IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Vocabulary for Pie charts (Describe percentages)
Summary
TLDRIn 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.
Outlines
📊 Introduction to Describing Pie Charts in IELTS Writing
Dennis from Best My Test Comm introduces the topic of discussing percentages in IELTS academic writing, specifically for Task 1. He focuses on how to describe pie charts, which often represent percentages. Dennis clarifies that percentages can be written as 'percent', 'per cent', or the '%' symbol, and explains that 'percent' means per 100. He emphasizes the importance of using the correct vocabulary to describe percentages accurately and to diversify language use for a better score. An example pie chart showing the UK's energy generation by fuel type in 2014 is used to demonstrate sentence patterns for describing percentages.
📈 Sentence Patterns for Describing Pie Charts
This section provides various sentence patterns for describing pie charts, focusing on how to incorporate percentages into the descriptions. Dennis demonstrates how to use verbs like 'accounted for', 'made up', 'constituted', and 'comprised' to describe the energy production percentages of different fuel types. He also explains the correct way to write and say decimal numbers in percentages and how to use the word 'respectively' to talk about two percentages in one sentence. The paragraph concludes with an example of how to combine two percentages into a collective figure.
🔢 Correct Usage of Percentages in Context
Dennis discusses the correct usage of percentages in context, emphasizing that 'percentage' should always be preceded by a number. He differentiates between using 'percentage' to talk about a specific part of a whole and using it to describe the entire dataset. The paragraph provides examples of how to use 'percentage' in different ways, such as 'a small percentage' or 'a large segment', and how to compare percentages using 'smaller' or 'larger'. The importance of varying vocabulary to improve IELTS scores is reiterated.
📉 Alternative Ways to Express Percentages
This section explores alternative ways to express percentages, such as using fractions (e.g., 'one in ten' for 10%) and the term 'halved' to describe a 50% decrease. Dennis provides examples of how to use these expressions in sentences and offers advice on how to modify common fractions with words like 'slightly more than' or 'just under' to describe percentages that are not exact fractions. The paragraph concludes with a preview of the next video, which will focus on line graphs and further vocabulary diversification for IELTS writing.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Pie chart
💡Percentages
💡Accounted for
💡Made up
💡Comprised
💡Respectively
💡Collectively
💡Fractions
💡Halved
💡Modifiers
Highlights
Introduction to discussing percentages in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1.
Explanation of the three acceptable ways to write percentages.
Clarification on the correct pronunciation and usage of percentages.
Use of sentence patterns to describe percentages in pie charts.
Vocabulary options for diversifying descriptions of energy production percentages.
How to correctly use the term 'comprised' in academic writing.
The use of 'respectively' to describe two percentages in one sentence.
Introduction of 'collectively' for combining percentages.
The necessity of a number preceding the term 'percent'.
Differentiating between 'percent' and 'percentage' in context.
Using 'percentage' to describe a part of a whole.
Comparing two percentages using 'than' and 'smaller'.
Alternative ways to express percentages using fractions and terms like 'one in ten'.
Using 'halved' to describe a 50% decrease.
Guidance on creating comparative sentences with percentages.
Modifiers to use with non-exact percentages like 'slightly more' or 'just under'.
Practical example sentences to demonstrate the use of diversified vocabulary.
Encouragement to diversify vocabulary for higher IELTS scores.
Preview of the next video's focus on line graphs and vocabulary management.
Transcripts
hi I'm Dennis with best my test comm
today we're gonna talk about continue
talking about IELTS academic writing
task 1 well today we're gonna talk about
percentages now when you see a pie chart
usually that's gonna you're going to see
percentages and a lot of students get
confused about this they don't know
exactly the right way to talk about
percentages so what I want to do today
is I want to tell you very clearly how
do we talk about percentages and I also
want to give you some options so that
you can diversify your vocabulary and
score the best that you can all right
let's get started okay let's talk about
it here we got an example chart here and
as you can see this pie chart depicts
the energy generation by fuel type in
the UK in the year 2014 nuclear power
gas renewables oil and coal okay
so I'm going to show you some patterns
that you can use to describe that but
before I do I want to tell you something
that applies to all of them and it's
about how you say how do you write
percent now there's three different ways
you can do it you can say percent as one
word you can say per cent as two words
or you can just write the symbol like
that
all three are perfectly acceptable and
so Jay I don't know if you know this but
percent means per one's at 100 right
it's a Latin word cent as a Latin comes
from a Latin word so percent means per
100 all right let's get into the
sentence patterns so the first one
energy produced by oil accounted for 4%
of the total energy in 2014 right pretty
straightforward oil 4% straightforward
accounted for 4% next one energy
produced by renewables made up 15% of
the total energy in 2014 right I'm
talking about the percentage and I'm
just using a different different
vocabulary for that I
can change this energy produced by oil
made up 4% of the total energy that's
okay too
next one energy produced by nuclear
power constituted twenty two point five
percent of the total energy in 2014
that's constituted 22.5% same thing you
can plug in any of these numbers into
these patterns constituted made up
accounted for now here's something that
you might want to look out this dot
right
some people say 22.5 whatever you do
