📊 High-Scoring Collocations for Describing Trends in IELTS Task 1

In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, you're often required to describe data in line graphs, bar charts, or tables. Using precise collocations to describe upward and downward trends, fluctuations, or stability will help you boost your Lexical Resource score and sound more academic.

📈 Collocations for Increases

Experience a rise – “The number of users experienced a sharp rise in 2020.”
Show an upward trend – “Mobile usage showed a consistent upward trend.”
See a steady increase – “The population saw a steady increase over the decade.”
Register growth – “The sector registered significant growth during this period.”
Climb gradually – “The figure climbed gradually from 5% to 15%.”

📉 Collocations for Decreases

Experience a drop – “Unemployment experienced a sudden drop in 2014.”
Undergo a decline – “The rate underwent a gradual decline.”
Show a downward trend – “Oil production showed a clear downward trend.”
Decline steadily – “Sales figures declined steadily over five years.”
Fall sharply – “Tourism numbers fell sharply in 2020.”

🔁 Collocations for Fluctuations

Fluctuate slightly – “Interest rates fluctuated slightly in the early 2000s.”
Remain unstable – “The value of exports remained unstable throughout the year.”
Vary considerably – “Results varied considerably across the three age groups.”
Go up and down – “The temperature went up and down throughout the week.”

⏸️ Collocations for Stability or No Change

Remain stable – “Energy usage remained stable despite population growth.”
Stay constant – “The data stayed constant for almost a decade.”
Level off – “After a sharp rise, demand leveled off.”

📝 Sample Task 1 Sentence

“Between 2000 and 2010, the proportion of online shoppers experienced a steady increase, followed by a brief period of fluctuation before it leveled off in 2015.”

🚫 Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Using “go up” or “go down” repeatedly – use stronger collocations instead
❌ Saying “increase” as a verb + “up” – e.g., “increased up” is incorrect
❌ Overusing the same phrase (e.g., “rose” in every sentence)

📌 Final Tips

✔️ Mix verbs and noun phrases to show range (e.g., “increase” vs “experience a rise”)
✔️ Use adverbs to modify degree (e.g., “sharply,” “gradually,” “significantly”)
✔️ Practice paraphrasing the same trend in 2–3 different ways

By mastering these trend-based collocations, you’ll be better equipped to describe visual data clearly and academically — helping you move closer to Band 7 or above in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1.

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