Language Focus

For Task 1 in IELTS

1 Quantities
Amount
Quantity
Figure
The majority
The maximum
The minimum
Number

Amount + uncountable noun

the amount of something
The amount of tax you pay depends on how much you earn.

a small/tiny amount
The water here contains small amounts of calcium
and other minerals.

a large/an enormous/a considerable amount

He knows an enormous amount about Italian paintings.

The whole amount / the full amount / the total amount /

the greatest amount

Quantity
use this, especially in written descriptions or instructions,
to talk about amounts of food, liquid, or other substances
that can be measured
quantity of
Make sure that you add the correct quantity of water.
Use equal quantities of flour and butter.

a large/small/enormous etc quantity

An enormous quantity of chemical waste has been dumped in
the river.

in large/small quantities
Expensive spices, like saffron, are only produced in small
quantities.
!

The total quantity

Figure
refers to the actual number itself, not the
thing that the number refers to

While the number of Internet users

was only 2.6 million in 1990 , this figure
has more than doubled in the last 3 year

The majority
more than half of the people or
things in a large group
A poll of Democrats shows that a majority support the
President.

the/a majority of
In June the majority of our students will be taking
examinations.
They claim their campaign is supported by a majority
of residents.

the vast/great/overwhelming majority (=far more

than half)
The great majority of accidents in the Alps occur while
climbers are coming down.
an education policy that will please the vast majority
of parents

The maximum
the maximum number or amount is the largest
number or amount that is possible, normal, or
allowed
After leaving Calais, the train soon reaches its
maximum speed of 300 kph.
Forty is the maximum number of passengers this
bus is allowed to carry.
Ditikins faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in
prison.

the maximum
You don't have to wait long for a new passport - 3
weeks is about the maximum.

a maximum of 10/50%/30 degrees etc

Individuals may donate a maximum of $1000 to the
campaign.

The minimum
the smallest possible number or amount of something or the
smallest number or amount that is allowed
The minimum salary for this post is $25,000.
We need a minimum number of two staff members on
duty at lunchtime.

minimum height/length/age/wage etc

These workers are being paid less than
the minimum wage.
The minimum age at which you can legally buy
tobacco is 18.

reduce/keep something to a minimum

(=make the amount or number of something as
small as possible)
Interruptions should be kept to a minimum.
The library book stock has already been reduced to a
minimum

Number
a growing number/an increasing number of
Hong Kong was having to provide for a growing number
of refugees.
an ever-increasing/ever-growing number of
(=a number that is increasing all the time)
The islanders are trying to protect their environment
from the ever-increasing number of Australian tourists.
in growing/increasing numbers
"Suite" hotels -- with full kitchens and sitting rooms -are dotting the roadside in increasing numbers.

A number of Ns V
The number of Ns Vs

Warning !
All of population

All of the population

The whole of energy

The whole of the energy T

All + Ns V
All + UCN Vs
Most + Ns
V
Most + UCN Vs

A lot of + Ns / UCN
A great deal of + UCN

Other measurements
1 range
rate
level
degree
extent
scale
proportion
ratio
percent
percentage

Other measurements
2 length
weight
distance
height
altitude
area
volume
size
frequency
duration

Range
if prices, levels, temperatures etc range
from one amount to another amount, they
include both these amounts and anything in
between
Prices range from $10 to $500,000.
Levels of disability may range from very
slight hearing problems to total deafness.

Rate (t l)
a quantity such as value , cost, or speed ,
measured by its relation to some other amount
Refugees were crossing the border
at the rate of 1000 a day.
success/failure rate
Penicillin has a high success rate in treating
bacterial infections.
birth/unemployment/crime / divorce etc rate
Australia's unemployment rate rose to 6.5% in
February.
high/low rate of something

rate of
the speed at which something happens over a
period of time
an attempt to slow down the rate of economic
growth

at (a) ... rate

Children learn at different rates.
Our money was running out at an alarming rate.

at a rate of something
Iceland is getting wider at a rate of about 0.5 cm per
year.

first-rate/second-rate/thirdof good,
bad, or very bad

rate =
quality:
a cheap third-rate motel

Level (of)
the amount or degree of something, compared to
another amount or degree
Increased supplies are needed to meet the level of
demand.

high/low level
Inflation dropped to its lowest level in 30 years.
At the moment, public interest is at a high level.

water/oil etc level

!

!
!