don't say 22.5 twenty two point five
okay point five point seven point six
point whatever alright next energy
produced by coal comprised twenty eight
point four percent of the total energy
in 2014 again same thing you can use
comprised up here energy produced by a
little comprised four percent of the
total energy in 2014 you can swap them
around no problem last one gas accounted
for thirty point one percent of the
energy production in 2014 so yeah as you
notice this is the same pattern up here
but we're just showing that you can
change what comes after it right you
don't have to just save the total energy
in 2014 there's ways that you can vary
what comes after it as well and that
that diversification of of your
vocabulary is going to demonstrate your
ability to use the English language okay
so let's move on now we're going to talk
about how do you compare two percentages
or talk about to two percentages in one
sentence let's look at a couple sentence
patterns okay so first off let's look at
this word comprised comprises a really
high level of vocabulary word if you can
find an appropriate place to use it and
you can use it correctly do it comprised
means to be made up of so energy
production in the UK comprised energy
production in the UK is made up of
means the same thing energy production
in the UK comprised four percent oil
fifteen percent renewables 22.5% nuclear
power twenty eight point four percent
coal and thirty point one percent gas in
2014 so I just did in one sentence I
described the entire chart in a really
in a really concise way okay now perhaps
you just want to talk about two
percentages in one sentence or maybe
three so there's a special word that you
can use to do that and that's called
that's respectively so in 2014
coal and gas accounted for twenty eight
point four percent and thirty point one
percent of energy production in the UK
respectively so this respectively means
that these two numbers account for the
two nouns that preceded it
so it went cold and gas and so that
means coal is 28.4 and gas is thirty
point one okay so respectively allows
you to talk about two distinct
percentages in one sentence but what if
you wanted to combine them well this is
how you would do that you combine these
two numbers and that is what is that
58.5% and then here you change
respectively you would change that to
collective lead right
in 2014 coal and gas accounted for fifty
eight point five percent of energy
production in the UK collectively and
that collectively is just a way to let
us know that those two percentages have
been added together so now you've got a
way to talk about them separately and
together and if you can use that that's
going to help your score alright let's
move on now a lot so we talked about
percent right five percent twenty
percent twenty six point four percent
that's important to be able to talk
about that but some students make the
mistake of talking about percentage and
they use it in the wrong wrong context
so here's a way to remember it every
time you say percent it must have a
number that comes
for it 25% 27.4% percent must always be
preceded by a number now percentage is
how you can kind of talk about a portion
of something that's separate from the
number let me show you what I mean so
the percentage of energy produced right
so the graph the chart is all about
energy produced and the percentage of
energy produced by oil okay
the percentage of energy produced by oil
I'm talking about that section right
there
was 4% in the UK in 2014 so that's just
one way to kind of separate the number
from percent right four percent becomes
the percentage was four percent means
the same thing right so there's two ways
to talk about percent there but
percentage you can use in them in a much
in a different way you can use it in in
more more ways than that so let's look
at an example here so here this sentence
is going to talk about the entire chart
it's a way to describe the entire chart
in a in a concise way the chart
illustrates the percentage of
electricity generated by fuel type in
the UK in 2014 so that's now we know
exactly what the charts about without
like going through and naming every the
exact amount for every percent as we did
in this first example so that's another
way that you can use percent percentage
sorry that's another way you can use
percentage okay so now I want to talk
show you how to use percentage to talk
about a piece of a whole and it's
important for you know that we're not
talking about exact numbers we're not
talking about four percent we're talking
about small percentage or large
percentage let me show you what I mean
on the board here I got a sentence with
two blanks and the first one you add the
piece of the hole so you can put
renewables in here you can put nuclear
power so let's take all for example as
we already talked about you could say
energy produced by oil accounted for 4%
of the total energy in 2014 we were
talked about that
you can do that but if you wanted to add
some diversity to how you're writing
about this then you can say energy
produced by oil accounted for a small
percentage of the total energy in 2014
right it's a way to vary how you're
using these these terms how you talking
about this chart now obviously if it's
cold you're not going to say smallest
percentage you're going to say large
percentage so you have to you have to
think about what the small piece is in
relation to the whole is it small or is
it big now also on top of that you can
say percentage right a small percentage
but you could also say a small fraction
you can also say a large segment they
mean the same thing in this case they
mean the same thing in this case so
that's another way that you can produce
percentage now if you wanted to do
something else you could even use this
to compare two things you can add Vann
and you can put the second piece they're
energy produced by oil accounted for a
smaller percentage of the total energy
in 2014 than coal for example so in that
way you can really take it up and make
this sentence a comparative sentence by
changing this to ER and adding van and
your second piece there okay if you
haven't picked up the message that I'm
trying to put down it's that if you vary
your vocabulary you're gonna score
higher right so now what I want to do is
