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.

Outlines

00:00

📊 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.

05:03

📈 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.

10:06

🔢 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.

15:08

📉 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.

Keywords

💡Pie chart

A pie chart is a circular statistical graphic which is divided into slices to illustrate numerical proportion. In the context of the video, pie charts are used to represent the distribution of energy generation by different fuel types in the UK in 2014. The video script uses pie charts as a basis for teaching how to discuss percentages in the context of IELTS academic writing, task 1.

💡Percentages

Percentages are a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100. They are fundamental to the discussion in the video as they are the primary data representation in pie charts. The script explains various ways to express percentages in writing, such as 'percent', 'per cent', and the '%' symbol, and how to incorporate them into sentences when describing data.

💡Accounted for

The phrase 'accounted for' is used to indicate the proportion or share of a total that is represented by a particular item. In the video script, it is shown as a pattern for describing what percentage a particular energy source contributes to the total energy production, e.g., 'Energy produced by oil accounted for 4% of the total energy in 2014'.

💡Made up

Similar to 'accounted for', 'made up' is another way to express the proportion of a whole that a particular part represents. The video uses this term to provide variety in sentence construction when describing percentages, as in 'Energy produced by renewables made up 15% of the total energy in 2014'.

💡Comprised

To 'comprise' means to consist of or to be composed of. In the script, 'comprised' is introduced as a high-level vocabulary word that can be used to describe the composition of energy production from different sources in a single sentence, adding a layer of conciseness and sophistication to the writing.

💡Respectively

The adverb 'respectively' is used to indicate that two or more things correspond in order or position. In the context of the video, 'respectively' is used to pair percentages with their corresponding energy sources in a single sentence, which helps to avoid confusion and clearly communicate the data.

💡Collectively

When referring to the total of two or more items, 'collectively' is used to indicate that they are considered or treated as one group. The video script uses 'collectively' to describe the combined percentage of two energy sources, such as 'coal and gas accounted for fifty-eight point five percent of energy production in the UK collectively'.

💡Fractions

Fractions represent a part of a whole and are used in the video to provide alternative ways of expressing percentages. The script teaches how to use common fractions like 'one in ten' for 10%, 'a quarter' for 25%, and 'half' for 50% to diversify vocabulary and enhance the description of data.

💡Halved

To be 'halved' means to be reduced by half. In the video, 'halved' is used in the context of describing a decrease in quantity by 50%. The script provides examples of how to use this term correctly in a sentence, such as 'the production of TVs was halved in the period between 2012 and 2014'.

💡Modifiers

Modifiers are words or phrases that serve to qualify or describe another word or phrase. The video script emphasizes the use of modifiers like 'slightly more than', 'just under', 'just over', 'slightly less than' to provide a more nuanced description of percentages that do not align with common fractions, adding depth and precision to the language used.

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