IELTS Writing Task 1: Expressing Data Cheat Sheet

A complete set of IELTS Writing Task 1 vocabulary, phrases, modifiers, quantifiers, and grammatical structures for expressing data.

Increase / Rise

Verb meaning 'Tăng lên' (e.g., 'The time rose to 4 hours.').

Climb / Surge

Verb meaning 'Tăng mạnh / Vọt lên' (e.g., 'Usage surged dramatically in 2020.').

Drop / Fall

Verb meaning 'Giảm xuống' (e.g., 'The figure dropped sharply.').

Plummet / Plunge

Verb meaning 'Giảm sâu / Rớt thảm' (e.g., 'Teen usage plummeted after the ban.').

Plateau / Level off / Reach a plateau

Verb phrase meaning 'Ổn định / Đi ngang' (e.g., 'The average plateaued at 2 hours.').

Fluctuate

Verb meaning 'Dao động lên xuống' (e.g., 'The data fluctuated wildly.').

Peak at + [figure] / Reach its peak

Verb phrase meaning 'Đạt đỉnh' at a specific numerical value (e.g., 'It peaked at 5 hours per day.').

Hit a low of + [figure]

Verb phrase meaning 'Chạm đáy' at a specific numerical value (e.g., 'It hit a low of just 1 hour.').

Spend (time)

Verb phrase meaning 'Dành thời gian' (e.g., 'Young adults spent the most time.').

Devote / Dedicate

Verbs meaning 'Cống hiến / Dành cho' (e.g., 'Women dedicated over 3 hours.').

Surpass / Exceed

Verbs meaning 'Vượt qua' (e.g., 'Mobile usage surpassed desktop.').

Account for

Verb phrase meaning 'Chiếm (tỷ lệ)' (e.g., 'Teens accounted for the highest usage.').

Range from … to …

Verb phrase meaning 'Trải dài từ … đến …' (e.g., 'Times ranged from 1 to 5 hours.').

Stand at

Verb phrase meaning 'Ở mức (hiện tại)' (e.g., 'The average stands at 3 hours.').

Subject + Verb structure

An active grammatical structure used in Task 1 data description (e.g., 'Teenagers spent 4 hours daily.').

There Be + Noun structure

An existential grammatical structure used to highlight data trends (e.g., 'There was a surge to 4 hours.').

Time/Place + Witness structure

An impersonal grammatical structure used to express trends over time or place (e.g., 'The year 2020 witnessed a surge.').

Passive Voice structure

A sentence structure placing data or values in the subject position (e.g., '4 hours were recorded for teens.').

In contrast to …

Phrase meaning 'Trái ngược với …' (e.g., 'In contrast to teens, elders used less.').

A and B + be virtually identical

Phrase meaning 'Gần như giống hệt' (e.g., 'The figures were virtually identical.').

To be expected to

Phrase meaning 'Được dự đoán sẽ' (e.g., 'The trend is expected to continue.').

Significantly more/less

Phrase meaning 'Nhiều/ít hơn đáng kể' (e.g., 'Men spent significantly more time.').

Dramatically / Drastically

Adverbs for severe or powerful degree of change ('Cực mạnh / Một cách mạnh mẽ'), modifying verbs in Subject + Verb patterns (e.g., 'Usage surged dramatically to 5 hours.').

Dramatic / Massive

Adjectives for severe degree of change ('Cực mạnh / Mạnh mẽ / Lớn lao'), modifying nouns in 'There was a…' patterns (e.g., 'There was a dramatic surge to 5 hours.').

Sharply / Significantly

Adverbs for strong degree of change ('Rất mạnh / Rõ rệt / Đáng kể') (e.g., 'The figure dropped sharply to 2 hours.').

Sharp / Substantial

Adjectives for strong degree of change ('Rất mạnh / Mạnh / Đáng kể') (e.g., 'A sharp decline to 1 hour was observed.').

Moderately / Considerably

Adverbs for moderate degree of change ('Trung bình / Vừa phải / Đáng kể') (e.g., 'It rose moderately from 2 to 3 hours.').

Moderate / Notable

Adjectives for moderate degree of change ('Trung bình / Vừa phải / Đáng chú ý') (e.g., 'A moderate increase to 3 hours occurred.').

Slightly / Marginally

Adverbs for slight degree of change ('Nhẹ / ít / Chút ít') (e.g., 'The average edged up slightly to 2.1 hours.').

Slight / Marginal

Adjectives for slight degree of change ('Nhẹ / ít / Chút ít') (e.g., 'There was a slight rise of just 0.5 hours.').

Gradually / Steadily

Adverbs for steady or continuous change over time ('Từ từ / Dần dần / Đều đặn') (e.g., 'Time spent gradually climbed to 4 hours.').

Gradual / Steady

Adjectives for steady change ('Từ từ / Dần dần / Đều đặn') (e.g., 'A gradual drop from 4 to 3 hours was seen.').

Exponentially

Adverb meaning 'Đột biến / Theo cấp số nhân' (e.g., 'Screen time grew exponentially post-2020.').

Approximately / Roughly / About

Quantifiers meaning 'Xấp xỉ / Khoảng' (e.g., 'The average was roughly 3.2 hours.').

Just over / Just under

Quantifiers meaning 'Hơn một chút / Kém một chút' (e.g., 'It remained just under 2 hours. / It rose to just over 4 hours.').

Nearly / Almost

Quantifiers meaning 'Gần chạm mức' (e.g., 'Usage hit nearly 5 hours at its peak.').

At precisely …

Quantifier expression meaning 'Chính xác vào mức …' (e.g., 'The figure stood at precisely 3.5 hours.').

Per day / Per capita / Per user

Expressions for unit measurement meaning 'Mỗi ngày / Đầu người / Trên 1 user' (e.g., 'Average screen time per capita was 3 hours.').

Equating to … hours

Phrase meaning 'Tương đương với … giờ' (e.g., 'This figure rose to 4 hours, equating to a 50% increase.').

Twice / Three times as many hours as

Comparison expression meaning 'Gấp đôi / gấp ba số giờ' (e.g., 'Young users dedicated twice as many hours as older users.').

A gap of … hours

Comparison phrase meaning 'Khoảng cách chênh lệch … giờ' (e.g., 'There was a gap of 2.5 hours between the two groups.').

the figure for + (n)

Data label expression used for general numbers or statistics ('số liệu').

the number of + N

Data label expression used strictly with countable nouns (danh từ đếm được).

the amount of + N

Data label expression used strictly with uncountable nouns (danh từ không đếm được).

the percentage of / proportion of / rate of + N

Data label expressions used to represent proportions, percentages, or rates of a noun.

Average Time Spent Using a Smartphone (Hours per Day) Chart

A sample bar chart illustrating daily average smartphone usage in hours across days of the week (Mon to Sat/Sun).