Writing
Saying 25% as a quarter, and why repeating the figures costs you marks. Academic module only. With a practice exercise.
Percentages in IELTS Task 1 are where a lot of Lexical Resource marks are lost. A report that repeats the figures from the chart shows no range, however accurate it is, and pie charts in particular tempt candidates into listing percentages one after another.
The fix is to express some of them differently. Twenty-five per cent is a quarter. Sixty-six per cent is two thirds. Thirty-two per cent is just under a third. Same information, considerably more to assess.
The conversions
The conversions worth memorising, and the hedging words that cover the gaps.
5% a twentieth · 10% a tenth · 20% a fifth · 25% a quarter · 33% a third · 40% two fifths · 50% a half · 60% three fifths · 66% two thirds · 75% three quarters · 80% four fifths.
8–9% just under a tenth · 30–32% just under a third · 48–49% nearly half · 64–65% just under two thirds · 73–74% almost three quarters.
34–35% just over a third · 51–53% slightly more than a half · 98–99% nearly all.
Just under, just over, slightly below, slightly more than, approximately, roughly, almost, nearly. These let you use a fraction when the figure is not exact.
A proportion of, a share of, the majority of, a minority of, the largest group, the smallest group. Useful when the exact figure does not matter.
This is not about avoiding numbers. Task Achievement requires specific data, so use exact percentages for the key points and fractions for the rest.
Method
Six points, and the first is the one candidates get wrong.
A report with no figures fails Task Achievement. A report that is only figures fails Lexical Resource. Use both.
A rise from 20% to 30% is a rise of ten percentage points, but a fifty per cent increase. Confusing the two is a factual error.
Twice as many, three times higher, half as many. Comparison is what the instruction asks for, and it is more efficient than describing each figure separately.
A quarter, one quarter, a third. Not quarter of the total, which is missing the article.
A quarter of respondents. The fraction takes of, and there is no situation in Task 1 where from is correct here.
Calling 38 per cent two fifths is fine. Calling it a half is not, and precision is assessed under Task Achievement as well as vocabulary.
Practice
Choose the best way to express each figure.
For each figure, ask which fraction is closest, and whether you need a hedging word such as just under or nearly.
Remember that some exact figures should stay exact. This is about range, not about avoiding numbers.
125%
A quarter. An exact conversion, so no hedging word is needed.
266%
Two thirds. Sixty-six is close enough to be stated exactly. At 64 or 65 you would write just under two thirds.
331%
Just under a third. Thirty-three is a third, so 31 needs the hedging word. Rounding it up to a third would be imprecise.
4A figure rose from 20% to 30%. Which is correct?
Ten percentage points. It is also a fifty per cent increase, because 10 is half of 20. Confusing points and per cent is a factual error.
5Which sentence shows more range?
B. Same data, expressed with fractions and connected into one movement. A is a list of figures with no analysis.
6Which is correct?
A quarter of. The fraction needs an article and takes of. Both halves of that are common errors.
Pie charts almost force this, and it is the reason many accurate Task 1 reports score Band 6 for Lexical Resource.
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Converting a figure is arithmetic. Choosing which figures to convert and which to leave exact is a judgement.
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Both. Exact figures are required for Task Achievement, and expressing some as fractions is what shows the range Lexical Resource assesses.
A rise from 20% to 30% is ten percentage points, and also a fifty per cent increase. They are different measures, and confusing them is a factual error.
Use a hedging word: just under a third, nearly half, slightly more than a quarter. These are standard and expected.
A quarter, or one quarter. The fraction needs an article, and it is followed by of.
No. General Training Task 1 is a letter and involves no data description.
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Convert too little and you show no range. Convert too much and you lose the specific data the task requires. Judging that balance is what an examiner does.
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