(=the height of the water etc from the ground or the

bottom of a container)
The level of production
= The rate of production
The level of expenditure
= The rate of expenditure
The level of unemployment
= The rate of unemployment
Level being represented by a bar graph
Rate being represented by a line graph
Level + rise
Rate + increase

Degree
to a certain extent/degree
(=partly, but not completely)
I do agree with his ideas to a certain extent.

degree of
the level or amount of something
1960s Britain was characterized by a greater degree
of freedom than before.
Newspapers vary in the degree to which they
emphasize propaganda rather than information.

by degrees
very slowly [= gradually]:
By degrees, Huy forced himself into a sitting
position.

extent of
how large, important, or serious something is,
especially something such as a problem or injury
Considering the extent of his injuries, he's lucky to
be alive.
It's too early to assess the full extent of the damage.

scale of
We had underestimated the scale of the problem.

on a large/small/grand etc scale

There has been housing development on a massive
scale since 1980.
Most alternative technologies work best on a small
scale.
A structural survey revealed the full scale of the
damage.
I was shocked by the sheer scale (=very big scale) of
the destruction.

on a global/international/world scale
Pollution could cause changes to weather patterns
on a global scale.
Large firms benefit from economies of scale (=ways
of saving money because they are big).

Proportion of
a part of a number or amount, considered in relation
to the whole
The proportion of women graduates has increased
in recent years.
Every parent is asked to contribute a proportion of
the total cost.

high/large/small etc proportion

The decision affects a significant proportion of the
population.
Although the majority of offenders are men, a small
proportion - about 5 percent - are women.

Proportion of
the relationship between two things in
size, amount, importance etc the
proportion of something to something
What's the proportion of boys to girls in
your class?

Ratio
a relationship between two amounts, represented by
a pair of numbers showing how much bigger one
amount is than the other
the ratio of something to something
The ratio of nursing staff to doctors is 2:1.

ratio between
the ratio between profits and incomes

Percent & percentage

5 % (percent)
100%(percent)

Percentage
an amount expressed as if it is part of a total
which is 100
The percentage of school leavers that go to
university is about five per cent.
Tax is paid as a percentage of total income.

high/low/small percentage
A high percentage of married women have
part-time jobs.

Related Verbs
Be
make up
consist of
constitute
comprise
amount to
Equal
account for
Represent
Include
Record
reach
stand at
become
predominate

The number of unemployed was 10% of the population.

The percentage of women in the workforce was higher than in the
previous year.
Women made up / constituted a significant percentage of the
workforce.
Food and garden materials *comprise nearly half of all household
waste.
Paper and cardboard amounted to 21% of the total household
waste.
The population of Alia stood at 21 million at the turn of the
century.
Fossil fuel emissions account for the majority of greenhouse
gases.
The consumption of fossil fuels reached the highest levels in
recent years.
*Note:
It is difficult to use comprise correctly; since it has several related
meanings, and can also be used in the passive. It is best to avoid
using this word, unless you are very confident

Mathematical Expressions
half n.
halve vb.

double n. / vb.

triple n.

treble vb.

threefold adj.

quarter n. / vb

multiply vb.

divide vb.

average adj. / vb / n.

total adj. / vb.

partial adj.

equal adj. / n.

fraction n.

Note especially the use of the prepositions at, in and with in

some of the following, and try to learn these phrases, as they
are very useful:
production rose at a rate of 20% per year / per annum / p.a.
consumption stood at the same level in the following decade
the annual increase was in / within the range of 10% and 20%
production increased / decreased by 20%
the increase was very significant, at 50%
X was the largest producer, with 45% of the total production
the number remained steady at 300 for the next year.
Exports doubled, to reach 80% of imports in 1990
There were three times as many users as in the previous year
The number of users increased fivefold

Common Adjectives:
These are some of the more common adjectives, with
examples of appropriate collocations:
high / low: a high / low percentage
large: a large number
great: a great number
significant: a significant number / percentage / amount
considerable: a considerable amount / increase
substantial: a substantial increase / decrease
major: a major increase / decrease
remarkable: a remarkable increase
steady: a steady decrease
widespread: the widespread consumption

Common Adverbials:
Adverbs and adverbial phrases are also widely used to
modify adjectives or numbers in order to express precise
meaning. Here are some examples:
over: over 20%
under: under 5000
just over/ under: just over / under 50 000 people
around / about: around / about 50%
approximately: approximately 25%
slightly: slightly more than half ;slightly over 40%
marginally: a marginally smaller percentage
significantly: significantly fewer women
close to: close to half
considerably: considerably more exports
substantially: substantially less traffic
almost: almost exactly twice as many

Similarity can be shown by using:

Similarly
In the same way
Both .and....
Also
As.as....
Likewise
The same
As well as
Too
Just as x, y...
Equally
In a similar way / fashion
Not only... but also
Like x, y....
Just as x, so y....

Just as x, so y....

