Some IELTS test-takers memorise a stock of useful phrases for both writing tasks. This is not cheating – learning expressions by heart and reproducing them in an appropriate context is one of the most fundamental ways to improve in a second language. The key is to stick to learning effective signposting phrases; that is, expressions whose only function is to link ideas and which can therefore be used when writing about any topic. See the list below for suggestions for IELTS Writing Task 1. For each function, the language is graded for level, from regular use (Bands 5-6) to higher-level use (Bands 7-9).

Introducing the topic

• The graph shows… / The table reveals…
• The chart displays… / The diagram illustrates…
• Some interesting facts concerning… are revealed in the diagram.
• Several key trends are revealed by the graph showing…

Introducing the first set of data

• Beginning with the…
• To begin with the…
• Let me begin by describing the…

Introducing the second set of data

• Meanwhile, the…  shows that…
• As for the… , it shows that…
• Turning to the… , it can be seen that…

Introducing the first major trend

• First of all, it is clear that…
• Most noticeably of all, it can be seen that…
• The first result worth pointing out is that…

Introducing lesser trends

• Another trend that can be observed is that…
• It is also worth pointing out that…
• Also worth noting is that…

Exceptions to the main trend

• However, this was not always the case.
• However, it should be pointed out that…
• There was one noticeable exception, however.

Comparing and contrasting

• Similarly, … / By contrast, …
• A similar trend can be observed in…
• The results for… , however, reveal a markedly different trend.

Adding figures

• The figures were X and Y respectively.
• …, at X. / …, with Y. (Usage note: use ‘at’ when you mean ‘the figure was’; use ‘with’ when you mean ‘something had’)
• …, at/with X and Y respectively.

Concluding and summarising

• To sum up, … / In summary, … / In short, …
• Overall, … / On the whole, …
• The main thing that can be observed here is that…

Source: ielts-academic.com

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