IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Episode 4: Describing a Bar Chart That Changes Direction
The problem
Look at a bar chart showing figures over several years:
2019 ↑ → 2020 ↑ → 2021 ↓ → 2022 ↑
A basic response might say:
> Profits increased from $42 million to $58 million. Then, they decreased to $31 million. Then, they increased again to $47 million.
The information is understandable, but the movements are being presented as separate events.
A more connected version is:
> Profits rose from $42 million in 2019 to $58 million in 2020, before falling sharply to $31 million the following year and subsequently recovering to $47 million in 2022.
The second version shows the relationship between the movements instead of repeatedly restarting the sentence with then.
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1. THE CORE TECHNIQUE
When the data changes direction, think in terms of:
MOVEMENT 1 → LINK → MOVEMENT 2 → LINK → MOVEMENT 3
For example:
rose → before → falling → subsequently → recovering
This gives you one connected sentence.
Basic pattern
> The figure rose from X to Y, before falling to Z and subsequently recovering to W.
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2. THE MAIN EXAMPLE
Imagine this bar chart:
Year Company profits
2019 $42 million
2020 $58 million
2021 $31 million
2022 $47 million
The movement is:
$42m ↑ $58m ↓ $31m ↑ $47m
Basic version
> Profits increased from $42 million in 2019 to $58 million in 2020. Then, they decreased to $31 million in 2021. Then, they increased again to $47 million in 2022.
Better connected version
> Profits rose from $42 million in 2019 to $58 million in 2020, before falling sharply to $31 million the following year and subsequently recovering to $47 million in 2022.
Why does this work?
The sentence uses:
rose → first upward movement
before falling sharply → downward movement
subsequently recovering → later upward movement
The reader can follow the entire sequence without repeatedly encountering then.
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3. USE “BEFORE”
before + -ing
This is one of the easiest ways to connect two movements.
Pattern
> The figure rose, before falling.
> Sales increased, before declining.
> The number of visitors climbed, before dropping.
Example
> The figure rose to 80,000 in 2018 before falling to 55,000 in 2019.
Another example
> Car sales increased steadily until 2017 before declining considerably in the following year.
Notice:
❌ before fell
✅ before falling
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4. USE “SUBSEQUENTLY”
Subsequently = later / after that
It is useful when you want to show what happened after a previous movement.
Pattern
> ..., before falling to X and subsequently recovering to Y.
Example:
> The figure fell sharply to 30%, subsequently recovering to 45%.
Another:
> The number of visitors declined to 60,000 before subsequently rising to 90,000.
You don't need to use subsequently in every sentence. One well-placed use is enough.
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5. USE “FOLLOWED BY”
followed by + noun / -ing
This is particularly useful when you want to compress two movements.
Pattern
> A rise was followed by a fall.
> The increase was followed by a sharp decline.
> The figure rose, followed by a slight dip.
Example:
> The initial increase was followed by a sharp decline in 2021.
Or:
> Profits rose to $58 million, followed by a sharp fall to $31 million.
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6. USE “AFTER”
After + -ing
Examples:
> After rising to $58 million, profits fell sharply to $31 million.
> After increasing steadily for three years, the figure declined in 2020.
> After falling to 30%, the percentage recovered to 45%.
Important grammar
❌ After rose to $58 million...
✅ After rising to $58 million...
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7. USE “WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY”
This is useful when the sentence needs a slightly more formal structure.
> The figure increased to 70,000, which was followed by a sharp decline to 45,000.
Another:
> Sales reached $80 million in 2019, which was followed by a gradual recovery in the subsequent years.
Do not overuse this structure. It can make writing unnecessarily heavy.
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8. YOUR EXAM-DAY MOVEMENT SWAPS
Pattern 1: ↑ → ↓ → ↑
Use:
rose → fell → recovered
Example:
> The figure rose from 40,000 to 70,000 before falling to 45,000 and subsequently recovering to 65,000.
Other combinations:
climbed → declined → rebounded
> The number climbed to 80,000, declined to 50,000 and then rebounded to 75,000.
increased → dropped → recovered
> Sales increased to $90 million, dropped to $55 million and recovered to $85 million.
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9. Pattern 2: ↓ → ↑ → ↓
Use:
declined → rebounded → dropped
Example:
> The figure declined from 80% to 55%, rebounded to 70% and then dropped to 60%.
Other possibilities:
fell → recovered → declined
> The number fell to 30,000, recovered to 50,000 and subsequently declined to 40,000.
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10. Pattern 3: ↑ → ↓
Use:
climbed → subsequently fell
Example:
> The percentage climbed to 65% before subsequently falling to 48%.
Or:
> Sales rose considerably in 2018, followed by a sharp decline in 2019.
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11. Pattern 4: ↓ → ↑
Use:
fell → recovered
Example:
> The figure fell sharply to 35,000 before recovering to 60,000.
Other useful choices:
declined → rebounded
> The percentage declined to 40% before rebounding to 55%.
dropped → rose again
> The number dropped to 25,000 before rising again to 45,000.
