Grammar Lesson on Collocations for Interpreting Data in the IELTS Writing Test

Data interpretation is a daunting task in the writing section of the IELTS or the International English Language Testing System examination. People reviewing for the said examination find a hard time looking for ways on how to describe data very well. Moreover, using the right words or collocations should be done carefully to correctly illustrate the given task.

Collocations for the IELTS writing test are commonly used in data interpretation. Collocations are a group of words that go together. These are common words used by English speakers, so as a non-native English speaker, it will be best to be familiar to such words for an effective and strong writing material. 

sample graph

Here are some collocations that we can use in interpreting data for the IELTS:

1. Remained steady

• The sales of the new vacuum machine remained steady from 2001 until 2004.
• There has been no record of change with the number of students in the Michigan University as the count remained steady for three years.

2. Reached their highest level

• The births in the United Kingdom are expected to reach their highest level by the end of 2015.
• The number of people enrolling for the IELTS examination n reached their highest level when more and more Filipino nurses were accepted in Australia in 2006.

3. Reached a bottom

• The figures reached a bottom during the months of October and December.
• It is recorded that the number of crimes in the state reached a bottom during winter.

4. Sharp increase

• There is a recorded sharp increase between Monday and Wednesday.
• A sharp increase on the sales was observed during holidays.

5. Drop quickly

• During the recession, production of the said product dropped quickly.
• The numbers dropped quickly to less than 300.

6. Rapid rise

• There is a rapid rise to a peak of 100 in 1998.
• A rapid rise was noticed on the number of urban planning members.

7. Slight increase

• There was a slight increase in the number of employees.
• Only a slight increase happened at 4pm.

8. Maintain the same

• The teachers in the academy maintained the same in number for six years.
• No change recorded in the graph; numbers maintain on the same level.

9. Breaks down

• The chart breaks down the sales of each distributor.
• This breaks down the amount of products each salesman has sold for the past six days.

10. Stayed strong

• The number stayed strong until the end of winter.
• The amount of products distributed among different countries stayed strong until 2010.

It is okay to use collocations on writing as long as they are used appropriately. Try practicing on these collocations and notice how different your sentence sounds compared to a regular and common vocabulary.