In terms of

Google also increased steadily, although not as significantly as Facebook.

This writer makes us extremely curious. What does it mean that Google increased steadily?

  • Did Google and Facebook get fatter?
  • Did they multiply?
  • Did their profits increase?
  • Did the amount of detail on their pages increase?
  • Did the number of users increase?

There's a magic phrase you can use in IELTS writing that will help you to make yourself clear in this situation:

in terms of

Google also increased steadily in terms of the number of users, although not as significantly as Facebook.

Here the reader can see clearly the thing that changed - the number of users.

How to use it in Task 1?

in terms of + the statistical unit being described

In IELTS Task 1 writing the statistical units are usually given on the x and y axes of a graph, or somewhere close to a chart or table.

How to use it in Task 2?

Use in terms of in Task 2 to introduce the topic of a body paragraph:

Shopping online is better than shopping in physical stores in terms of convenience. First of all, adipisicing corrupti necessitatibus nemo minus nostrum, exercitationem. In addition, asperiores qui vero exercitationem hic ipsum qui. In consequatur qui accusantium placeat fugiat Rem perferendis possimus autem quisquam recusandae. Moreover, dolore praesentium dignissimos beatae dolorum in. Praesentium temporibus placeat cum aliquid consectetur, quibusdam animi.

IELTS Scores

In terms of is a lexical phrase in which all three words collocate strongly. Strong collocation in IELTS gets you a high score for vocabulary, and since it makes your writing clearer, your scores for Task Achievement (TA) and also for Coherence and Cohesion (CC) will also increase!