Compare and Contrast Language for Graphs:

Lesson 8
From http://www.ieltsbuddy.com/compare-and-contrast.html

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce you to compare and contrast language
which is needed to write about graphs.

To begin, take a look at the graph below.

1. Which country has the highest level of pollution?

2. Which country has the lowest?

The country with the higest level of pollution is USA and the country with the lowest is
New Zealand.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Being able to compare and contrast data is an essential skill for IELTS writing,
especially in Task 1. Comparatives and superlatives are one common way to do this.

Comparatives are used to compare two things:

Leopards are faster than tigers.

Superlatives are used to compare one thing against a group of others:
 The leopard is the largest of the four big cats.
Here are the basics of how they are formed:

Example
Comparative Superlative
Word
Words with one syllable high higher the highest

more the most

productive productive
Words with three syllables
productive
or more less the least
productive productive

the
Words ending in y wealthy wealthier
wealthiest
Short words ending with a
hot hotter the hottest
consonant/vowel/consonant
Irregular good better the best

Other Important Language

Comparatives and superlatives are useful to compare and contrast, but they won't be
enough.

Here are some other useful words and structures:

Transitions

1. The Middle East produces high levels of oil; however, Japan produces none.
2. The USA produces large amounts of natural gas. In contrast, South Korea
produces none.
3. European countries make great use of solar power. On the other hand, most
Asian countries us this method of power generation very little.
Subordinating Conjunctions

1. The Middle East produces high levels of oil, whereas / while Japan produces none.
2. Whereas / While the Middle East produces high levels of oil, Japan produces none.
3. Although the Middle East produced 100 tons oil, Japan produced none.
Other Structures

1. Developing countries are more reliant on alternative energy

production than developed countries.
2. Solar power accounts for far less of the total energy production than gas or coal
does.
3. Hydropower is not as efficient as wind power.
4. Like Japan, South Korea does not produce any natural gas.
5. The Middle East produces twice as much oil as Europe.
6. Western countries consume three times more oil than the Middle East.
7. Russia consumes slightly more oil than Germany.
8. The UAE produced the same amount of oil as Saudi Arabia.

Using Approximate Data

When you compare and contrast, you also need to learn phrases so you can refer to
data that is not exact.

For example:

7.1
just over 7 million
tonnes
approximately 7 million
tonnes

65.6
nearly 70 million tonnes
almost 70 million tonnes