IELTS WRITING

TASK 1
Line Graph
Writing a line graph description
• Essential vocabulary for line graphs
• The structure of the line graph report
• Tips for writing a line graph
• A sample line graph question
• Writing an introduction
• Writing an overview
• Writing details
Language for describing data
Data can be referred as:

• The figure
• The trend
• The data
• The number
• The value
• The amount
Language for an increase
• Rose to/grew to/expanded
• Increased to (steadily, gradually, modestly)
• Inched to (increased slowly)
• Crawled to

• Jumped to (increased fast)/

• Swelled to/Soared to
• Rocketed to

• Peaked at
• Topped at
Language for a decrease
• Dropped to/Decreased/Subsided to
• Fell to/Dwindled to
• Slid to/lessened
• Shrank to
• Declined to

• Bottomed at
• Hit a trough at
Unchanging state
• Remained steady/constant/stable/unchanged
• Stabilized
• Leveled off
• Hovered around
• Reached a plateau of
To describe a volatile state
• The graph experienced volatility for
• There were unstable figures between
• The figures became turbulent between
• There was a period of fluctuation between ______ and ________
• There was a period of wild fluctuations
To describe an intersection

• The lines A and B intersected at

• The values of A an B converged at
• A point of intersection can be seen at
• At x year, the value of A and B were the same

B
Adjectives for large movement
• Considerable
• Sudden and noticeable
• Significant and dramatic
• Sharp and distinctive
• Massive
• Rapid
• Huge
• Exponential
• Drastic
• Erratic
Adjectives for small movement
• Insignificant
• Slight
• Minor
• Negligible
• Inconsiderable
• Slow
• Marginal
Report structure
• Introduction

It’s a brief paraphrase of the question with general information

only and without details or analysis of the data.
• Overview

It’s a general analysis with the highlight of the main trends,

stages, changes, similarities or differences. You can add
something which is the most significant.
• Details

It includes all other details, grouping information as much as

possible.
Tips for writing a line graph

• Try to write at least four paragraphs (an introduction, an

overview and two or three detailed paragraphs)
• For an overview, look at the big picture. What changes do you
notice for all the lines given from the beginning to the end? Is
there a general trend?
• Do not mention numbers for the overview (summary); numbers
can be stated for the detailed description.
• Never describe each line separately; the examiner wants to
see the comparison.
Overview Exercise 1
Overview Exercise 2
A sample line graph description
Introduction
• The graph is an illustration of the changing pattern of four cafes
in New York City in terms of their earnings over the previous year.
The data was collected on a monthly basis in thousands with the
dollar currency.
Overview
• Overall, both downward and upward trends were observed: all
cafes except the Tea Room made considerable profits with varying
degrees over the period. It is, however, noticeable that the revenue
made by the Tea Room became significantly lower in the winter
months compared to the other three cafes.
Detailed report – Para 1

From a detailed perspective, the Tea Room began the year positively with its
income of 160,000 in dollars in January, being the most exponential
compared to other cafes. However, this initial period with a high volume of
turnover experienced significant fluctuations over the next few months until
it hit a trough at an approximate amount of 40,000 dollars in December,
ending the year up with the lowest revenue. Conversely, Café Cool was the
least popular in its beginning stage of business with its lowest income of just
above 20,000 dollars though, after some periods of turbulence in sales, it
managed to swell to the value of about 120,000 dollars in the final month of
the year, just opposite to that of the Tea Room which had a slump in
profits in December.
 Detailed report – Para 2
As for the remaining two cafes, both the Internet Express and the
Wifi Café enjoyed considerable income in January with around
100,000 and 50,000 dollars respectively. Subsequently, the Internet
Express slid distinctively to the value of 80,000 dollars in profits in
the month of June whereas the Wifi Cafe had a noticeable climb to
100,000 dollars in July. The Wifi Café continued its impressive
success in business until it peaked at 190,000 dollars in its final
months after a slight dip in September. Similarly, the Internet
Express picked up its speed again in July and ended the year up as
the second most successful café in New York with its revenue level of
about 130 thousands in dollars in the month of December.