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12. CHOOSE THE VERB FROM THE SIZE OF THE MOVEMENT
Don't automatically use rose for every upward movement.
Small upward movement
edged up
increased slightly
rose marginally
grew slightly
> The figure edged up from 42% to 45%.
Gradual upward movement
rose gradually
increased steadily
grew steadily
climbed gradually
> The number climbed steadily from 30,000 to 50,000.
Large upward movement
rose sharply
increased considerably
climbed significantly
surged
> The figure surged from 40,000 to 90,000.
Very dramatic upward movement
soared
skyrocketed
Use these only when the graph genuinely shows a very dramatic increase.
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13. DECREASE VOCABULARY
Small decrease
dipped slightly
fell slightly
declined marginally
edged down
> The figure dipped slightly from 52% to 49%.
Gradual decrease
declined gradually
fell steadily
decreased progressively
> The percentage declined steadily throughout the period.
Large decrease
fell sharply
dropped considerably
declined significantly
slumped
> Sales fell sharply from $90 million to $55 million.
Very dramatic decrease
plummeted
plunged
> The figure plummeted from 180,000 to 70,000.
Again, the vocabulary should reflect the graph.
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14. RECOVERY VOCABULARY
A recovery means the figure increases after previously falling.
Useful expressions:
recovered
recovered to
rebounded
bounced back
rose again
climbed again
Example
> The figure fell to 30% before recovering to 50%.
> Sales dropped sharply in 2020 but rebounded to $80 million in 2022.
> The number declined initially before rising again towards the end of the period.
Important distinction
A simple increase is not necessarily a recovery.
If the graph is:
40 → 60 → 80
you cannot call the final rise a recovery.
But:
40 → 80 → 50 → 75
The movement from 50 → 75 can be described as a recovery because it follows a decline.
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15. “THEN” IS NOT WRONG
This is important.
Then is grammatically correct.
The problem is repetitive narration:
> It increased. Then it decreased. Then it increased. Then it decreased.
You do not need to completely eliminate then.
Use it naturally when appropriate:
> The figure rose to 60%, then fell to 45%.
But when several movements need to be combined, structures such as:
before + -ing
after + -ing
followed by
subsequently
before recovering
after which
can create more varied sentence structures.
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16. “THEN IT” IS NOT THE ONLY PROBLEM
Avoid repeating the same subject as well.
Weak:
> The number increased to 60,000. Then it decreased to 40,000. Then it increased to 55,000.
Better:
> The number increased to 60,000 before falling to 40,000 and subsequently recovering to 55,000.
The second sentence is more compact because the subject does not need to be repeated three times.
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17. USE “AFTER WHICH”
This is another useful connector.
Pattern
> The figure rose to 80,000, after which it declined to 60,000.
Example:
> The percentage increased steadily until 2018, after which it fell considerably.
This is particularly useful when the first movement has already been fully described.
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18. USE “RESPECTIVELY” ONLY WHEN APPROPRIATE
Suppose:
Year A B
2019 40 60
2020 50 70
You could write:
> The figures for A and B rose to 50 and 70 respectively.
Respectively means the figures correspond in the same order.
A = 50
B = 70
Don't use it merely because you want to sound advanced.
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19. DON'T FORCE ONE SENTENCE TOO FAR
Connecting movements is useful, but don't create an enormous sentence containing every year and every category.
Too much:
> The figure rose from 20 to 30 before falling to 25 and subsequently recovering to 28 before dropping to 22 and then increasing to 40...
This becomes difficult to read.
Instead, divide the information logically:
> The figure rose from 20 to 30 before falling slightly to 25. It subsequently recovered to 28 and then climbed sharply to 40.
The goal is connection without overload.
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20. WHEN TO USE TWO SENTENCES
Use two sentences when:
there are many movements
the sentence becomes too long
you are comparing different categories
the movements are complicated
clarity would suffer
Example:
> Profits rose from $40 million to $60 million before falling to $35 million in 2021. They subsequently recovered to $55 million in the final year.
This is completely acceptable.
You do not need to squeeze the entire graph into one sentence.
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21. A SECOND EXAMPLE
Imagine:
Year Number of visitors
2018 25,000
2019 45,000
2020 30,000
2021 50,000
Movement:
↑ → ↓ → ↑
Basic
> The number increased from 25,000 to 45,000. Then it decreased to 30,000. Then it increased to 50,000.
Improved
> The number of visitors rose from 25,000 in 2018 to 45,000 in 2019, before falling to 30,000 in 2020 and subsequently recovering to 50,000 in 2021.
Alternative
> Visitor numbers climbed to 45,000 in 2019, followed by a decline to 30,000 in 2020, before rebounding to 50,000 the following year.
Both are effective.
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22. A THIRD EXAMPLE: ↓ → ↑ → ↓
Year Percentage
2018 70%
2019 45%
2020 65%
2021 50%
Movement:
↓ → ↑ → ↓
Possible sentence:
> The percentage declined from 70% in 2018 to 45% in 2019, before rebounding to 65% in 2020 and subsequently dropping to 50% in 2021.
