Accuracy: numbers, approximation and articles
Many Task 1 answers that have a good overview still score 6 because of small, repeated slips: ‘the number of students were’, ‘rose by’ instead of ‘rose to’, ‘3 millions’, a missing ‘the’. Learn the exact rules for numbers, approximation, number/amount/proportion, articles and prepositions, then drill them until they are automatic.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Write numbers, percentages, fractions and periods in the correct form
- Approximate accurately with just over, nearly, roughly, a fraction under and similar phrases
- Choose correctly between the number of, the amount of, the proportion of and the figure for, with correct verb agreement
- Use articles and the prepositions to, by, at, of, in and for accurately with data
- Run a two-minute accuracy check at the end of Task 1
| Faculty | 2014 | 2024 | Share of all students, 2024 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | 2,480 | 3,970 | 33.1 |
| Business | 3,010 | 2,980 | 24.8 |
| Science | 1,500 | 1,990 | 16.6 |
| Medicine | 1,190 | 1,580 | 13.2 |
| Arts and Humanities | 2,320 | 1,480 | 12.3 |
| Total | 10,500 | 12,000 | 100 |
Writing numbers correctly
| Rule | ✘ Wrong | ✔ Right |
|---|---|---|
No plural -s on million / thousand / hundred after a number | 3 millions people · 2 thousands tonnes | 3 million people · 2,000 tonnes |
‘Millions of’ only when there is no exact number | 4 millions of users | millions of users · 4 million users |
Commas for thousands, a point for decimals | 12.000 students · 2,5 million | 12,000 students · 2.5 million |
‘per cent’ after a number; ‘percentage’ without one | 25 percentage of students · the per cent of students | 25 per cent (BrE) / 25 percent (AmE) / 25% · the percentage of students |
A number + noun used as an adjective is singular and hyphenated | a 10 years period · a 5 kilograms bag | a 10-year period · a 5-kilogram bag |
Fractions: plural when more than one | two-third of students | two-thirds of students · a quarter / one quarter |
Decades have no apostrophe | the 1990's | the 1990s |
between … and; from … to | between 2014 to 2024 | between 2014 and 2024 · from 2014 to 2024 |
Avoid starting a sentence with a figure in digits | 3,970 students chose engineering in 2024. | In 2024, 3,970 students chose engineering. · Almost 4,000 students chose engineering. |
Multiples | two times more than (ambiguous) | twice as many as · three times as much as · doubled · halved · a threefold rise |
Approximation: say it precisely
| Exact figure | Precise approximation | Why |
|---|---|---|
33.1% (engineering share, 2024) | just under a third | A third is 33.3%, so 33.1% is a fraction below it. |
24.8% (business share, 2024) | almost / nearly a quarter | A quarter is 25%. |
16.6% (science share, 2024) | about one in six | One in six is 16.7%. |
12.3% (arts share, 2024) | roughly one in eight | One in eight is 12.5%. |
3,970 (engineering, 2024) | just under / nearly 4,000 | Only 30 below a round number. |
1,480 (arts, 2024) | a fraction under 1,500 | Only 20 below. |
3,010 → 2,980 (business) | virtually unchanged / fell marginally | A change of 1% is negligible. |
+60% (engineering growth) | rose by roughly three-fifths / by about 60% | Three-fifths is 60%. |
−36% (arts and humanities) | fell by more than a third | A third is 33.3%. |
58% | well over half / almost three-fifths | ‘Well over’ signals a clear gap above 50%. |
The number of, the amount of, the proportion of, the figure for
| Expression | Use with | Verb | ✔ Example | ✘ Common error |
|---|---|---|---|---|
the number of | plural countable nouns (students, cars, visitors) | singular: was / has / rose | The number of engineering students was 3,970. |
|
a number of | plural countable nouns, meaning ‘several’ | plural: were / have | A number of faculties were smaller in 2024. | Using it to mean ‘the total’ |
the amount of | uncountable nouns (money, water, electricity, time, rice) | singular | The amount of money spent on books fell. |
|
the proportion / percentage / share of | any noun, as a part of a whole | singular (the head noun is proportion) | The proportion of students in engineering was 33.1%. |
|
the figure for | a category, place or year | singular (figures = plural) | The figure for business was 2,980. |
|
the level / rate of | abstract uncountables (pollution, unemployment); speed or frequency | singular | The unemployment rate stood at 4%. |
|
fewer / less | fewer + countable; less + uncountable | — | Fewer students chose arts; less money was spent. |
|
large / small / high / low | a large number, a large amount, a high (or large) proportion, a high level | — | a large number of students · a high proportion of graduates |
|
Check your understanding: numbers and quantities
8 questions- 1
In 2024, engineering students made up 33.1% of the total. Which description is accurate?
