What approximation language is, in plain English
Approximation language helps you report values that are not exact or do not need to be exact. In Task 1, you describe charts and tables. Your job is to be accurate enough to reflect the graphic without drowning the reader in decimals. A tolerance is the error band you silently accept when you say about 50 percent. A rounding rule is how you convert 52.7 to about 53 or roughly 53. A percentage point is the absolute difference between two percentages, for example 40 percent to 50 percent is a rise of 10 percentage points.

Why Band 7 needs this
Band 7 rewards precise description and control of style. Good approximation reduces clutter, avoids false precision, and keeps your comparisons clean. Examiners expect you to round sensibly, choose one strong approximator per number, and keep units consistent.

Which word when

• about and around: neutral and common. Work before most numbers.
  Example: about 70 percent, around 1.2 million.
• approximately: formal and slightly heavier. Good for reports and when modifying a change.
  Example: increased by approximately 15 percentage points.
• roughly: signals a looser estimate than about. Use when the axis is coarse.
• nearly and almost: for values just below a landmark.
  Example: nearly half, almost 1 in 3.
• just under and just over: show closeness above or below a landmark.
  Example: just over 60 percent, just under 10 thousand.
• close to and in the region of: safe in Task 2 when referring to general magnitudes without charts. Use sparingly.

Placement patterns that read well

• Level: approximately 50 percent; roughly 1.3 million.
• Change by: rose by about 12 percentage points.
• Change to: rose to around 70 percent.
• Ranges: between 10 and 12, or about 10 to 12.
• Ratios and shares: nearly one in five; just over two thirds.

Consistency rules
Pick one family and stick to it inside a paragraph to avoid noise. For instance, prefer about or approximately, not both every other sentence. Keep units stable: percent vs percentage points vs people.

Two quick scales for rounding

• Small numbers: 1 to 20 – round to the nearest whole unit unless exactness is the point.
• Large numbers: thousands or millions – round to the nearest 1k or 0.1m unless the axis shows finer ticks.
  If a marker on the axis is exact, use it. If not, round.

Example 1 – Line graph to sentences with clean approximation

Prompt summary: Internet access in Countries A, B, C from 2000 to 2020.

Observation: A leads throughout; B follows steadily; C stays low until 2010 then accelerates.

Sentences:

• Overview: Access rose in all three countries, with A leading and C narrowing the gap after 2010.
• Change to: Country A rose to about 90 percent by 2020, up from roughly 35 percent in 2000.
• Contrast: Country B climbed steadily to the mid 70s, whereas Country C stayed below a quarter until 2010 but then reached around 70 percent.
• Gap: The A–C gap narrowed from about 25 points to around 20 points.

Why this scores: one approximator per number, rounded values, correct percentage points for differences.

Example 2 – Pie chart to sentences without decimal noise

Prompt summary: Household spending categories in one year.

Observation: Housing is the largest slice near 35 percent; food near 25 percent; transport near 15 percent; other small items share the rest.

Sentences:

• Ranking: Housing accounts for about a third, followed by food at roughly a quarter.
• Middle tier: Transport takes just over one in seven, while utilities and healthcare each contribute around a tenth combined.
• Small items: The remaining categories make up close to one fifth together.

Why this scores: idiomatic fractions, clean ranking, no unnecessary decimals.

Mini case – Afsana from Dhaka

Afsana wrote strings like 53.27, 41.89, 4.84 in every sentence. She adopted a 3-2-1 routine: three rounds of rounding, two approximators per paragraph max, and one gap or rank line per body. Over 12 tasks, numeric mentions per body fell from 8 to 3, by vs to errors dropped to zero, and mock Task 1 rose from 6.0 to 7.0.

Measurable drills

• 3-2-1 routine: Round every raw number once, choose at most two approximators per paragraph, add one sentence about a gap or ranking.
• By vs to check: underline each change verb. If you name the difference, use by. If you name the destination, use to. Aim for 100 percent accuracy.
• Number cap: highlight more than three numbers in any body paragraph and cut until only the most informative remain.
• Landmark swap: replace 48 percent with just under half, 67 percent with about two thirds, 33 percent with roughly a third. Time yourself for 60 seconds.

Common mistakes

• Stacking approximators: about roughly 50 percent. Choose one.
• Mixing units: 50 percent higher vs 50 percentage points higher. The first is relative change, the second is absolute change.
• Fake precision: 53.27 percent with no axis support.
• Overusing approximately in every sentence. Vary with about or around.
• Writing almost 50 percent higher when you mean almost 50 percent of.

Edge cases and safe fixes

• Unequal year gaps: avoid steady unless changes are smooth across the gaps. Say rose overall with a late surge after 2015.
• Very tight scale: use slightly or marginally rather than a big approximator.
• Exact labels present: if the chart clearly shows 75, write 75, not about 75.
• Comparatives of shares: prefer nearly twice as high as to about two times higher than, which many teachers mark as clumsy.

Tips and tricks

• Keep a short bank: about, around, approximately, roughly, nearly, just under, just over.
• Map numbers to landmarks: quarters, thirds, halves, two thirds. Readers process fractions faster than raw digits.
• Use adverbs of degree sparingly: slightly, moderately, sharply. One per change is enough.
• Read axis titles twice to avoid unit mistakes before you choose an approximator.

Glossary
Tolerance – the silent error band in an estimate.
Rounding rule – how you convert a raw figure to a cleaner one.
Percentage point – absolute difference between two percentages.
Relative change – change as a proportion of the original.
Landmark fraction – common share like a half or a third.
Decimal noise – unnecessary precision that hurts clarity.

Next steps
Pick two charts today. For each, write one overview and four single-lens sentences: change to, change by, contrast, gap. Limit to three numbers and two approximators per paragraph. Run the by vs to check and a quick unit pass. Record time per task and keep it under 15 minutes with zero unit errors.

1. Actionable closing — Checklist (do and avoid)

Do

• Use one approximator per number: about 70 percent; rose by approximately 5 points.
• Round to sensible landmarks: a third, half, two thirds.
• Keep units consistent and choose points for percentage differences.
• Cap at three numeric mentions per body paragraph.
• Vary wording across the report: about, around, roughly.

Avoid

• Stacked approximators like about roughly 60.
• Fake precision with needless decimals.
• Unit mix ups between percent and percentage points.
• Overusing approximately when about would read cleaner.
• Writing almost 50 percent higher if you mean almost 50 percent of.

CTA: Take one recent Task 1 chart. Apply the 3-2-1 routine, produce four single-lens sentences with clean approximators, and run the by vs to check. Log numbers per paragraph and unit errors. Repeat tomorrow and cut your numbers by 20 percent while keeping clarity high.