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IELTS Writing: Numbers, Data, Prepositions

IELTS Writing: Numbers, Data, Prepositions

Assessment

Presentation

•

English

•

Professional Development

•

Practice Problem

•

Medium

Created by

Yulia Golovina

Used 2+ times

FREE Resource

39 Slides • 32 Questions

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​Hearing the Difference:

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​_

5

Comparing Structures

  • more/less + adjective/adverb + than

  • more/ fewer/less + noun/noun phrase + than

  • not as + adjective/adverb + as

  • not as + much/many + noun/noun phrase + as

Superlative Structures

  • the most / the least + adjective/adverb

  • by far + the ...

6

Common Errors
amount and number:

  • amount is used with uncountable nouns

  • number is used with countable nouns
    The chart shows the amount of traffic in the city. NOT: number of traffic

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Describing quantity

  • countable things: a number of, a majority of, a minority of, a handful of

  • uncountable things: an amount of, a quantity of, a good deal of,

  • both uncountable and countable nouns: a proportion of, a percentage of, a fraction of 

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a few = some, a small number

few = not many/almost none

a little = some, a small amount

little = not much/almost nothing

  • quite a few,

  • relatively / considerably few

10

% = percent / per cent

  • 10% = ten percent, one tenth, one in (every) ten / one out of ten (countable nouns),

  • 25% = twenty-five percent, a quarter, one in (every) four / one out of four (countable nouns)

  • 50% = fifty percent, a half, five in (every) ten / five out of ten (countable nouns)

  • 75% = seventy-five percent, three quaters, three in (every) four / three out of five (countable nouns)

11

What if I don't have a round number?

almost a half

slightly more/less than a half

close to a quater

approximately three quarters

nearly a half

12

Quantity - use the following expressions with:

adjectives and adverbs:
nearly, almost three times as expensive as, half as expensive as


nouns: half/twice/three times the size of

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13

There are also verbs:

  • double, the percentage doubled

  • halve, the amount halved towards the end of the period

  • triple, the number of divorces in the country tripled over the period

14

Don't forget

  • after, then, subsequently, following that

  • the highest, the lowest, the second highest

  • compared to/with

  • respectively, proportionately

15

Multiple Choice

The vast ____________ of people at the open day were newcomers.

1

majority

2

minority

3

extent

16

Multiple Choice

A _______________ proportion of the respondents in survey were retired people.

1

handful

2

deal

3

proportion

17

Multiple Choice

Only a small _______________ of people took creative studies beyond secondary school.

1

share

2

handful

3

amount

18

Multiple Choice

The percentage of people who can read music is tiny ______ of the whole population.

1

fraction

2

branch

3

element

19

Multiple Choice

The number of people who follow a creative career is almost __________

1

unimportant

2

tiny

3

negligible

20

Multiple Choice

A _____________ minority of people said creativity had no place in education.

1

little

2

small

3

trivial

21

Multiple Choice

There were ________________ few takers for the knitting course.

1

relatively

2

significantly

3

barely

22

Multiple Choice

______________ anyone considers themselves to be completely lacking in creative talent.

1

Virtually

2

Almost

3

Hardly

23

Multiple Choice

It is important to control the ____________ of sunshine children are exposed to.

1

quantity

2

amount

24

Multiple Choice

To discourage driving, certain _____________ of the public transport system should be improved.

1

aspects

2

qualities

25

Multiple Choice

The _____________ of smokers to non-smokers greater is some parts of the world than in others.

1

rate

2

proportion

26

Multiple Choice

The _____________ of workers doing shifts is very high.

1

quantity

2

number

27

Multiple Choice

The water _____________ were highest at midnight.

1

levels

2

percentages

28

Multiple Choice

This solution will reduce the unemployment _______

1

number

2

rate

29

Ready for IELTS p. 39, ex. 2

30

Ready for IELTS p. 39, ex. 8

  • The football match was attended by three times as many spectators as the rugby match.

  • The sports department was visited by only 20% of the shoppers in 2009 when compared to February 2008.

  • More than four out of every ten competitors were from the main city.

  • The bulk of players were from overseas rather than home-grown

  • A quarter of the members of the sports club paid by cash rather than by credit card.

  • The team lost just under half of the games they played last season.

31

Prepositions

at / of / in / from / to

32

Prepositions / prepositional sentences - nouns

increase / descrease (nouns) + in / of


There was an increase in the number of people attending classes.

There was a decrease of 10% in the number of people joining classes remotely.


alternatively:


There was a 70% decrease in the number of people joining classes remotely.

33

Prepositions / prepositional sentences - verbs

increase / descrease (verbs) + from / to, by


The number of people attending classes rose from 50% to 60% in 2020.

The number of people attending classes rose by 10% in 2020.


start / begin / end up / finish / remain / be etc. + at (just over/around/about/approximately) + number


The amount of garbage collected remained at 6%.


34

Prepositions / prepositional sentences - verbs

reach + no preposition


The number of people attending classes reached 60% in 2020.



start / begin / end up / finish / remain / be etc. + at (just over/around/about/approximately) + number


The amount of garbage collected remained at 6%.