Contrast -which is more common -can be expressed by using:

but
however
nevertheless
yet
on the other hand
unlike
while
whereas
although
even though
as opposed to
in contrast to
by contrast
instead of
apart from
except for

Other Parts of Speech

Contrast can also be shown by using specific verbs, adjectives and nouns:

Verbs:

Adjectives:

Nouns:

compare (with I to)

compared (with I to)

contrast (with)

contrasting

comparison
in comparison with
contrast
in contrast to
difference (between)

differ (from)
different (from)
differentiate (between)
distinguish (between) distinct (from)
as distinct from
resemble
same
the same as
similar (to)
vary (from I between)
change (from I to)

distinction (between)
resemblance (to I with)
similarity (with)
variation (between)
change (from)

The following are the most commonly used

combinations:
the number of
employees; smokers; years
the amount of
GDP; unemployment; production;
growth; arms sales; income;
expenditure ; cigarette consumption;

the size of
the degree of

the population

the quantity of
the rate of

production; arms sales; cigarette consumption

the level of

GDP; unemployment; literacy; income;

expenditure.

unemployment; literacy;
cigarette consumption

unemployment; literacy; production; growth;

cigarette consumption; expenditure.
(Better is: the unemployment rate, the literacy rate,
the growth rate).

A Conjunctions, within sentences are:

But
While
Whereas
Although
even though

B New sentences must be started with:

However
Nevertheless
Yet
On the other hand
By contrast.

C Prepositions are:
Unlike
as opposed to
in contrast to
instead of
apart from
Except for
These must be followed by nouns, not clauses.

These are the most idiomatic combinations. Others

may occur which are not necessarily wrong, but are
unusual or odd.
the number of + workers + all the verbs except: shrank; dropped; reduced
the quantity of + consumption + all the verbs except reduced
the proportion + the workforce; the banking sector; ( the) workers; consumption;
production; + all the verbs except dropped; reduced
the rate of +
consumption; production; employment + all verbs except
reduced
the level of +
the same as above for the rate of
the percentage of + the workforce; the banking sector; (the) workers;
consumption; production + rose; fell; increased; decreased;
declined; grew; dropped; fluctuated
the size of +
the workforce; the banking sector + increased; decreased;
declined; grew; expanded; shrank; fluctuated
the amount of + consumption; production; employment + all the verbs except
reduced
Note:
reduced cannot be used in any of the above because it is a transitive
verb and must have an object! It is possible to use it in the passive; e.g.
the number of workers was reduced after the business shrank.

Making Predictions.
Occasionally a graph showing trends predicts what may happen in
future. In that case you cannot say that something will happen, only
that it mayor could.
The modals, may, might or could are generally too vague and
uncertain to be used, however.
The most common expressions for discussing possible
future trends are:
it is predicted / forecast / expected / suggested /
likely / probable that...
If these are used, then the future tense should also be used, rather
than mayor could because the combination would be too weak. In
other words, *It is predicted that the population may increase to 6
billion is too uncertain, and should be written as:
It is predicted that the population will increase to 6 billion.
Another possible structure is:
An increase in the population to 6 billion is expected.

Using a Compact Style

Present Participle clauses are extremely useful for a compact style.
For example:
Between 1860 and 1900 the temperature remained steady. During that
time
the temperature rose and fell by no more than 0.1 0 Centigrade.

This can be written as:

Between 1860 and 1900 the temperature remained steady, rising

and falling by no more than 0.1 0 Centigrade.

Another typical expression is seen in this sentence:
The US had by far the greatest share of the information technology
market, accounting

for 44% of Internet connections.

It is important to note that the present participle, ending in ing

is active

in meaning. It does not indicate the present tense

at all, and can be used for any tense. The past participle

(ending in ed or en) is used

for the passive and is very

useful in academic writing, but is not very likely to be
needed in describing graphs and tables.

Present participle clauses are also often used with

prepositions and can include nouns and adverbs:
The developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America
experienced the most dramatic growth, with Africa having
around 5% per annum.

Other parts of speech, such as prepositions, and even punctuation

can also be used to make your style compact.
When you are describing a

graph or table, you need to make

a general statement
(e.g. carbon emissions increased significantly)
and also give the specific

details to support that

statement
(e.g. carbon emissions increased to 6000 million tons).
There are a number of simple ways to combine this information
Carbon emissions increased significantly, to 6000 million tons.
Carbon emissions increased by 600%, from 1000 million to 6000
million tons.
Carbon emission increased to 6000 million tons, an increase of 600%.

The prepositions at and with are also useful.

By far the greatest proportion of electricity was generated by oil at 59%.
Australia came next, with a total of 42,215 students.
Indonesia was responsible for about one third of that amount of rice
production, at just over 46 million tonnes.
Between1920 and 1910 the business sector remained constant
at around 10% of the workforce.

Parentheses, either by using brackets or

commas, are also very common:
Europe, with the greatest consumption per head of cigarettes
(over 2000) was...
The greatest proportion of electricity, 59%, was generated by oil