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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 6.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

196 words AcademicTask 1Line Graph
Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Identify the overall direction of each line separately: margarine and butter fall over the full period, while the low-fat variety rises after it appears and then declines.
  • Highlight key turning points: butter peaks in 1986, margarine reaches a plateau around 100 grams in 1991–1996, and the low-fat line surges by 2001.
  • Mention crossovers where they change the ranking: Low Fat & Reduced Spreads is highest in 2001, while butter and margarine are no longer the leading series.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the graph, naming all three spreads, the years and the unit.
  2. Give an overview that accurately summarises the different overall patterns and the late-period ranking.
  3. Describe butter and margarine together, using their start values, peaks or plateaus and final values.
  4. Describe the later-starting low-fat series and compare its 2001 peak with the other spreads.
Useful vocabulary & examples
reached a peak of
rose to its highest recorded value

Butter reached a peak of approximately 160 grams in 1986.

remained stable at
stayed at approximately the same level

Margarine consumption remained stable at around 100 grams from 1991 to 1996.

overtook both alternatives
became higher than the other two series

Low Fat & Reduced Spreads overtook both alternatives in 2001.

eased to
fell slightly or gradually to a lower value

The low-fat spread eased to about 70 grams by 2007.

Task Prompt

The graph below shows the consumption of 3 spreads from 1981 to 2007.
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 6.0

The bar chart provides information about the percentage of births and deaths in Switzerland between 1970 and 2020, based on United Nations statistics. Overall,it is clear that the figure for birth rate contributes the highest numbers,while death has the smallest proportion. At the beginning of the period,the figure for birth remained stable at approximately 1.2. However, these opening details do not match the graph shown, which presents the consumption of margarine, low-fat and reduced-fat spreads, and butter in grams from 1981 to 2007. Butter was highest at the start, at about 140 grams, then peaked at nearly 160 in 1986. It subsequently fell sharply to around 100 in 1991 and declined to roughly 50 by 2007. Margarine began at about 90 grams, dipped to 80 in 1986, and rose to 100 in 1991, remaining at this level until 1996. It then dropped to approximately 80 in 2001 and 40 in 2007. Low-fat and reduced spreads appeared in 1996 at around 10 grams, climbed steeply to about 85 in 2001, and ended at 70. Thus, butter dominated early consumption, while the newer spread became the most popular at the end; margarine finished lowest.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Replace the unrelated opening with a direct introduction naming margarine, low-fat and reduced spreads, butter, and the period 1981–2007.
2
Write an overview that captures the main contrasts: butter declines overall, margarine fluctuates before falling, and low-fat spreads rise after appearing in 1996.
3
Check each year and approximate figure against the visual, then use grams consistently instead of percentages or proportions.

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