Original BandLadder material
It teaches a 4-step method: which way?, how big?, verb or noun? and by, to or of?. Along the way you get worked examples with the key words marked, before-and-after fixes that show why the first version loses marks, a one-page visual summary, word cards with meanings and examples (rise sharply, fall slightly, increase steadily and decline gradually), a quick check to test yourself and a recap of the rules to remember. Each card holds one idea, so you can read it on a phone between practice sessions.
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The first 3 of 10 cards
easy to miss, easy to fix
You already know the trend verbs. The mistakes hide in the small words around them.
Bus use rose upextra word in 2020. There was a increasea before a vowel in cycling and a sharp fall car useword missing that year.
The fixes: rose, an increase, a sharp fall in car use.
ask them in this order
size words first, then shape words
| Change | Up ↑ | Down ↓ |
|---|---|---|
| Huge | soar | plunge |
| Big | rise sharply | fall sharply |
| Medium | rise moderately | fall moderately |
| Small | rise slightly | fall slightly |
| Turn | peak at 80% | bottom out at 5% |
| Flat | level off | level off |
| Zigzag | fluctuate | fluctuate |
Level off and fluctuate have no direction: one word for both columns.
Card 4 of 10 onwards
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The BandLadder team wrote and checked it. It is original BandLadder material, not copied from books or other websites, and its exam facts are checked against the official IELTS and PTE pages.
Both. The lesson is in the IELTS and the PTE study library, so it opens whichever exam you prepare for.
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