The Intensity Dial
Three dials, not one. A change can be large and slow at the same time.
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Three dials, not one. A change can be large and slow at the same time.
Academic test only. Pair an adverb with a trend verb without contradicting it, and use the adjective form correctly.
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Band 6 has one dial for how much. English has three, and they work independently.
Asked to describe how something changed, a Band 6 candidate reaches for a lot or a little — a single scale running from small to big.
But a change has three independent properties, and English has separate words for each.
Three dials, not one. A change can be large and slow at the same time.
Three dials, not one. A change can be large and slow at the same time.
Both forms of every adverb, and which trend verbs accept them.
adjective: sharp
prices rose sharply
there was a sharp rise in prices
Takes: rise, fall, drop, increase, decrease
adjective: steady
output grew steadily
a steady increase in output
✗ never with fluctuate
adjective: gradual
numbers fell gradually
a gradual fall in numbers
✗ never with surge or plummet
adjective: marginal
the figure dropped marginally
a marginal drop in the figure
✗ the classic error with plummet
adjective: dramatic
sales rose dramatically
a dramatic increase in sales
✗ a dramatically increase
adjective: slight
the rate rose slightly
a slight rise in the rate
Slightly larger than marginally
adjective: considerable
demand grew considerably
a considerable increase in demand
Says nothing about speed
adjective: abrupt
the trend reversed abruptly
an abrupt reversal in the trend
Says nothing about size
Learn both forms of every card. Alternating between them is the flexibility the Band 7 descriptor asks for — and it costs you no new vocabulary.
Sort twelve words by which of the three dials they describe.
Sort each item into the correct category
Three pairings where one adverb argues with its own verb.
Chain 1
Sentence: the figure plummeted ___ .
Candidates: marginally / dramatically
The expert chooses:
Because:
Chain 2
Sentence: the rate fluctuated ___ throughout the period.
Candidates: steadily / considerably
The expert chooses:
Because:
Chain 3
Sentence: the writer wants to say the figure moved by a very small amount, and wants full control of the size.
Candidates: surged marginally / rose marginally
The expert chooses:
Because:
Six sentences to say the other way round. This alternation is what the descriptor calls flexibility.
Adverb → adjective
Prices rose sharply. → There was a rise in prices.
Output grew steadily. → There was a growth in output.
Sales increased dramatically. → There was a increase in sales.
Adjective → adverb
There was a gradual decline in attendance. → Attendance declined .
There was a marginal drop in unemployment. → Unemployment dropped .
There was an abrupt reversal in the trend. → The trend reversed .
Describe the same fall two ways and have both checked.
Here is one movement from a chart:
Youth unemployment fell from 18% to 7% over three years.
Both must be accurate, and the second must be a real sentence — not the first one with the words shuffled.
The movement described with a verb and a degree adverb.
The same movement, restructured around a noun.