IELTS Bar Chart vocabulary is a must-have tool if you’re preparing for Writing Task 1 and want to impress the examiner. Bar charts are one of the most common visuals in IELTS Academic Writing — and the way you describe them can make or break your score.
Instead of repeating words like “shows” or “increases” again and again, this blog post will give you 25 high-scoring vocabulary items, grouped by function. You’ll also get example sentences, useful comparisons, and practice tips to help you sound more academic, clear, and confident.
Whether you’re aiming for Band 7 or higher, these words will help your writing stand out.
🔍 Why Vocabulary Matters in IELTS Bar Charts
The IELTS examiner is not just reading your answer — they’re evaluating your Lexical Resource, one of the four official marking criteria. That means they want to see:
-
A wide range of vocabulary
-
Precision and accuracy
-
Appropriate tone for academic writing
The better your word choice, the more fluent, varied, and academic your writing sounds — and that means higher bands.
📚 IELTS Bar Chart Vocabulary: The 25 Essentials
Let’s break this vocabulary into clear, functional groups:
📈 Verbs for Describing Data
These verbs describe what is happening in the chart.
| Basic Verb | Band 7+ Alternative |
|---|---|
| show | illustrate, depict |
| increase | rise, climb, grow |
| decrease | fall, decline, drop |
| stay the same | stabilise, remain steady |
| differ | vary |
| have | record, experience |
Examples:
-
The bar chart illustrates the number of tourists in 5 countries.
-
In 2010, sales climbed to 8 million units.
-
The figures remained steady between 2015 and 2018.
🎯 Adjectives & Adverbs for Precision
These help describe the magnitude and intensity of change.
| Adjectives | Adverbs |
|---|---|
| slight | slightly |
| significant | significantly |
| considerable | considerably |
| dramatic | dramatically |
| steady | steadily |
Examples:
-
There was a dramatic increase in exports in 2015.
-
The population grew steadily over the next decade.
🔁 Comparative Language
You’ll often need to compare bars to each other. These phrases help you do that accurately.
-
more than / less than
-
twice as much / half as much
-
the highest / the lowest
-
in contrast to
-
slightly higher / considerably lower
-
equal to / similar to
Examples:
-
China had twice as many internet users as India.
-
Sales in the UK were considerably lower than in the USA.
🕒 Time Connectors & Structure Words
These help you describe when things happen and make your writing more organised.
-
in 2010 / between 2000 and 2010
-
over the period
-
during the first half of the decade
-
by the end of the year
-
throughout the period
Examples:
-
Over the period shown, car ownership increased steadily.
-
By 2020, the figure had almost doubled.
🎓 Academic Alternatives for Basic Words
Use these instead of informal or repeated words:
| Informal | Academic Alternative |
|---|---|
| big change | significant shift |
| stayed the same | stabilised |
| goes up a lot | surged / soared |
| goes down | declined / dropped |
| number | figure / amount |
Examples:
-
The figures surged in 2018.
-
There was a significant shift in consumer spending after 2010.
✍️ Example Sentences Using Bar Chart Vocabulary
Here are 5 sample sentences to show the vocabulary in action:
-
The bar chart illustrates the average income across five countries in 2020.
-
Employment rates varied significantly between men and women.
-
Australia recorded the highest number of applicants.
-
The USA’s figure was twice as high as Canada’s.
-
Between 2010 and 2020, mobile usage grew steadily across all age groups.
🧠 Bar Chart Practice Task (Text Only)
Task:
The bar chart below shows the sector contributions to India’s gross domestic product from 1960 to 2000. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Sample Sentence Using Vocabulary:
Fiction books accounted for the highest sales, while biographies recorded the lowest figures in 2022.
Try describing the second-highest bar using at least one adverb and a comparison phrase!
📌 Tips for Remembering & Using This Vocabulary
✅ Group words by category (e.g., verbs, comparisons)
✅ Create your own example sentences for each word
✅ Practice describing sample bar charts with a time limit
✅ Use spaced repetition tools (like Anki or Quizlet)
✅ Write full mock Task 1 answers using this vocabulary
The more often you use the words in writing, the more natural they’ll become — and that’s what the examiner wants.
📘 Want to Master Bar Chart Descriptions?
🎁 Download our free IELTS Bar Chart Vocabulary Cheat Sheet with all 25+ words and examples.
🧑🏫 Or explore our full IELTS Writing Task 1 Course for tips, structures, and real teacher feedback.
👉 Start now at IELTSzone.org — your trusted IELTS learning hub!
5 Responses