Signpost Words

Signpost words or phrases that express a connection between two ideas and make the transition
from one point to the next in writing. They can link ideas within a sentence, link two sentences, two
paragraphs, or even two parts of the essay together.

Addition/provide extra Contrast/Oppose opinion Introduce a reason, result,

information proof

In addition Although, even though Because

Moreover Despite/in spite of For this reason

Furthermore Whereas As a consequence

Nevertheless However Accordingly

Also But Consequently

As well as Unlike Hence, Thus

Additionally While Therefore

Beside On the other hand Due to

Similarly But on the other As a result

Equally By contrast So

Even if

Signaling sequence To generalise Introducing example

/stage of talk

First of all, As a rule For example

Secondly In general, generally For instance

Then, Next On the whole As an example/ illustration

Lastly In most cases To illustrate/demonstrate

Subsequently For the most part

Initially Usually

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 Flexible Language
Under Just a little bit Well under Not sure exactly
Under 30 Just under 30 Well under 30 About 25
Less than 30 Slightly under 30 Considerably less Approximately 25
Below 30 Almost 30 than 30 Around 25
Nearly 30 More or less 25
Close to 30

Expression for General Observation

The most The majority of
The second most…popular/common activity is A large number of people enjoy………..
The third most Most
The least Very few
Hardly

1. House prices have been raising/rising over the past few

years.

2. The Indonesia government is trying to raise/rise the

standards of living.

3. The balloon rose/raised gently up into the air.

4. The number of people who travel to New zealand has

raised/risen over the past two years.

5. The percentage of students who live on campus has raised/

risen lately.
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Percentage and Fraction
This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages
to fractions or ratios:

Percentage Fraction

80% four-fifths

75% three-quarters

70% seven in ten

65% two-thirds

60% three-fifths

55% more than half

50% a half

45% more than two fifths

40% two-fifths

35% more than a third

30% less than a third

25% a quarter

20% a fifth

15% less than a fifth

10% one in ten

5% one in twenty

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If the percentages are not exact as above, then you can use
qualifiers to make sure your description remains accurate.
Here are some examples:

Percentage Qualifier

77% just over three quarters

approximately three
77%
quarters

49% just under a half

49% nearly a half

32% almost a third

This table presents some examples of how you can change

percentages to other phrases:

proportion / number /
Percentage amount / majority /
minority

75% - 85% a very large majority

65% - 75% a significant proportion

10% - 15% a minority

5% a very small number

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 Describing Graph Trends

This exercise introduces some common vocabulary and grammar

needed for describing graph trends.
The language that can be used for describing graphs in IELTS is
extensive. This lesson introduces some of the most common
language used. It also shows you how it can be used grammatically
in sentences.

Vocabulary for Describing Graph Trends

Word Part of Speech Example Sentence

verb: to increase, is Total expenditure increased from

increasing, has increased, $33,611m to $39,165m from 1995
increased to 1996.
increase noun: an increase of
From 1995 to 1996 there was an
$5,554m
increase in expenditure of
an increase in spending of
$5,554m.
$5,554m

verb: to decrease, is Expenditure on primary

decreasing, has decreased, education decreased from 22.2%
decreased to 21.5% from 1995 to 1996.
decrease
noun: a decrease of 0.7%
From 1995 to 1996 there was a
a decrease in spending of
decrease in expenditure of 0.7%.
0.7%

Total expenditure rose from

verb: to rise, is rising, has
$33,611m to $39,165m from 1995
risen, rose
to 1996.
rise
noun: a rise of $5,554m
From 1995 to 1996 there was a
a rise in spending of
rise in expenditure of $5,554m.
$5,554m

verb: to fall, is falling, has Expenditure on primary

fall
fallen, fell education fell from 22.2% to

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 21.5% from 1995 to 1996.

noun: a fall of 0.7% From 1995 to 1996 there was a

a fall in spending of 0.7% fall in expenditure of 0.7%.

verb: to drop, is dropping,
has dropped, dropped
drop
Expenditure on primary
education dropped from 22.2% to
21.5% from 1995 to 1996.

noun: a drop of 0.7% From 1995 to 1996 there was a

a drop in spending of 0.7% drop in expenditure of 0.7%.

After an introductory clause

Spending rose in all three
that includes some analysis;
years, increasing from 17.6% to
e.g. 'Spending rose in all
-ing forms 18% from 1995 to 1996, and
three years', an '_ing' form
then rising again to 18.2% in
can be used to describe
1997-8.
numbers and dates.