The easy way to ielts writing academic Module

Note that the phrase “
On the contrary
” does not have extensive
usage in writing task 1 as it is useful while expressing opposite
opinions. Therefore, it does not describe numbers as they
cannot be the opposite, even if they are quite different.
For example
she loves sweet snacks like ice cream. On the contrary, her friend
prefers 
savory 
snacks 
like 
potato 
chips. 
(different
opinions/preferences)
the annual gross income for Switzerland accounted for 853$ million.
In contrast, this figure for Italy had a dramatic decline to 11$ million
in 2008. (markedly different numbers, but not opposite)
Tenses in task 1
In writing task 1, it is quite common to use the 
simple past 
tense; however,
using the tenses depends on the given periods. When trends are generally or
annually shown,
present simple 
tense is best to use. In contrast, simple past
tense should be the dominant tense if the period is related to the past.
Sometimes, a graph shows a projection of the 
future,
and in this case, it is
better to use 
neutral future tenses 
as we are just referring to predictions based
on statistics. In other words, it is better to avoid depending heavily on “will’,
which accounts for around 70% chance of happening or “going to,” which
implies the probability of around 90%. In writing task 1, we may need to
point at predictions, which do not stand at higher than 50% chance of
happening, so it is better to use future passive structures, such as “It is likely
to,” “It is predicted to,” “It is expected to,” “It is projected to,” etc. instead of
“will” or “going to” in these cases. 
Present perfect 
or 
past perfect 
tenses are
also occasionally useful in describing trends.

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For example
The trend 
goes up
significantly in January. (This happens every year
in January.)
The figure 
had 
a gradual growth to 35% in 2005. (It happened in the
past.)
The percentage of car ownership 
is expected to peak 
by 2030. (It
shows a future prediction.)
The number of students 
has risen 
over the past ten years. (Present
perfect shows the overall trend movement for the past ten years up
until now.)
The trend for self-employment 
had reached 
a plateau before it
declined
in 1995. (A plateau had happened (past perfect) before the
decline happened (past simple) in the past.)
All the tools, including vocabulary and phrases to describe trends,
prepositions, 
comparative 
structures, 
tenses, 
and 
vocabulary 
of
approximation discussed so far, will provide candidates with enough
knowledge and skills to confidently practice this writing type.