IELTS Pie Chart Vocabulary

Percentages:

“per cent/percent”: Used after a number to indicate a portion out of a hundred, e.g., “Around seventy per cent of the population of Singapore is Chinese ancestry.”
“percentage”: Used without a number to refer to a part of something, e.g., “A significant percentage of Canada’s electricity is generated by hydroelectric power.”
“proportion”: Indicates a part of a whole, often used to express significance, e.g., “A larger proportion of the national budget is spent on education than on anything else.”
“portion”: Suggests a part of something, often used in a domestic context, e.g., “The family spends a significant portion of their income on housing.”
“share”: Refers to the part belonging to a party or group, e.g., “Two or three companies control a large share of the technology market.”
“segment”: Often used to describe a part of a market or demographic, e.g., “Only a small segment of the population uses this service.”
“fraction”: Indicates a small or minute part of something, e.g., “Only a tiny fraction of the total number of applications to this university are accepted.”

Fractions: When discussing pie charts, fractions can also be used to describe proportions:

“three quarters” can be expressed as 75 per cent, three out of four.
“a half” equates to 50 per cent, one out of two.
“a third” corresponds to one third or one out of three.
“a quarter” is 25 per cent, one out of four.
“a tenth” translates to 10 per cent, one out of ten.

These terms can be modified with qualifiers like “about,” “around,” “approximately,” or “just over” to convey estimates rather than exact figures.

Other useful expressions:

“account for”: To constitute or represent a part, as in “Rice accounts for about a third of their diet.”
“make up”: To compose or form, e.g., “Poisonous snakes make up only about ten per cent of all snake species.”
“represent”: To stand for or symbolize, e.g., “Accidents that occur while texting represent about a quarter of the total number of car accidents.”
“constitute”: To be part of a whole, as in “Rental properties constitute about a third of the company’s assets.”

Numbers and Amounts

When describing quantities or proportions, you can use various terms to accurately reflect the size of the group or segment being discussed. Here are some examples:

“a small minority” refers to a group that is smaller than the majority, but still significant enough to be mentioned.

“a large majority” indicates a group that constitutes most of the population or category in question.

“a significant portion” is used to describe a part of a group or category that is too notable to ignore due to its size or impact.

“a tiny fraction” is a term used for a very small part of a group or category, often insignificant in size but still relevant to the context.

Linking Words

For Comparisons (Similarities):

“likewise” can be used to show similarity in trends or data between two subjects, as in “The inflation rate in Japan was fairly low in 2010, likewise, the rate in Switzerland did not go up much.”
“similarly” indicates that one situation or result is similar to another, for example, “Similarly, only a small amount of the total budget is spent on social services compared to other sectors.”

For Contrasts (Differences):

“however” is used to introduce a statement that contrasts with or seems to contradict something that has been said previously, such as “The number of male faculty members stayed the same, however, six new female faculty members were hired.”
“on the other hand” provides a contrasting point, as in “On the other hand, two new radio stations opened despite the overall decline in classical music stations.”
“in contrast” highlights stark differences between two or more items, like “In contrast, in Yemen, the average age was only 16.4 years, whereas, in Japan, it was 44.6 years.”
“although” introduces a premise that somewhat contradicts the main part of the sentence, for instance, “Although health care remained a significant portion of families’ budgets, it wasn’t as high as in 2004.”
“whereas” is used to draw a direct contrast between two facts, such as “Whereas the number of marriages declined, the number of divorces increased.”
“but” is a conjunction used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned, like “California had a dry winter, but there was a lot of snow in the Rocky Mountain states.”

For Likeness:

“like” is used for comparison, to say that two or more things are similar, or that something is typical, for example, “Meat, like fish, contains a lot of protein.”
“unlike” is used to highlight the difference, as in “Unlike some members of the European Union, the UK does not use the euro as its currency.”
“… and … are alike” is used to say that two things are similar in certain ways, such as “The health care industry and information technology are alike in that they are both adding new jobs.”

Introductions and Conclusions

Introductions:

“First, …” or “First, let’s consider the data in the bar chart.”
“Let’s first …” or “Let’s first look at the line graph.”
“Turning to …” or “Turning to the pie chart, …”
“Next, …” or “Next, let’s examine the data in the second chart.”
“Having considered …” or “Having considered the bar chart, let’s …”

Conclusions:

“Meanwhile, …” or “Meanwhile, the information in the second graph shows that …”
“It’s clear that …” or “It’s clear from the data in the chart that …”
“It’s obvious that …” or “It’s obvious that an overwhelming number

…”

“It’s easy to see …” or “It’s easy to see which country produces the most …”

Concluding Statements:

“In conclusion, …” or “In conclusion, the relationship between the two graphs is …”
“In brief, …” or “In brief, the two graphs tell us that …”
“On the whole, …” or “On the whole, these graphs show that …”
“To conclude, …” or “To conclude, while the first graph tells us that …”
“From the information, …” or “From the information in the two charts, it’s clear that …”
“As a final point, …” or “As a final point, we can say that by comparing the data in these two charts, …”