Task 1: The Language of Change

Two patterns, not a word list

Learning these as grammar rather than vocabulary is what stops the repetition.

There are two ways to describe any change in English, and they carry exactly the same meaning:

Verb + adverb: Sales rose sharply.
Adjective + noun: There was a sharp rise in sales.

Knowing both means you can describe six changes in a row without repeating a structure, let alone a word. Lexical Resource is not marked on how rare your words are - it is marked on range and precision. Alternating these two patterns delivers both.

Four shapes, four vocabularies

Each line below needs different language. Try describing each one before you read the sections that follow.

A - a steep, steady rise

• Verb + adverb: rose sharply, climbed steeply, increased dramatically, grew rapidly, surged
• Adjective + noun: a sharp rise, a steep climb, a dramatic increase, rapid growth
• Because it is also steady: rose steadily, climbed consistently, showed sustained growth
• Model sentence: Attraction A saw the most dramatic growth of the four, climbing steadily from 10,000 visitors to 48,000 - almost a fivefold increase.

B - a gentle rise

• Verb + adverb: rose slightly, increased gradually, edged up, crept up, grew modestly
• Adjective + noun: a slight rise, a gradual increase, a modest gain
• Model sentence: Attraction B rose gradually throughout, adding only 10,000 visitors across the six years.
• Do not use dramatically or sharply here. Overstating a small change is an accuracy error, not a vocabulary win.

C - almost no change

• Verbs: remained stable, held steady, levelled off, plateaued, showed little change, hovered around
• Adjective + noun: little change, a period of stability
• Model sentence: Attraction C remained virtually unchanged, hovering around 25,000 visitors throughout the period.
• This is the line most candidates skip, and skipping it is a Task Achievement problem - stability is a feature, and often a striking one.

D - up and down

• Verbs: fluctuated, varied, rose and fell, wavered
• Adjective + noun: considerable fluctuation, an irregular pattern
• Naming the turning points: fell to a low of, recovered to, peaked at, before dipping again
• Model sentence: Attraction D was the only one to fluctuate, climbing to a peak of 38,000 in 2020, falling back to 22,000 in 2022, then recovering to 34,000.
• For a fluctuating line, describe the shape and the endpoints, not every wobble. Start, lowest, highest, finish.

The scale, from smallest to largest

Choosing the right strength is a precision judgement, and examiners notice when it is wrong.

• Barely any change: marginally, slightly, a little
• Small but real: modestly, gradually, steadily
• Clear and substantial: significantly, considerably, substantially, markedly
• Very large: sharply, steeply, dramatically, rapidly
• Extreme: soared, plummeted, rocketed - use sparingly, and never for a ten per cent move.

Rewrite these

Four habits to drop

• Repeating one verb. Four uses of increased limits Lexical Resource on its own, however accurate each one is.
• Overstating. Dramatically for a three-point move is an accuracy error. Match the word to the size of the change.
• Describing every point. A line with six data points does not need six sentences. Give the shape and the endpoints.
• Reaching for rare words. Plummeted is not worth more than fell sharply if the fall was not extreme. Precision beats rarity every time.

Where to go next

• Figures, fractions and comparisons: Numbers and Comparisons.
• Deciding which changes deserve describing: Selecting the Main Features.
• The grammar behind the adjective and noun pattern: Word Building: Making Nouns and Adverbs of Manner.