I want to show you a different way to
talk about percentages okay so here's
here's the percentage and here's what
you would say okay so 10% you can say
one in ten and then one in tenth and
then you need to put a noun right here
one in ten people one in ten schools one
in ten countries now if it's 20 percent
you can say two and ten if it's 50
percent you can say five and ten if it's
70 percent you can say seven and ten
okay just make sure you put a noun
afterwards
and then moving on so 20% we also say
1/5 1/5 make sure you get that 1/5 25%
you can say a quarter or 1/4 so again if
it's 50% you know we can say you could
say 2/4 it would be a little strange so
you'd really say half if it's 75% you're
gonna say 3/4 33% that's 1/3 40% 2/5
also you can say 4 and 10 50 percent is
half 60% is 3/5 or 6 and 10 both are
okay 80% is 4/5 90% is 9 in 10 okay so
that's that's how you can use you can
use words to talk about percentages in a
different way now here 1 and 10 and then
noun right so for the rest of these you
got add of a third of and then you put a
noun a third of noun a third of energy
production a fifth of air pollution for
example make sure you put of and then a
noun so don't want to give you one more
really useful vocabulary and that means
to be halved now when some things have
it's dropped by 50% it's cut in half so
you can say right is halved was have to
wear have are have you just conjugate to
be into the proper form and then you had
have okay now let's look at some
examples so we got our words here are
percentages in our words here first
example according to the pie chart and
we don't have a pie chart right just an
example sentence how much what what
percentage of imports came from India
now we want a word that means 75% right
and so 75% is 3/4 so we can say
according to the pie chart chart 3/4 of
and we got that I've already there of
imports came from India next one oil
accounted
or what percent of electricity
production so we want some that means
80% so here can we say 8 and 10
can I say 8 and 10 of electricity
production and you can't and that's
another thing about this one in 10 7 and
10 6 and 10 you can only use with
countable nouns you can only use with
countable nouns and enter electricity
production is not countable so we can't
say 8 and 10 but we can say 4/5 so oil
accounted for four-fifths of electricity
production boom all right production of
TVs in the period between 2012 and 2014
and we want to drop by 50% okay to be
halved but we've got to conjugate the
verb so production of TVs that's the
subject of the sentence so to be we need
to say that production is it right are
you he she it we they it's it so it draw
it we say wha was halved was halved in
the period between 2012 and 2014 so for
this one when you're conjugating to be
you got to make sure you know what the
subject is and your subjects always I or
you he she it we are they it's always
one of those all right so now people
prefer to take the bus so now 10% okay
10% one in 10 okay is people accountable
now it is so this is a safe place to use
one in 10 one in 10 people prefer to
take the bus and that's some example
sentences of how you can use these words
to vary your vocabulary okay so we just
talked about how to talk about these
common fractions that we use in everyday
speech but what about if something's not
quite those round numbers that we often
use well let me show you how to talk
about those so 12%
it's not 1 in 10 but it is slightly more
than 1 in 10 right so if you just add a
modifier slightly more than 1 in 10 that
could be 12 percent sure it's not an
exact number and that's okay
you could also say slightly less than 1
in 10 if it's like 9 percent all right
so you can change more to less no
problem
so 4 here for 15% that's not a 5th but
it is less than a fifth 23% it's not a
quarter but it's less than 1/4 so in the
same way like 28% you can say slightly
more than 1/4 or you can just say more
than 1/4 you can say just under a third
you can say just under 1/2 or just over
1/2 so you can use these modifiers just
under just below just over just above
slightly more slightly less to modify
these is very useful vocabulary okay so
now let's look at some example sentences
and how we can use them so something of
people said that driving to work was
safer than cycling well it's 11 percent
it's not 1 in 10 but it is slightly more
than 1 in 10 so we can put that in there
slightly more than 1 in 10 people said
that driving to work was safer than
cycling great now you can say 11 percent
of people that's fine but this is
showing how well you can use the English
language you're using diversified
vocabulary that's important okay so
we're looking for a number that means
about 15% which one means about 15% well
we could say less than 1/5 so we can say
less than 1/5 less than 1/5 of people
stated that they cycled to work because
they did not have to worry about parking
great sentence all right moving on
number 3 we're looking for some that
means 32% okay so we could just say just
under a third or just below a third both
those will work well so we say the
proportion of people stating that they
cycled to work to reduce pollution stood
at just under a third okay that's great
now one thing you note about this
sentence here we have we say proportion
and that's a great word but you can also
say percentage the percentage of people
great all right last one now we're
looking forward that means 23%
well 23% is less than 1/4 or you can say
just under a quarter that's okay too so
mobile calls showed a gradual rise of
less than a quarter from 2000 to 2001 so
the main takeaway here is that sure you
can just say the percentage is exactly
and that would be correct but if you
want to diversify your vocabulary and
you do then you can use these phrases to
modify common percentages and to give
you another way to talk about numbers
okay welcome to the end of video
Congrats you made it so today we talked
about percentages and really focus on
how to talk about those pie charts well
next video we're going to talk about
line graphs and how to manage your
vocabulary and diversify your vocabulary
so that you can talk about that in many
different ways so I'll see you in the
next video
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