IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Vocabulary for Pie charts (Describe percentages)

Summary

In this IELTS academic writing tutorial, Dennis from Best My Test Comm focuses on discussing percentages in Task 1, particularly when describing pie charts. He explains three acceptable ways to write percentages and provides sentence patterns to describe them using vocabulary like 'accounted for', 'made up', and 'constituted'. Dennis also teaches how to compare percentages using 'respectively' and 'collectively', and emphasizes the importance of using percentages correctly with numbers. He introduces alternative expressions for common fractions and modifiers to enrich vocabulary. The video concludes with practical examples and a teaser for the next lesson on line graphs.

Takeaways

• 📊 To describe pie charts in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, it's crucial to understand how to effectively discuss percentages.
• 🔢 The word 'percent' can be written as one word, two words, or symbolized (% symbol), and it comes from the Latin 'per centum' meaning 'per hundred'.
• 📈 Use varied sentence patterns to describe percentages, such as 'accounted for', 'made up', 'constituted', and 'comprised' to demonstrate vocabulary diversity.
• ✅ When writing percentages, always precede them with a number and ensure to use the correct format for decimal points (e.g., 22.5%, not 22.5 twenty two point five).
• 🔑 The word 'respectively' is used to clearly indicate that two percentages belong to two preceding nouns, aiding in the clarity of comparative data.
• 🔁 'Collectively' is used to combine two percentages into a total, showing the sum of the percentages for two categories.
• 🚫 Avoid using 'percent' without a preceding number; always ensure it's associated with a specific value.
• 💬 Use 'percentage' to talk about a part of a whole in a more general sense, such as 'a large percentage' or 'a small percentage'.
• 🔄 For non-exact percentages, use terms like 'slightly more than', 'just under', 'just over', 'slightly less than', and common fractions (e.g., 'one in ten' for 10%) to add variety to your descriptions.
• 📈 The video emphasizes the importance of vocabulary diversity in IELTS writing, which can enhance the score by showcasing a broader command of the English language.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is IELTS academic writing, specifically focusing on how to discuss percentages in Task 1, particularly when describing pie charts.

How many ways does Dennis suggest to write 'percent' in the script?

Dennis suggests three ways to write 'percent': as one word 'percent', as two words 'per cent', or using the symbol '%'.

What is the meaning of the word 'percent' as explained in the script?

In the script, 'percent' is explained to mean 'per one hundred', derived from the Latin word 'cent' which is related to the Latin word for 100.

What are some sentence patterns provided in the script for describing percentages in a pie chart?

Some sentence patterns provided in the script include 'Energy produced by [fuel type] accounted for [percentage] of the total energy', 'Energy produced by [fuel type] made up [percentage] of the total energy', and 'Energy produced by [fuel type] constituted [percentage] of the total energy'.

How does the script suggest to avoid confusion when writing percentages?

The script suggests to avoid saying '22.5 twenty two point five' and instead to write it as '22.5' or 'twenty-two point five' to prevent confusion.

What is the use of the word 'comprised' in the context of the script?

In the context of the script, 'comprised' is used to describe the makeup of energy production in the UK, indicating the percentages that each fuel type contributes to the total energy production.

How does the script introduce the word 'respectively' for describing percentages?

The script introduces 'respectively' as a way to talk about two distinct percentages in one sentence, clarifying that the numbers correspond to the nouns mentioned before it.

What does the script suggest to use when combining two percentages into one sentence?

The script suggests using 'collectively' when combining two percentages into one sentence to indicate that the percentages have been added together.

How does the script differentiate between using 'percent' and 'percentage'?

The script explains that 'percent' must always be preceded by a number, while 'percentage' can be used to talk about a portion of something in a more general way, without specifying an exact number.

What alternative ways does the script provide to express percentages other than using numbers?

The script provides alternative expressions for percentages such as 'one in ten' for 10%, 'two in ten' for 20%, 'three in four' for 75%, and using fractions like 'a quarter' for 25%, 'half' for 50%, and 'a third' for 33.3%.

What is the significance of varying vocabulary when describing percentages as mentioned in the script?

Varying vocabulary when describing percentages is significant because it demonstrates the user's ability to use the English language flexibly and can help in scoring higher in IELTS writing tasks.