Task 1 — the language of change · Task 1 — le langage du changement
A share can rise by points or by a percentage
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Moving from 20% to 35% gives a 15-point change and a different relative percentage change. Decide which quantity you mean before choosing the phrase.
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Up: rise, increase, climb, grow, go up; and steeply — soar, rocket, surge. Down: fall, decrease, decline, drop, go down; and steeply — plummet, plunge, slump.
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Neither: level off, plateau, remain stable, stay constant, hold steady. Up and down: fluctuate, vary, be erratic. The turn: peak at, reach a high of, bottom out, hit a low of.
A line that stays flat is allowed to have a quiet day.
Match each verb to the movement it describes. · Associez chaque verbe au mouvement qu'il décrit.
Choose a verb that matches the shown movement. An adverb can then describe its size or pace when the data supports that detail.
Match the preposition to the quantity
- rise BY 20 — the size of the change. rise TO 20 — where it ended. rise FROM 10 TO 30 — both, in one phrase. a rise OF 20 — the noun form takes of.
- ⚠ increased of 20%, increased to 20% when you mean by, and rise from 10 until 30 confuse the size of a change with its endpoint. Use the preposition that matches the quantity you mean.
Sales went from 40 to 60. Which sentence is correct? · Les ventes sont passées de 40 à 60. Quelle phrase est correcte ?
'By' gives the size of the change (20); 'to' would give the end point (60). 'Of' goes with the noun — 'a rise of 20'. · « By » donne l'amplitude du changement (20) ; « to » donnerait le point final (60). « Of » s'utilise avec le nom — « a rise of 20 ».
Per cent and percentage point
- A rise from 20% to 24% is a rise of 4 percentage points. It is also a rise of 20%, because 4 is a fifth of 20.
- ⚠ Writing "a rise of 4%" for that change is a factual error, not a style choice, and an examiner reads it as inaccuracy. For these values, from 20% to 24% reports the endpoints accurately; still check the visual’s labels and units.
Unemployment went from 6% to 9%. How big was the rise? · Le chômage est passé de 6 % à 9 %. Quelle est l'amplitude de la hausse ?
3 percentage points. It is also a rise of 50%, because 3 is half of 6 — but writing 'a rise of 3%' is a factual error. · 3 points de pourcentage. C'est aussi une augmentation de 50 %, car 3 est la moitié de 6 — mais écrire « a rise of 3% » est une erreur factuelle.
Comparison and approximation
- Comparison: twice as many as, three times the figure for, by far the largest, slightly higher than, roughly the same as, half the level of. Approximation: just over, just under, nearly, around, approximately, a little more than.
- Proportion: a third of, two thirds of, the vast majority of, a small minority of. Use approximation deliberately. Just under a quarter is useful when the exact value is not needed; 24.3% is appropriate when that precision supports the comparison.
Which option replaces the exact value 24.3% with an accurate comparison to a familiar fraction?
Just under a quarter compares the share with 25%. The exact figure is also accurate, but does not perform the requested rewrite. Neither wording automatically earns a higher score.
Turn a verb into a noun, and vary the sentence
- Sales rose sharply → there was a sharp rise in sales. The figure fell steadily → a steady fall in the figure. These give two grammatical ways to express one fact. Range also includes other suitable structures; varied wording should preserve the meaning.
- Pair it with the adverbs — sharply, steadily, gradually, dramatically, slightly, marginally — and one chart can be described in a dozen ways without repeating a sentence pattern.
Rewrite with a noun: 'The figure fell steadily.' → 'There was a steady ___ in the figure.' · Réécrivez avec un nom : « The figure fell steadily. » → « There was a steady ___ in the figure. »
Fall is a noun here; decline and drop also fit. Changing structure can give variety while keeping the same accurate meaning.
Distinguish the size of a change from its endpoint
- In original survey data, cycling rises from 20% to 35%. It rises TO 35%, BY 15 percentage points, and BY 75% relative to its starting share: 15 divided by 20 is 0.75.
- “A rise of 15 percentage points” uses the noun form. Choose the quantity first; changing the preposition cannot rescue a wrong calculation.
- Percentage points compare percentages by subtraction. Relative percentage change divides by the starting value; the two numbers answer different questions.
- Name the start, finish and kind of change before selecting by, to or of.
- Apply the distinction to the transfer check below. These are original teaching cases, not official items or band predictions.
Language and format checked on 2 October 2026: official IELTS Writing guide. Our numerical cases are original examples.
Match the distinctions in this worked case.
“A rise of 15 percentage points” uses the noun form. Choose the quantity first; changing the preposition cannot rescue a wrong calculation.
What is the percentage-point increase from 20% to 35%?
In original survey data, cycling rises from 20% to 35%. It rises TO 35%, BY 15 percentage points, and BY 75% relative to its starting share: 15 divided by 20 is 0.75. “A rise of 15 percentage points” uses the noun form. Choose the quantity first; changing the preposition cannot rescue a wrong calculation.