The goal is not to memorise 20 synonyms for “increase” and “decrease.” A Band 8–9 response chooses vocabulary based on how the line actually moves: gradual, sudden, dramatic, slight, steady, or stable.
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1. First understand the difference
Look at a line and ask:
Did it…
→ rise slowly?
→ rise steadily?
→ rise suddenly?
→ rise dramatically?
→ fall slightly?
→ fall sharply?
→ fall gradually?
→ stop changing?
Your vocabulary should match the movement.
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📈 INCREASE
1. ROSE
The safest formal verb for an upward movement.
rose + from + number + to + number
> The figure rose from 50,000 to 80,000 between 2010 and 2014.
Useful collocations:
rose steadily
rose gradually
rose sharply
rose significantly
rose considerably
rose slightly
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2. INCREASED
A general-purpose verb.
> The number of visitors increased from 2 million to 3.5 million.
Collocations:
increased gradually
increased steadily
increased significantly
increased dramatically
increased slightly
increased by 20%
increased to 50%
Remember:
increased BY = amount of change
increased TO = final figure
> The figure increased by 20,000.
> The figure increased to 80,000.
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3. GREW
Very useful when describing numbers, populations, sales, demand, etc.
> The number of international students grew steadily throughout the period.
Common collocations:
grew steadily
grew rapidly
grew considerably
grew significantly
grew from X to Y
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4. CLIMBED
Good for a noticeable upward movement, particularly when the increase happens progressively.
> The figure climbed from 40% to 65% over the following five years.
Useful:
climbed steadily
climbed gradually
climbed sharply
climbed to 65%
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5. SURGED
Use when something rises quickly and strongly.
> The number of tourists surged from 80,000 to 150,000 in just two years.
Think:
SURGE = FAST + STRONG RISE
Not:
> ❌ The figure surged gradually.
Better:
> ✓ The figure surged dramatically.
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6. SOARED
Use for a very large/dramatic increase.
> The price of housing soared from $200,000 to $350,000.
Think:
SOAR = VERY DRAMATIC RISE
Common collocations:
soared dramatically
soared rapidly
soared to
soared from X to Y
Example:
> The percentage of online shoppers soared from 20% to 65%.
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7. JUMPED
Useful for a sudden increase.
> The figure jumped from 30% to 48% in 2018.
Think:
JUMP = SUDDEN RISE
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📉 DECREASE
1. FELL
The most natural formal verb for a downward movement.
> The figure fell from 80,000 to 55,000.
Useful collocations:
fell gradually
fell steadily
fell sharply
fell dramatically
fell slightly
fell considerably
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2. DECREASED
A general formal verb.
> The number of visitors decreased from 900,000 to 700,000.
Remember:
> decreased by 200,000
> decreased to 700,000
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3. DECLINED
Particularly useful for a gradual or sustained reduction.
> The percentage of people using public transport declined gradually over the period.
Common collocations:
declined gradually
declined steadily
declined significantly
declined slightly
experienced a gradual decline
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4. DROPPED
Often suggests a noticeable or sudden fall.
> The figure dropped from 75% to 50% in 2016.
Useful:
dropped sharply
dropped considerably
dropped suddenly
dropped slightly
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5. PLUMMETED
A very dramatic and rapid decrease.
> The number of visitors plummeted from 200,000 to 90,000 in just two years.
Think:
PLUMMET = VERY FAST + VERY LARGE FALL
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6. SLUMPED
A significant fall, often after a relatively high level.
> Sales slumped to just $2 million in 2020.
It can be useful, but don't force it into every Task 1.
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7. DIPPED
A small decrease, usually temporary.
> The figure dipped slightly in 2016 before rising again.
This is especially useful when the graph shows:
rise → small fall → rise again
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➡️ STABILITY
This is where many students misuse vocabulary.
PLATEAUED
The figure rises or falls and then remains almost unchanged.
> The number of students rose rapidly until 2016 and then plateaued at around 280,000.
LEVELLED OFF
Very similar idea.
> After reaching 80%, the figure levelled off for the remainder of the period.
Think:
CHANGE → FLAT
Do not use plateaued simply because the graph is generally stable.
