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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 8.0 Example

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

201 words AcademicTask 1Line Graph
Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

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Ideas to explore

  • The coast grows overall despite a small dip between 1987 and 1992, then finishes with the highest visitor total.
  • The lakes show the largest fluctuation: a sharp rise to a 2002 peak followed by a substantial fall.
  • The mountains remain the least visited area at the end, but their numbers increase gradually rather than decline.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the graph, its subject, locations and time period.
  2. Give an overview of the broad trends, the lakes’ peak and the final ranking.
  3. Describe the coast’s starting point, brief decline and subsequent rise.
  4. Compare the mountains’ steady increase with the lakes’ rise and later fall.
Useful vocabulary & examples
rose steadily
increased gradually over a period

Visitor numbers for the mountains rose steadily from about 20,000 to 35,000.

peaked at
reached the highest point

The number of visitors to the lakes peaked at approximately 75,000 in 2002.

fell to
decreased and reached a particular level

The lakes’ figure fell to around 50,000 by 2007.

ended as the most popular destination
had the highest visitor figure at the end of the period

The coast ended as the most popular destination, at about 75,000 visitors.

Task Prompt

The graph below shows the number of overseas visitors to three different areas in a European country between 1987 and 2007 Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 8.0

The graph illustrates how many foreign tourists to three destinations in one European country from 1987 to 2007. Overall, there was an increase in the number of travelers across all 3 areas throughout the period. It is evident that while the coast and the lakes tended to appeal to more and more visitors, the mountains’ figures rose much more gradually. In 1987, the coast attracted about 40,000 visitors, compared with roughly 20,000 to the mountains and 10,000 to the lakes. Coastal numbers dipped slightly to around 35,000 in 1992, before climbing to approximately 45,000 in 1997 and 60,000 in 2002. By 2007, the coast had reached roughly 75,000, the highest figure shown. Lake visits increased sharply from about 10,000 in 1987 to 25,000 in 1992 and 40,000 in 1997. They then peaked at around 75,000 in 2002, overtaking the coast, but fell to 50,000 by the end. By contrast, mountain tourism grew at a slower pace, rising from around 20,000 in 1987 to 25,000 in 1992 and 30,000 in 1997. It remained near this level in 2002, before edging up to approximately 35,000 in 2007.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Revise the overview so it says the figures rose overall, while noting that the lakes fell after 2002 and the coast dipped between 1987 and 1992.
2
Check that the opening sentence has a complete grammatical structure; for example, state that the graph shows tourist numbers for people visiting the three areas.
3
Compare the endpoint figures explicitly: the coast finishes at about 75,000, ahead of the lakes at 50,000 and the mountains at 35,000.

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