Lesson 2 — Transform

IELTS Task 1 Set-Phrase Mastery · B2 · Lesson 2 of 3

Cold recall — transform each sentence

Ten quick transforms from Lesson 1. Type your answer, click Check. Accept close variants (as long as the grammar's right).

1. Transform to verb + adverb: "There was a sharp rise in sales."

Sales rose sharply.

2. Transform to noun form (use "saw"): "Tourism fell dramatically."

Tourism saw a dramatic fall. (Or: Tourism experienced a dramatic fall.)

3. Which adverb for a change of 1%? (1 word)

slightly (or marginally)

4. Which adjective for a change from 100 to 10? (1 word)

dramatic (or sharp / steep / rapid)

5. Transform: "Energy use grew steadily." → noun form with "showed"

Energy use showed a steady growth. (Or: Energy use showed steady growth. — both accepted)

6. Transform: "The country experienced considerable fluctuation in rainfall." → verb form

Rainfall fluctuated considerably.

7. Which ONE word can describe very slow, consistent upward movement? (adverb)

steadily (or gradually)

8. Transform: "Attendance dropped slightly." → "There was…"

There was a slight drop in attendance.

9. Name three linking verbs that let you switch to noun form.

was / were (there was…), saw, experienced, witnessed, showed. Any three.

10. Transform: "Crime fell significantly." → "The data shows…"

The data shows a significant fall in crime.

Score

8–10 correct = on track. 5–7 = normal — redo Lesson 1 Tab 5 (Drill) before continuing. Below 5 = full re-watch of Lesson 1 before Lesson 3.

Three ways to say the same fact

Band 7 writing doesn't repeat the same shape. For every key fact, aim for at least two — ideally three — different sentence structures. Here's how you build them.

📊 Fact: Internet use rose from 20% to 90% between 2000 and 2020.

A Internet use rose dramatically, climbing from 20% to 90% between 2000 and 2020.

B There was a dramatic rise in internet use, from 20% in 2000 to 90% in 2020.

C Internet use saw a dramatic increase over the two decades, growing from 20% to 90%.

📊 Fact: Newspaper sales dropped from 50m to 15m (about two-thirds).

A Newspaper sales fell sharply, dropping by around two-thirds from 50 to 15 million.

B There was a sharp fall in newspaper sales, which dropped from 50 million to 15 million.

C Newspaper sales experienced a dramatic decline, more than halving over the period.

📊 Fact: Tourist numbers stayed at around 2 million from 2010 to 2020.

A Tourist numbers remained stable at around 2 million throughout the decade.

B There was very little change in tourist numbers, which stayed at roughly 2 million.

C Tourism saw minimal fluctuation, holding steady at approximately 2 million.

Your turn

Write THREE versions of this fact:

Gym memberships grew from 5% of the population in 2000 to 20% in 2020.

A. Gym memberships rose sharply, quadrupling from 5% to 20% between 2000 and 2020.

B. There was a significant rise in gym memberships, which grew from 5% in 2000 to 20% by 2020.

C. The population saw a fourfold increase in gym memberships over the two decades.

Sentence surgery — spot and fix

Six classic B2 errors. Each one costs marks. For each: read → name the problem → write the fix. Then reveal.

1. "Figures have increased by almost a triple."

Fix: Figures have nearly tripled.
Rule: Triple is a verb, not a noun. Don't say "by a triple" — just say "tripled".

2. "Sales have dropped significantly of 5 million."

Fix: Sales have dropped significantly, by 5 million.
Rule: The size of a change takes by, not of.

3. "The amount of visitors rose dramatic."

Fix: The number of visitors rose dramatically.
Two rules: (a) countable nouns (visitors) take number, not amount. (b) rose is a verb, so it needs an adverb (dramatically), not an adjective.

4. "All types of transport has decreased."

Fix: All types of transport have decreased.
Rule: Plural subject (types) → plural verb (have).

5. "There was a sharply rise in unemployment."

Fix: There was a sharp rise in unemployment.
Rule: After a / an / the + describing word + noun, you need an adjective (sharp), not an adverb (sharply).

6. "Smoking has changed from most common to least common."

Fix: Smoking has changed from being the most common habit to the least common.
Rule: With change from X to Y, add being + article + noun, or at minimum keep the article.

Describe this chart — scaffolded

Look at the chart. The paragraph below is almost complete — fill each gap using the bank. Check at the end.

Streaming vs cinema, 2010–2022 (millions of monthly viewers, UK)

Streaming: 6m → 38m · Cinema: 30m → 10m

Bank (use each once): rose · fell · sharp · steady · while · meanwhile · more than · by about · saw · dramatic

1. Between 2010 and 2022, the number of streaming viewers sharply from 6 million to 38 million — a increase of six times.

2. Cinema, however, a fall two-thirds, declining from 30 million to 10 million viewers.

3. streaming soared, cinema showed a decline across the entire period.

4. — by 2022 — streaming had clearly overtaken cinema as the dominant viewing method.

1. rose / dramatic / more than

2. saw / sharp / by about

3. While / steady

4. Meanwhile

Notice: sentences 1 & 3 use verb+adverb ("rose", "soared", "showed a steady decline") while sentence 2 uses adjective+noun ("saw a sharp fall"). That mix is exactly what examiners want to see.

Free write — same chart, your words

No gaps, no bank. Write 3–4 sentences describing the chart below. Targets: at least one verb+adverb sentence, at least one adjective+noun sentence, at least one contrast linker (while / whereas / in contrast).

Average daily screen time by age group, 2022 (hours)

Model (4 sentences)

Daily screen time falls steadily as age rises. Teenagers spend the most time on screens, averaging 7 hours a day, while those aged 60 and over spend only 2 hours. The sharpest fall between groups occurs between the 20s and 30s, where there is a drop of 1.5 hours. Meanwhile, the gap between each older age group narrows, with the 50s and 60+ differing by only an hour.

Targets hit: falls steadily (V+adv), there is a drop of 1.5 hours (adj+N / "there is" form), while, meanwhile.

Ready for Lesson 3

Tomorrow — Lesson 3 — Write It. A speed drill of everything so far, and then the real thing: a full, timed Task 1 response on a fresh chart.