雅思小作文，主要是圖表類作文。題幹通常要求我們對題目中所給的圖表進行資訊提取，包括主要資訊的'概括、以及資訊間的相關比較。
在寫作時，我們可能會用到表示變化和對比的句子，本文對小作文的功能句型進行了一些總結，如下：
表示上升
(1) The house price increased / grew / went up / rose by *** / to ***.
(2) The number of overseas students increased steadily / significantly / considerably / moderately / slightly from *** to ***.
(3) The production of corn was on the rise, up from *** to ***.
(4) The consumption of chicken showed / witnessed / saw a rising / upward trend.
(5) There was a dramatic increase in the amount of chicken consumed.
表示下降
(1) The number of Japanese tourists dropped / declined / went down / fell / reduced by *** / to ***.
(2) Beef consumption has declined dramatically / significantly / sharply / steadily / moderately from *** to ***.
(3) The annual production rate was on the decline, down from *** to ***.
(4) The divorce rate showed / witnessed / saw a falling / downward trend.
(5) There was a slight decrease in the amount of fish consumed.
“倍數”表示法
(1) The amount of coal consumed was three times (as much as / more than) that of oil.
(2) The percentage of female students increased three folds / three times.
(3) The amount of beef consumed almost doubled / tripled, up / rising / climbing from *** to ***.
(4) The production of cars in factory A was three times as many as that in factory B.
(5) Factory A produced three times as many cars as Factory B.
“比較”表示法
(1) The consumption of beef was 70 grams more / less than that of lamb.
(2) People spent 36 hours on housework, compared with 25 hours two years before.
(3) Students who watch less television have higher scores.
(4) The number of visitors from France was the largest in the four groups / larger than any other groups.
(5) People spent the most money on food and drinks.
“佔據”表示法
(1) Oil accounted for / constituted / made up 25% of the energy source used in power plants.
(2) The energy source for power generation was composed of / was made up of 50% of coal, 30% of hydro power and 20% of oil.
(3) The proportion / percentage of expenditure on food was 45% in 2000.
(4) Coal produced / contributed almost 75% of electricity.
(5) Coal has become the fuel for more than 75% of electricity produced.
表示“平穩”或者“波動”
(1) The amount of water used for agriculture remained/stayed stable/steady/unchanged for 5 years in a row.
(2) The unemployment rate was flat at 6%.
(3) The house price stabilized at a high level from 1998 to 2000.
(4) The power consumption levels out / levels off in this period.
(5) The power consumption fluctuated in this period.
“極值”或者“超越”表示法
(1) The proportion of migrant workers reached a record high of / a peak of 60% in 2005.
(2) The birth rate peaked at 3% in 2005.
(3) The rainfall in 2000 was 1500 mm that year, a new low in twenty years.
(4) The percentage of smokers in female grew to a record high of 37% in 1990 and outmatched / exceeded that of their male counterpart.