IELTS Writing Task 1

plunge (plunged)

Plummet, sharp decrease, fell down a great deal very quickly (The quantity of books read by the elderly plunged in 1995)

stabilise (stabilised)

Stop changing and goes back to normal and constant. (Oil prices have stabilized for now)

fall (fell) (fallen)

decrease, or to go down

rise (rose) (risen)

increase, or to go up

plateau (plateaued)

to stop increasing or improving after a period of development

fluctuate (fluctuated)

unstable, changing up and down

level off (leveled off)

(phr v) to stay at a steady level of development or progress after a period of sharp rises or falls (Oil prices should level off now that the war is over)

increase (increased)

To get larger in size, or to go up, to rise

decrease (decreased)

To get smaller in size, or to go down, to fall

plummet (plummeted)

plunge, dramatic decrease, fell down a great deal very quickly (The president's popularity has plummeted since the war began)

surge (surged)

soar, dramatic increase, went up a great deal very quickly (The percentage of the people who are cycling to work has soared in the last decade)

soar (soared)

surge, sharp increase, went up a great deal very quickly, (The number of people visiting foreign countries soared in 2005)

reach(es) a high of ___ (reached a high of ___)

the highest amount given

reach(es) a peak (reached a peak)

the highest point on a line graph

reach(es) a low of ___ (reached a low of ___)

the lowest amount given

hit a low

the lowest point on a line graph

decline (declined)

to go down, a decrease

grow (grew) (grown)

to go up, to increase