35

36

Multiple Choice

Three out of _____________ five wished they had had a more supportive teacher.

1

each

2

every

3

all

37

Multiple Choice

About one __________ four people responded negatively.

1

from

2

in

3

of

38

IELTS Writing - Meeting 4

Numbers & data

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39

Comparing structures

  • more/less + adjective/adverb + than

  • more/ fewer/less + noun/noun phrase + than

  • not as + adjective/adverb + as

  • not as + much/many + noun/noun phrase + as

40

Superlative structures

  • the most / the least + adjective/adverb

  • by far + the ...

41

Describing quantity

  • countable things: a number of, a majority of, a minority of, a handful of

  • uncountable things: an amount of, a quantity of, a good deal of,

  • both uncountable and countable nouns: a proportion of, a percentage of, a fraction of 

42

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a few = some, a small number

few = not many/almost none

a little = some, a small amount

little = not much/almost nothing

  • quite a few,

  • relatively / considerably few

44

% = percent / per cent

  • 10% = ten percent, one tenth, one in (every) ten / one out of ten (countable nouns),

  • 25% = twenty-five percent, a quarter, one in (every) four / one out of four (countable nouns)

  • 50% = fifty percent, a half, five in (every) ten / five out of ten (countable nouns)

  • 75% = seventy-five percent, three quaters, three in (every) four / three out of five (countable nouns)

45

What if I don't have a round number?

almost a half

slightly more/less than a half

close to a quater

approximately three quarters

nearly a half

46

Quantity - use the following expressions with:

- adjectives and adverbs: (nearly, almost) three times as expensive as, half as expensive as

- nouns: half/twice/three times the size of ...

media

47

There are also verbs:

  • double, the percentage doubled

  • halve, the amount halved towards the end of the period

  • triple, the number of divorces in the country tripled over the period

48

Don't forget

  • after, then, subsequently, following that

  • the highest, the lowest, the second highest

  • compared to/with

  • respectively, proportionately

49

Multiple Choice

The vast ____________ of people at the open day were newcomers.

1

majority

2

minority

3

extent

50

Multiple Choice

A _______________ proportion of the respondents in survey were retired people.

1

handful

2

deal

3

proportion

51

Multiple Choice

Only a small _______________ of people took creative studies beyond secondary school.

1

share

2

handful

3

amount

52

Multiple Choice

The percentage of people who can read music is tiny ______ of the whole population.

1

fraction

2

branch

3

element

53

Multiple Choice

The number of people who follow a creative career is almost __________

1

unimportant

2

tiny

3

negligible

54

Multiple Choice

A _____________ minority of people said creativity had no place in education.

1

little

2

small

3

trivial

55

Multiple Choice

There were ________________ few takers for the knitting course.

1

relatively

2

significantly

3

barely

56

Multiple Choice

______________ anyone considers themselves to be completely lacking in creative talent.

1

Virtually

2

Almost

3

Hardly

57

Multiple Choice

It is important to control the ____________ of sunshine children are exposed to.

1

quantity

2

amount

58

Multiple Choice

To discourage driving, certain _____________ of the public transport system should be improved.

1

aspects

2

qualities

59

Multiple Choice

The _____________ of smokers to non-smokers greater is some parts of the world than in others.

1

rate

2

proportion

60

Multiple Choice

The _____________ of workers doing shifts is very high.

1

quantity

2

number

61

Multiple Choice

The water _____________ were highest at midnight.

1

levels

2

percentages

62

Multiple Choice

This solution will reduce the unemployment _______

1

number

2

rate

63

Ready for IELTS p. 39, ex. 2

64

Ready for IELTS p. 39, ex. 8

  • The football match was attended by three times as many spectators as the rugby match.

  • The sports department was visited by only 20% of the shoppers in 2009 when compared to February 2008.

  • More than four out of every ten competitors were from the main city.

  • The bulk of players were from overseas rather than home-grown

  • A quarter of the members of the sports club paid by cash rather than by credit card.

  • The team lost just under half of the games they played last season.

65

Prepositions

at / of / in / from / to

66

Prepositions / prepositional sentences - nouns

increase / descrease (nouns) + in / of


There was an increase in the number of people attending classes.

There was a decrease of 10% in the number of people joining classes remotely.


alternatively:


There was a 70% decrease in the number of people joining classes remotely.

67

Prepositions / prepositional sentences - verbs

increase / descrease (verbs) + from / to, by


The number of people attending classes rose from 50% to 60% in 2020.

The number of people attending classes rose by 10% in 2020.


start / begin / end up / finish / remain / be etc. + at (just over/around/about/approximately) + number


The amount of garbage collected remained at 6%.


68

Prepositions / prepositional sentences - verbs

reach + no preposition


The number of people attending classes reached 60% in 2020.



start / begin / end up / finish / remain / be etc. + at (just over/around/about/approximately) + number


The amount of garbage collected remained at 6%.

69

70

Multiple Choice

Three out of _____________ five wished they had had a more supportive teacher.

1

each

2

every

3

all

71

Multiple Choice

About one __________ four people responded negatively.

1

from

2

in

3

of

media
media
media

​Hearing the Difference:

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