- 2
Which phrase is WRONG for a figure of 52%?
- 3
Unemployment rose from 4% to 6%, an increase of two percentage .
- 4
The of water used per household fell by 12%.
- 5
The of households with a car rose to 40% in 2020.
- 6
Science students made up 16.6% of the total in 2024. Which approximation is best?
- 7
Find and correct the mistake:
About 2,5 millions tonnes of rice were exported.
- 8
Complete: ‘The proportion of students who ___ online ___ 41% in 2020.’
Answer every question to check.
Articles with data
| Rule | ✔ Correct | ✘ Error |
|---|---|---|
Superlatives and ordinals take the | Engineering had the highest number of students. · Business was the second-largest faculty. |
|
The before number / proportion / figure / amount + of | The number of arts students fell. |
|
A before a noun of change | There was a sharp rise in engineering enrolment. · a rise of 1,490 · a 60% increase |
|
No article with general uncountable or plural nouns | Unemployment rose. Spending on books fell. |
|
Countries: usually no article, except plural or ‘union / kingdom / states’ names | in Japan, in Bangladesh · the UK, the USA, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the UAE |
|
Years: no article; decades: the | in 2014 · in the 1990s |
|
Fixed phrases with the | the same, the rest, the majority of, the remainder, over the period |
|
Fractions take a or one; half needs no article | a third of students · half (of) the students |
|
Most meaning ‘the majority’ has no the | Most students chose engineering or business. |
|
Prepositions with data: to, by, at, of, in, for
| Preposition | Use | Example (from the table) |
|---|---|---|
to | the end point (the new value) | Engineering enrolment rose to 3,970. |
by | the size of the change | It rose by 1,490 / by about 60%. |
from … to | start and end values | It rose from 2,480 to 3,970. |
at | a value at one point in time (stand at, peak at, level off at) | Business enrolment stood at 3,010 in 2014. |
of | after a noun: the size of a change or a value | a rise of 1,490 · a total of 12,000 · a share of 33.1% |
in | after a noun of change: what changed | a rise in engineering enrolment · a fall in the number of arts students |
for | the figure for a category; account for | the figure for medicine · Engineering accounted for 33.1% of students. |
with | adding a figure to a clause; comparing | …, with engineering at 33.1% · compared with 2014 |
between | two years or two values | between 2014 and 2024 · fluctuated between 40 and 50 |
over | a period of time | over the decade · over the period shown |
Same data, different accuracy
Band 6 version
The number of students in engineering were increased from 2480 to 3970 in 2024, it was the highest. The amount of students in arts decreased to 840 and it was 12.3 percentage. Business students was almost same with 3010 and 2980.
Band 8 version
Engineering saw the most dramatic growth, with the number of students rising by roughly 60%, from 2,480 to 3,970. As a result, it accounted for just under a third of all enrolments in 2024. By contrast, the figure for arts and humanities fell by 840 to 1,480, while business enrolment remained virtually unchanged at around 3,000.
Count the problems in the band 6 version: ‘number … were’ (agreement); ‘were increased’ (the passive suggests someone deliberately increased it: use ‘rose’); a comma splice; ‘amount of students’ (countable, so ‘number’); ‘decreased to 840’ (wrong data: it fell BY 840 TO 1,480); ‘12.3 percentage’; ‘Business students was’; ‘almost same’; and figures without commas. The band 8 version has the same information, but every number, preposition, article and verb is accurate, and each approximation (roughly 60%, just under a third, around 3,000) is mathematically correct.
Error hunt: correct each sentence
12 questions- 1
Find and correct the mistake:
The number of students were 12,000 in 2024.
- 2
Find and correct the mistake:
The amount of international students rose sharply.
- 3
Find and correct the mistake:
Around 3 millions people used the metro.
- 4
Find and correct the mistake:
Enrolment in business remained almost same.
- 5
Find and correct the mistake:
Engineering had highest number of students in 2024.
- 6
Find and correct the mistake:
The share of medical students rose to 13.2 percentage.
- 7
Find and correct the mistake:
Arts and humanities enrolment fell to 840 students.
- 8
Find and correct the mistake:
Between 2014 to 2024, total enrolment grew by 1,500.
- 9
Find and correct the mistake:
There was a significant increase of the number of engineering students.
- 10
Find and correct the mistake:
Less students studied arts in 2024 than in 2014.
- 11
Find and correct the mistake:
Over a ten years period, science enrolment rose by about a third.
- 12
Find and correct the mistake:
The figure of business fell slightly.
Answer every question to check.
Your 2-minute accuracy check (do it every time)
- 1
1. Subjects with number / proportion / figure
Find every the number of / the proportion of / the figure for and check that the verb is singular (was, has, rose).