Notice the sequence:
declined → rebounding → dropping
The vocabulary mirrors the graph.
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23. DON'T USE “RECOVERED” WHEN THE FIGURE EXCEEDS THE ORIGINAL LEVEL WITHOUT CONTEXT
Consider:
2018: 40
2019: 20
2020: 60
You can say:
> The figure fell to 20 before recovering to 60.
But be careful about implying that the figure merely returned to its previous level. It actually exceeded the original 40.
A more precise sentence could be:
> The figure fell to 20 in 2019 before rebounding sharply to 60 in 2020.
This avoids suggesting that 60 was simply a return to the earlier level.
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24. USE “REBOUND” WHEN THE GRAPH REALLY REVERSES
Rebound strongly suggests a rise following a fall.
Example:
> After declining to 30%, the figure rebounded to 55%.
This is different from:
> The figure rose from 30% to 55%.
The second simply describes an increase.
The first emphasises the reversal.
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25. HIGH-VALUE SENTENCE PATTERNS
Students can memorise these structures rather than memorising isolated vocabulary.
Pattern A
> X rose from A to B before falling to C and recovering to D.
Pattern B
> After rising to B, X fell to C before rebounding to D.
Pattern C
> X climbed to B, followed by a sharp decline to C.
Pattern D
> X declined to C before subsequently recovering to D.
Pattern E
> X increased steadily until B, after which it fell considerably.
Pattern F
> X fell sharply in 2020, but subsequently recovered to its previous level.
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26. WORDS THAT CONNECT MOVEMENTS
Keep this mini-bank for the exam:
before
> rose before falling
after
> after rising
subsequently
> subsequently recovered
followed by
> followed by a sharp decline
after which
> after which the figure fell
before subsequently
> before subsequently rebounding
but
> fell sharply but recovered later
while
> useful for contrasting two categories
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27. AVOID THESE REPETITIONS
Weak
> increased → increased → increased
Use:
> rose → climbed → surged
But only when the degree of change actually differs.
Weak
> decreased → decreased → decreased
Use:
> fell → declined → dropped
Again, choose according to the graph.
Weak
> Then... Then... Then...
Use:
> before...
followed by...
subsequently...
after which...
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28. IMPORTANT IELTS POINT
Using advanced vocabulary alone does not create a Band 9 response.
For Task 1, vocabulary needs to be:
accurate + appropriate + varied
If the graph shows a tiny increase, writing “soared” is inaccurate.
If the graph shows a dramatic increase, writing only “went up” may be unnecessarily basic.
The graph decides the vocabulary.
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29. EXAM-DAY CHECK
Before writing your sentence, quickly identify:
1. Direction
↑ increase
↓ decrease
→ stable
2. Degree
slight
moderate
significant
dramatic
3. Speed
gradual
steady
sudden
rapid
4. Relationship
Did it:
↑ then ↓?
↓ then ↑?
↑ then ↓ then ↑?
↓ then ↑ then ↓?
5. Connector
Choose:
before / after / subsequently / followed by / after which
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30. FINAL CHEAT SHEET
↑ → ↓ → ↑
rose → fell → recovered
> The figure rose to 80,000 before falling to 50,000 and subsequently recovering to 70,000.
↓ → ↑ → ↓
declined → rebounded → dropped
> The figure declined to 40% before rebounding to 65% and subsequently dropping to 50%.
↑ → ↓
climbed → subsequently fell
> Sales climbed to $90 million before subsequently falling to $60 million.
↓ → ↑
fell → recovered
> The percentage fell to 35% before recovering to 55%.
↑ → →
rose → plateaued / levelled off
> The number rose to 200,000 before plateauing at this level.
↓ → →
fell → levelled off
> The figure fell to 30,000 and then levelled off.
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Practice
Rewrite these without repeatedly using “then”.
1.
2019: 35,000
2020: 60,000
2021: 42,000
2022: 75,000
Movement: ↑ → ↓ → ↑
2.
2018: 80%
2019: 50%
2020: 65%
2021: 40%
Movement: ↓ → ↑ → ↓
3.
2019: $25m
2020: $45m
2021: $30m
Movement: ↑ → ↓
4.
2018: 70,000
2019: 40,000
2020: 65,000
Movement: ↓ → ↑
Model answers
1.
> The figure rose from 35,000 in 2019 to 60,000 in 2020, before falling to 42,000 in 2021 and subsequently recovering to 75,000 in 2022.
2.
> The percentage declined from 80% in 2018 to 50% in 2019, before rebounding to 65% in 2020 and subsequently dropping to 40% in 2021.
3.
> Profits climbed from $25 million in 2019 to $45 million in 2020 before falling to $30 million the following year.
4.
> The number of visitors fell from 70,000 to 40,000 before recovering to 65,000 in 2020.
One rule to remember
Don't describe every bar as a separate event. Describe the relationship between the movements.
↑ → ↓ → ↑
Instead of:
> increased. Then decreased. Then increased again.
Think:
> rose → before falling → subsequently recovered.
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