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⚠️ Important: “HIKED”
You may see hiked on vocabulary lists, but don't teach students to treat it as a standard replacement for rose in every IELTS Task 1 sentence.
“Hike” is commonly associated with things such as:
prices
taxes
interest rates
fees
charges
For general IELTS graphs, these are safer:
> rose sharply
climbed significantly
increased considerably
surged
soared
Example:
> ✓ The government hiked taxes.
But for a general student-number graph:
> ✓ The number of students rose sharply.
is more natural than:
> △ The number of students hiked.
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2. ADVERBS = THE SECRET TO PRECISION
Don't just write:
> The figure increased.
Tell the examiner how it increased.
Large / dramatic change
dramatically
significantly
considerably
substantially
sharply
steeply
> The figure increased dramatically.
> The percentage fell sharply.
Small change
slightly
marginally
minimally
> The figure increased slightly.
> The percentage dipped marginally.
Gradual change
gradually
steadily
progressively
> The number increased gradually.
> The figure declined steadily.
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3. ADJECTIVE + NOUN STRUCTURES
Instead of always using verbs, change your sentence structure.
Increase
a rise
> There was a sharp rise in the number of visitors.
an increase
> The graph shows a significant increase in sales.
growth
> The period witnessed considerable growth in online shopping.
a surge
> There was a sudden surge in demand.
a dramatic increase
> The figure experienced a dramatic increase between 2015 and 2017.
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Decrease
a fall
> There was a gradual fall in the percentage.
a decrease
> The period saw a significant decrease in car ownership.
a decline
> The graph illustrates a steady decline in the figure.
a drop
> There was a sharp drop in the number of visitors.
a dip
> The figure experienced a slight dip in 2016.
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4. HIGH-VALUE COLLOCATIONS
Learn these as chunks rather than individual words.
Increase
a sharp rise
a gradual increase
a steady growth
a dramatic surge
a substantial increase
a significant rise
a considerable increase
a sudden jump
a rapid growth
Decrease
a sharp fall
a gradual decline
a significant decrease
a dramatic drop
a substantial reduction
a slight dip
a steady decline
a considerable fall
a sudden decrease
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5. “THE FIGURE FOR” — VERY USEFUL
Instead of repeating:
> The number of students...
Use:
> The figure for international students...
Examples:
> The figure for international students rose steadily.
> The figure for Australia declined gradually.
> The figure for the UK increased significantly.
This helps avoid repetitive sentence openings.
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6. “THE NUMBER OF” vs “THE AMOUNT OF”
This is an important Task 1 grammar point.
NUMBER OF → countable things
> the number of students
the number of cars
the number of visitors
the number of households
AMOUNT OF → uncountable things
> the amount of money
the amount of water
the amount of electricity
So:
> ✓ The number of students increased.
> ✓ The amount of money increased.
Not:
> ❌ The amount of students increased.
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7. “REDUCED” — USE IT CAREFULLY
Reduce is normally transitive: something reduces something.
> The company reduced the price.
> The government reduced taxes.
For a graph showing a figure going down, use:
> The figure fell.
> The figure declined.
> The figure decreased.
Rather than:
> ❌ The figure reduced.
However:
> The amount of waste was reduced from 50 tonnes to 30 tonnes.
is correct because this is a passive structure.
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8. FROM / TO / BY / AT
These four cause frequent mistakes.
FROM = starting point
> The figure rose from 40%...
TO = ending point
> ...to 65%.
BY = amount of change
> The figure increased by 25 percentage points.
AT = level
> The figure stood at 65%.
Complete example:
> The percentage rose from 40% to 65%, an increase of 25 percentage points.
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9. “PERCENTAGE” vs “PERCENTAGE POINTS”
This distinction matters.
Suppose a figure goes:
40% → 60%
The difference is 20 percentage points.
So:
> The figure increased by 20 percentage points.
If the question specifically asks for percentage change, the relative increase is 50%.
For basic Task 1 descriptions, don't automatically write “20% increase” when the graph shows 40% → 60%.
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10. COMBINING TWO MOVEMENTS
This is where vocabulary becomes much more natural.
Instead of:
> The figure increased. Then it decreased. Then it increased.
Write:
> The figure rose steadily before dipping slightly and then climbing sharply.