- 2
2. to / by / at / of / in
Check each figure against the visual. Is it the new value (to), the size of the change (by), a value at one time (at)? Is it a rise of (size) or a rise in (what changed)?
- 3
3. Articles
the highest, the number of, the figure for, the same, a rise, a third. Remove the from general nouns and years.
- 4
4. Number forms
3 million (no -s), 12,000, 2.5, a 10-year period, the 1990s. Use per cent or %, and stay consistent.
- 5
5. Approximations
Do nearly and just over point in the right direction? Is a change in a percentage described in percentage points?
- 6
6. Tense and spelling
Past data → past tense; projections → is expected / predicted to. Check the words you use most: percentage, proportion, approximately, significantly, government, environment, fluctuate, accommodation.
Writing Task 1 practice
150+ words · 20 minThe table below gives information about public libraries in Westland in 2000, 2010 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Indicator | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of libraries | 4,210 | 3,880 | 3,150 |
| Registered members (millions) | 12.6 | 11.9 | 9.8 |
| Book loans per year (millions) | 310 | 245 | 162 |
| Spending on new books (£ million) | 88 | 71 | 49 |
| Spending on digital resources (£ million) | 3 | 19 | 46 |
| Visits involving computer use (%) | 9 | 27 | 41 |
Self-check before submitting
- ☐ I used ‘the number of’ for libraries, members and loans, ‘the amount of money’ or ‘spending / expenditure’ for £ figures, and ‘the proportion of visits’ for the percentages.
- ☐ Every ‘the number of … / the proportion of …’ subject has a singular verb (was, fell, rose).
- ☐ I used ‘by’ for the size of a change and ‘to’ for the new value correctly, at least four times.
- ☐ My approximations are mathematically correct (4,210 → 3,150 is a fall of roughly a quarter; loans almost halved).
- ☐ I described the change in computer use in percentage points (9% → 41% is 32 percentage points).
- ☐ My articles are correct: the number of, the figure for, a fall of, the highest, the same.
- ☐ My numbers are formatted correctly: 4,210; 9.8 million (not ‘millions’); £46 million; 41%.
- ☐ My overview contrasts traditional services (falling) with digital provision (rising) without giving figures.
- ☐ I used past tenses throughout, with the past perfect for ‘By 2020, … had …’.
- ☐ I wrote at least 150 words in about 20 minutes, with no conclusion or opinion.
Final quiz: accuracy
12 questions- 1
In 2014, business enrolment stood 3,010.
- 2
Science enrolment rose 490 students between 2014 and 2024.
- 3
In 2024, engineering accounted just under a third of all students.
- 4
Arts and humanities students made up 12.3% of the total in 2024. Which is the most precise approximation?
- 5
Find and correct the mistake:
Each of the faculties have its own building.
- 6
Choose TWO sentences that accurately describe the Riverbend University table.
Select 2.
- 7
Which phrase correctly describes 74%?
- 8
The figure medicine rose to 1,580 in 2024.
- 9
Find and correct the mistake:
The 1990's saw a rapid growth in car ownership.
- 10
Find and correct the mistake:
A rise in 1,500 students was recorded.
- 11
In 2024, almost a of the students studied business (24.8%).
- 12
Spending on digital resources rose from £3 million to £46 million. Which description is accurate?
Answer every question to check.
Key takeaways
Precision vocabulary for data
Saved as flashcards with a free accountproportion
noun/prəˈpɔːʃn/
a part or share of a whole, often expressed as a percentage
অনুপাত; অংশ
The proportion of students studying engineering rose to 33.1%.
approximately
adverb/əˈprɒksɪmətli/
close to an exact number or amount, but not exactly
আনুমানিক
Approximately 12,000 students were enrolled in 2024.
marginally
adverb/ˈmɑːdʒɪnəli/
by a very small amount
সামান্য পরিমাণে
Business enrolment fell marginally, from 3,010 to 2,980.
account for
phrasal verb/əˈkaʊnt fɔː/
to form a particular part or share of a total
মোটের একটি অংশ গঠন করা
Engineering accounted for just under a third of all students.
negligible
adjective/ˈneɡlɪdʒəbl/
so small that it is not important
নগণ্য
The change in business enrolment was negligible.
respectively
adverb/rɪˈspektɪvli/
in the same order as the things you have just mentioned
যথাক্রমে
Science and medicine had 1,990 and 1,580 students respectively.
enrolment
noun/ɪnˈrəʊlmənt/
the number of people officially registered on a course or at an institution (AmE: enrollment)
ভর্তির সংখ্যা; নিবন্ধন
Total enrolment rose by 1,500 over the decade.
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