What's new on IELTS with Fiona

As I was doing some research about Halloween, I noticed this really interesting language point (in orange 🍊).

Can you explain it?

You can use the structure "a/an + adjective" before a statistic to express an emotional or evaluative reaction to the number.

This technique adds emphasis and helps the listener or reader understand the speaker's perspective on the data. The adjective reveals the speaker's surprise, concern, excitement, or other feeling about the statistic.

Examples:

• A staggering 95% of teenagers spend over 4 hours daily on social media.
• An alarming 62% of young adults report experiencing significant anxiety.
• A heartening 78% of volunteers say they feel more connected to their community.
• A disappointing 34% of students complete their language learning goals.
• An impressive 92% of renewable energy targets were met this year.
• A troubling 46% of food produced globally goes to waste.
• A surprising 55% of people have never traveled outside their home country.

It may be useful for IELTS Writing Task 1 Reports.

Although you are not supposed to show opinion in the reports, it is possible to comment on the amount, for example

• Sales rose by a staggering 500%.
• Profit increased by a mere 1% ('mere' is used to emphasize how small or insignificant someone or something is.)