant proportion" three times in one paragraph, the examiner notices. You're not showing range—you're showing you couldn't think of an alternative. Swap in "a considerable percentage," "a notable share," or "a sizable proportion" instead.
Quick fix: Before you start Task 1, write five proportion words on a notepad. "Significant, considerable, notable, sizable, appreciable." Then use them, one per data point. With only 150 words minimum, repetition is your enemy.
One more mistake: inventing fractions. If your data shows 43%, don't call it "roughly two-fifths" just to sound sophisticated. 43% is not close enough to 40%. The examiner will check, and you'll lose credibility. Use fractions only when they visibly match your actual numbers.
Imagine a bar chart showing coffee consumption by age group: 18-25 (38%), 26-40 (71%), 41-60 (59%), 60+ (34%).
Weak version: "People aged 18-25 drink 38% of the coffee. People aged 26-40 drink 71%. People aged 41-60 drink 59%. People aged 60+ drink 34%."
Band level: 5. You've answered the question, but there's no vocabulary range, no interpretation, no flow.
Better version: "Coffee consumption peaks in the 26-40 age group, where roughly three-quarters of respondents reported regular intake. The middle-aged cohort (41-60) showed a more moderate proportion at 59%, while both younger and older groups fell considerably below this, at roughly one-third and two-fifths respectively."
Band level: 6-7. You've used fractions, comparison language ("considerably below"), proportional terms ("roughly three-quarters"), and grouped the data meaningfully. You've shown you understand what the numbers mean.
If you want to deepen your IELTS Task 1 data vocabulary, our guide on words and phrases for describing graphs walks through vocabulary for trends, increases, and decreases. For comparing categories across your data, check out how to compare and contrast effectively in your writing.
Print this. Stick it above your desk. Before your next practice test, review it for 30 seconds.
That shift from "50%" to "roughly half" is a band score shift.
Want more specific language for Task 1? If you're working on describing trends over time, our guide on academic verbs that impress examiners covers action words like "surge," "plummet," and "fluctuate" in detail. For comparisons across categories, check out how to compare and contrast effectively in your IELTS essay writing.
Use a free IELTS writing checker to analyze your proportional language, get a band score estimate, and receive specific suggestions for improvement.
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