Writing
Rose to, rose by, rose from. The small words that decide whether the number means what you think. Academic module only.
Prepositions in IELTS Task 1 are small words that change the meaning of a whole sentence. Sales rose to twenty per cent and sales rose by twenty per cent describe completely different things, and using the wrong one is a factual error as well as a grammatical one.
This applies to the Academic module only. General Training Task 1 is a letter and needs none of this. There are eight prepositions worth knowing, and each has one main job.
The eight
Each one has a specific job. Learn the job, not the word.
Sales increased from September. Usually a point in time, and usually paired with to.
Sales increased from September to November. Also the level reached: sales rose to 32 per cent.
Sales fell by 20 per cent. This is the difference between the two figures, not the figure reached. Confusing to and by is the commonest error in Task 1.
In for a month or year: sales fell in December. On for a day or date: the largest number of visitors was on Monday.
Sales peaked at four thousand dollars. Also used for a precise time: there was a peak at three o'clock.
Over the next year, sales fell to their lowest level. Over covers the entire period; during points more at a moment inside it.
Method
Six checks.
Rose to 40 per cent means it ended at 40. Rose by 40 per cent means it went up 40 points. Ask which number the chart is actually showing.
Peaked at 4,000, bottomed out at 200. Without the preposition the sentence is incomplete.
If you write from 2010, the reader expects to 2015. Leaving out the second half reads as an unfinished sentence.
Between 2010 and 2015, not between 2010 to 2015. This is a frequent and very visible error.
An increase in unemployment. The noun form takes in, and increase of is one of the commonest Task 1 errors.
In your final two minutes, read only the sentences containing figures and check each preposition. Most Task 1 errors are in those sentences.
Practice
Choose the correct preposition.
For each sentence, ask what the number represents.
Is it the level the figure reached, or the size of the change? That single question decides between to and by.
1Sales started at 30% and ended at 50%. Which is correct?
Rose by 20%. Twenty is the size of the change. Rose to 20% would mean it ended at twenty, which is wrong.
2Sales started at 30% and ended at 50%. Which is also correct?
Rose to 50%. Fifty is the level reached. Both this and rose by 20% describe the same movement from different angles.
3Which is correct?
Peaked at. Peak and bottom out both take at, and the sentence is incomplete without it.
4Which is correct?
Between 2010 and 2015. Between always pairs with and. Using to here is a very visible error.
5Which is correct?
An increase in. The noun form takes in. Increase of is one of the most frequent errors in Task 1 writing.
6Which is correct?
In December. In for a month or year, on for a specific day or date.
It is the single most common error in Academic Task 1, and it changes what the sentence claims rather than just how it sounds.
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Choosing between two options is easier than getting every preposition right across a 180-word report under time.
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Rose to gives the level reached. Rose by gives the size of the change. They describe different numbers, so choosing wrongly is a factual error.
Increase in. The noun form takes in, as in an increase in unemployment. Increase of is a very common Task 1 error.
No. Between always pairs with and: between 2010 and 2015. From 2010 to 2015 is also correct.
At. Sales peaked at four thousand. The same applies to bottomed out at.
No. General Training Task 1 is a letter, so none of this data language is needed.
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A wrong preposition changes what your report claims. Finding out which ones you consistently get wrong takes someone reading your writing.
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