Or:
> The number increased gradually, followed by a sharp decline, before recovering towards the end of the period.
Or:
> After surging to 200,000, the figure fell sharply and subsequently levelled off.
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11. “BEFORE” + “AFTER” STRUCTURES
Very useful for describing a sequence.
> The figure rose steadily before plateauing at around 250,000.
> The percentage fell sharply before recovering in 2020.
> The number surged to 180,000 before declining gradually.
> After increasing significantly, the figure levelled off.
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12. USE “WHILE” TO COMPARE TRENDS
For two lines moving differently:
> While the figure for Country A rose sharply, that for Country B declined gradually.
Another example:
> The number of car users increased steadily, while public transport usage fell slightly.
This is much better than writing two disconnected sentences.
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13. “WHEREAS” FOR CONTRAST
> The figure for the UK rose steadily, whereas that for Australia declined slightly.
Or:
> Sales of Product A surged, whereas those of Product B fell considerably.
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14. A COMPLETE TASK 1 PARAGRAPH
Imagine this trend:
USA: 100,000 → 220,000 → stable
UK: 40,000 → 150,000 steadily
Australia: 20,000 → 60,000 → slight fall → 120,000
A weak version:
> The number of students increased in the USA. It increased again. The UK number increased. Australia increased, then decreased, then increased.
A stronger version:
> The number of international students in the USA soared from 100,000 in 2010 to approximately 220,000 in 2016, after which it levelled off. The figure for the UK rose steadily throughout the period, reaching around 150,000 by 2020, while Australia experienced a slight dip in the middle of the period before climbing sharply to approximately 120,000.
Notice that the vocabulary reflects the actual shape of each line.
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15. A VOCABULARY SCALE TO TEACH STUDENTS
Small increase
slightly → marginally
Gradual increase
rose gradually → grew steadily → climbed steadily
Strong increase
increased significantly → rose sharply → surged
Very dramatic increase
soared → rocketed
Use rocketed sparingly because it is more informal.
Small decrease
dipped slightly → fell marginally
Gradual decrease
declined gradually → fell steadily
Strong decrease
dropped sharply → fell considerably
Very dramatic decrease
plummeted → slumped
No major change
remained stable → levelled off → plateaued
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16. Don't Make This Band 9 Mistake
More synonyms ≠ higher band.
This is not good:
> The figure soared, surged, rocketed, skyrocketed and jumped...
You are describing one movement, not showing off vocabulary.
Instead:
> The figure rose steadily until 2015, then surged to 80,000 before levelling off.
Three accurate expressions are better than six forced synonyms.
The examiner rewards appropriate and precise vocabulary, not the number of “advanced” words you can insert.
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17. QUICK EXAM-DAY FORMULA
When you see a line graph:
STEP 1 — Look at the direction
↑ Increase
↓ Decrease
→ Stable
STEP 2 — Look at the speed
slow → gradually / steadily
fast → sharply / rapidly
very fast → surged / plummeted
STEP 3 — Look at the size
small → slightly / marginally
large → significantly / considerably / dramatically
STEP 4 — Choose the structure
Verb:
> The figure rose sharply from X to Y.
Noun:
> There was a sharp rise from X to Y.
Sequence:
> The figure rose before falling slightly and then recovering.
Comparison:
> While A increased steadily, B declined gradually.
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Final Band 8–9 vocabulary bank
Movement Useful language
General increase: increased, rose, grew
Gradual increase :rose gradually, grew steadily, climbed steadily
Sudden increase: jumped, rose sharply
Fast/strong increase: surged
Very dramatic increase: soared
General decrease :went down, fell
Gradual decrease: declined gradually, fell steadily
Sudden decrease :dropped, fell sharply
Very dramatic decrease: plummeted
Small decrease: dipped slightly
Significant decrease: slumped
Became stable: levelled off, plateaued
Increase as noun: a rise, an increase, growth, a surge
Decrease as noun: a fall, a decline, a drop, a dip
The rule to remember:
DON'T memorise “increase = 10 synonyms.”
Memorise:
WHAT happened + HOW much + HOW quickly + WHAT happened next
That is what turns basic Task 1 vocabulary into precise Task 1 reporting.
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