WRITING TASK 1

LINE CHART
Line graph

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the population change between 1940 and 2000 in three different
counties in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
nudsjfj
 Describing Trends
Possible adjectives Possible nouns:
• gradual • variation
• moderate • decline
• modest • decrease
• sharp • dip
• dramatic • drop
• slight • fall
• steep • peak
• steady • fluctuation
• significant • growth
• considerable • increase
• rapid • rise
• slump
 Describing Trends
Possible verbs: Possible adverbs:
• rise • gradually
• jump • moderately
• grow • modestly
• climb • sharply
• increase • dramatically
• rocket • slightly
• fall • steeply
• drop • steadily
• decline • significantly
• decrease • considerably
• go down • rapidly
• plummet • slowly
• plunge
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows radio and television

audiences throughout the day in 1992.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting

the main features and make comparisons where
relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

 Paragraph Structure
Paragraph 1 – Introduction
Paragraph 2 – Overview
Paragraph 3 – Details / Body Paragraph 1
Paragraph 4 – Details / Body Paragraph 2
 Paragraph 1

Introduction
 Introduce the graph

By paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is simply re-writing a phrase or

sentence so that it has the same meaning,
but with different words.
 Starting Presentation type Verb Description

The/ the given / the diagram / table / figure / shows / represents / the comparison of…
supplied / the illustration / graph / depicts / enumerates / the differences…
presented / the chart / flow chart / illustrates / presents/ the changes...
shown / the provided picture/ presentation/ gives / provides / the number of…
pie chart / bar graph/ delineates/ outlines/ information on…
column graph / line describes / delineates/ data on…
graph / table data/ expresses/ denotes/ the proportion of…
data / information / compares/ shows the amount of…
pictorial/ process contrast / indicates / information about...
diagram/ map/ pie chart figures / gives data on / data about...
and table/ bar graph and gives information on/ comparative data...
pie chart presents information the trend of...
about/ shows data the percentages of...
about/ demonstrates/ the ratio of...
sketch out/ how the...
summarizes...
 Introduce the graph

• the title
The line graph below shows radio and
television audiences throughout the day in
1992.

• Paraphrase the title

The line graph illustrates the proportion of
people in the UK who watched TV and
listened to the radio over 24 hours from
October to December 1992.
The line graph gives information on the
percentages of radio listeners and television
viewers in the UK for the past three months,
from October to December 1992.

The provided line graph represents the

comparison of UK population who spent their
time on radio and television based on the time
of the day from October to December 1992.
The data is measured in percentages.
The presented line graph gives data on the
comparison of public in the UK aged over four
years old who watched television and listened
to the radio within 24 hours from October to
December 1992.
 Paragraph 2

Overview
 Overview

An overview is simply a
summary of the main or most
important points in a graph,
chart, process or map.
 Why should you write an
overview?
• You can identify the most important
information from the figure

• You can clearly identify overall trends

and comparisons
 What should you write in an
overview?
• A general overview of the main trends
and most important information from
the graph.

• Do not write any numbers or

percentages in this paragraph.
• For the graphs/charts questions - You give the
examiner a clear overview of the main features and
you can make comparisons if you can see any. You
don't have to mention any numbers/data/stats here;
this information should be in the next two paragraphs.
 THINGS YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR IN THE
CHARTS/GRAPH QUESTIONS
• Focus on what the main features are
• Look at the highest and lowest numbers
• See if there has been a substantial growth or decline in a particular
category
• If there are a few categories, check if there is an obvious way
to group them together into just two or three groups.
• Look for one or two categories, which break the pattern set by all of
the others.
• Sometimes there are several different main features, which you can
identify. You can circle the key information on the question paper
before you start to write about your main features.
 How to write an overview
• Start your overview with a simple phrase that clearly shows the
examiner that this is your summary paragraph e.g. :

Overall, …….
In general, …………..
It is clear that......
It is noticeable that……
Overall, we can see that.....
Overall, it is clear that…..
Overall, the majority/minority…..
Overall, what stands out from the graph is……
As is observed, ……….
As a general trend, ………
As can be seen, ………
As an overall trend, ……..
As is presented, ………
Overall, it can be seen that a significantly greater
percentage of the TV audience watched in the evening
while radio had the most listeners in the morning and
over the course of each day and night, more people
watched TV than listened to the radio.
In general, it is clear that the percentage of
radio and television audience fluctuated
significantly over the 24-hour-period in which
the majority of people spent their evening
watching television, while radio listening was
mostly done in the morning.
Paragraph 3 & 4

Details
 Give the details
How to write body paragraphs

group data together to make sure you have a

well organized and coherent answer.

