PARAPHRASING PERCENTAGES

PARAPHRASING PERCENTAGES

IEP104/105

FRACTIONS

Sometimes, data in IELTS Writing Task 1 is expressed in percentages. To avoid repetition, percentages can be replaced by fractions

FRACTIONS

• 75% = three quarters

• 67% = two thirds

• 50% = a half

• 33% = a third

• 25% = a quarter

• 20% = a fifth

Multiple Choice

50%

This percentage can be paraphrased as...

• a half

• a quarter

• a third

• one tenth

Multiple Select

20%

This percentage can be expressed as...

• one quarter

• one fifth

• one third

• one half

• a fifth

Multiple Choice

25%

This percentage can be paraphrased as...

• a fifth

• a quarter

• a third

• a half

Multiple Select

10%

Check all the correct paraphrases

• one-tenth

• one out of ten

• a third

• two fifths

Fill in the Blanks

Rewrite this sentence using a fraction:

75% of global expenditure was spent on food in 1990, while only 20% was allocated on education.

APPROXIMATIONS

If the percentage is, for example, 51% or 23%, we can use approximations (“approximately,” “around,” “almost,” “about,” “nearly,” “just above/over,” “just below/under,” “a little/slightly more than” or “a little/slightly less than”)

Example

• The proportion of foreign students experienced an increase from 25% to 31% in 2004.

• The proportion of foreign students experienced an increase from 25% to just below a third in 2004.

Fill in the Blanks

How would you express 22% as a fraction and an approximation?

Fill in the Blanks

How would you express 18% as a fraction and an approximation?

Multiple Select

23%

• slighly less than a quarter

• almost a quarter

• nearly a quarter

• just over a quarter

Multiple Select

48%

• approximately half

• half

• just under a half

• just over a half

Fill in the Blanks

Rewrite this as an approximation:

52% of all vehicles produced in Japan were exported.

COMPARISONS

Comparisons using “half,” “twice,” “three times,” etc. with “as many”/”much…as”

Example

• In the 2004 Olympic Games, China won 32 gold medals, while Japan won 16 gold medals.”

• In the 2004 Olympic Games, China won twice as many gold medals as Japan

"Double,” “Treble,” “Quadruple,”

Adjective, Adverb, Noun and Verb

Example

• The number of businesswomen was 20 in 1994 and it rose to 60 in 1998.

• The number of businesswomen was 20 in 1994 and it trebled four years later

"Twofold,” “threefold,”

adjective and adverb

Example

• In 1998, the proportion of unemployed people was 15%. 2 years later, it increased to 45%

• In 1998, the proportion of unemployed people was 15%. 2 years later, it saw a threefold increase

EXERCISE

Try these exercises using the statistic in brackets to help you.

Fill in the Blanks

According to the chart,

of imports came from China in 2014. (75%)

Fill in the Blanks

Tourists accounted for

of total visitors to the Tate gallery in 2016. (80%)

Fill in the Blanks

Production of TVs

in the period between 2012 and 2014. (dropped by 50%)

Fill in the Blanks

Mobile calls showed a gradual rise of

from 2000 to 2001. (23%)

Fill in the Blanks

of the population in Japan is expected to be over 60 years old in 2029. (around 70%)