account for
To form or be a particular amount or part of something, or to explain why something happened/
writing-task-1writing-task-2Work and economyEnvironment
IELTS use
Describing proportions in data (Task 1) or explaining reasons/causes (Task 2).
Examples
- Renewable energy accounted for nearly 30% of total electricity generation.
- Several factors account for the rising cost of living in urban areas.
Collocations
- account for
- The service sector accounts for over 60% of the country's GDP.
Word family
- Noun
- account
- Verb
- account
Paraphrases
- constitute: Slightly more formal, used similarly for proportions.
- explain the reason for: Useful in Task 2 cause-effect discussions.
- make up: Less formal but common for percentages in spoken English.
Common mistakes
- account to 50% to account for 50%. The correct collocation is 'account for' when describing a proportion.
- The increase accounts by higher demand to The increase is accounted for by higher demand. In passive or explanatory contexts, use 'is accounted for by'.