How???

look for similarities and differences when

you first analyze the graph for IELTS task 1,
and decide what can be logically put together
or not.
Linking Phrases to introduce new sections of the graph
• To begin, …..
• To begin with, …..
• First of all, …..
• Looking at the details, …..
• If we look at …..
• Turning to the …..
• Regarding ……., it ………
• As regards …..,
• As for …..,
• With respect to …..,
 Approximations, Percentages and
Fractions
Fractions Proportions
73%- nearly three quarters
51%- just over a half 70%- a large proportion
49%- just under a half 71%- a significant majority
32%- nearly a third 15% a small minority
3%- a tiny fraction 3%- an insignificant minority
50%- exactly a half
26%- roughly one quarter
49%- around a half
24%- almost a quarter
77%- approximately three
quarters
Percentage Fraction
80% four-fifths
75% three-quarters
70% seven in ten
65% two-thirds
60% three-fifths
55% more than half
50% half
45% more than two fifths
40% two-fifths
35% more than a third
30% less than a third
25% a quarter
20% a fifth
15% less than a fifth
10% one in ten
5% one in twenty
Percentage Qualifier
77% just over three quarters
77% approximately three quarters
49% just under a half
49% nearly a half
32% almost a third

proportion / number /
Percentage
amount / majority / minority
75% - 85% a very large majority
65% - 75% a significant proportion
10% - 15% a minority
5% a very small number
 Body Paragraph 1

Turning to the details, less than 10% of people

watched TV between 1 am and 12 noon, but at 4
pm this figure increased rapidly, reaching a peak
at almost half the population at 8 pm. After this,
the graph recorded a sharp decline in viewers,
reaching a low of only a tiny percentage by 3 am.
 Body Paragraph 2

Radio, on the other hand, showed a very different

trend. The most popular time for listeners to be tuned
in was just after 8 am when around 27% of the
population was listening. After a brief peak, the
numbers dropped steadily to barely 2%, apart from
fluctuations at around 4 pm and 10.30 pm. The
percentage of listeners remained low overnight before
beginning a rapid ascent from 6 am to the 8 am high.
The presented line graph gives data on the comparison of public in the UK aged
over four years old who watched television and listened to the radio within 24
hours from October to December 1992.

Overall, it can be seen that a significantly greater percentage of the TV audience

watched in the evening while radio had the most listeners in the morning and
over the course of each day and night, more people watched TV than listened to
the radio.

Turning to the details, less than 10% of people watched TV between 1 am and
12 noon, but at 4 pm this figure increased rapidly, reaching a peak at almost half
the population at 8 pm. After this, the graph recorded a sharp decline in
viewers, reaching a low of only a tiny percentage by 3 am.

Radio, on the other hand, showed a very different trend. The most popular time
for listeners to be tuned in was just after 8 am when around 27% of the
population was listening. After a brief peak, the numbers dropped steadily to
barely 2%, apart from fluctuations at around 4 pm and 10.30 pm. The
percentage of listeners remained low overnight before beginning a rapid ascent
from 6 am to the 8 am high.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows changes in the

amount and type of fast food consumed by
Australian teenagers from 1975 to 2000.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting

the main features and make comparisons where
relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

 The line graph compares the fast food consumption of teenagers in
Australia between 1975 and 2000, a period of 25 years.

Overall, the consumption of fish and chips declined over the period,
whereas the amount of pizza and hamburgers that were eaten increased.

In 1975, the most popular fast food with Australian teenagers was fish
and chips, being eaten 100 times a year. This was far higher than Pizza and
hamburgers, which were consumed approximately 5 times a year. However,
apart from a brief rise again from 1980 to 1985, the consumption of fish and
chips gradually declined over the 25 year timescale to finish at just under 40.

In sharp contrast to this, teenagers ate the other two fast foods at
much higher levels. Pizza consumption increased gradually until it overtook the
consumption of fish and chips in 1990. It then leveled off from 1995 to 2000. The
biggest rise was seen in hamburgers as the occasions they were eaten increased
sharply throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, exceeding that of fish and chips in
1985. It finished at the same level that fish and chips began, with consumption at
100 times a year.

(194 words)
 Let’s practice!

Fill in the blanks…

This graph below shows the amounts of waste produced by
three companies over a period of 15 years.
 five years amounts produced

provides line

measured three

The ……………… graph …………… information

about the ……………. of waste ………………… in
……………. different companies (Company A, B
and C) for every ……………….., from 2000 to
2015. The data is ……………….. in tonnes.
 produced dramatic waste

overall contrasted gradually

………………….., what stands out from the graph

is that Company A and B showed ………………..
decreases in creating ………….. and this
……………. to the waste …………………. of the
Company C that increased ………………….. .
 gradually ten-year period hitting seen

reaching decline continued

Looking at the details, after ………………… a high of 12

tonnes in the first year (in 2000), the amount of waste
produced by Company A ……………… to ……………..
dramatically to 8 tonnes in 2015. As it can be ………….. in
the Company B, the amount of waste generated rose
……………… from 8 to 10 tonnes in 2005, but the converse
would be true for the subsequent years and then …………..
a low of 3 tonnes over the ……………………….. .
 rose upward accounted for

trend close

Although Company C was ……………. behind

when it came to waste product in 2000, this
……………. showed an …………… trend from
4 to 6 tonnes in first 5 years and then
continuously ………….. to overtake the
figures for Company A and C in year of 2015
that was ……………… 10 tonnes.
Let’s practice writing!!
The chart below shows the number of computers sold at three computer stores in Ho
Chi Minh City between 2000 and 2005.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.