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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.

192 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

  • The coast begins as the leading destination, dips slightly in 1992, then rises to finish highest.
  • Mountain visitor numbers rise gradually, with little change between 1997 and 2002.
  • The lakes have the most pronounced movement: a steep climb to the 2002 peak followed by a substantial fall.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the chart, locations, unit and period.
  2. Summarise the overall trends and identify the standout peak or change in ranking.
  3. Describe the coast’s figures in time order.
  4. Compare the more gradual mountain trend with the lakes’ sharper rise and fall.
Useful vocabulary & examples
rose steadily
increased gradually over time

Coastal visitor numbers rose steadily after 1992.

remained close to this level
stayed approximately the same

The mountain figure remained close to 30,000 in 2002.

peaked at
reached its highest point at a particular value

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

fell to
decreased until it reached a stated value

Lake visits fell to 50,000 by 2007.

Task Prompt

The graph below shows the number of overseas visitors to three different areas in a European country between 1987 and 2007.
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 8.0

The line graph illustrates the variations in the number of international tourists who visited three distinct locations in a European country from 1987 to 2007. Overall, coastal areas experienced the highest influx of foreign visitors throughout the period, with a consistent upward trend in tourist numbers. In contrast, mountainous areas recorded the fewest tourists, while the lakes showed the most dramatic rise and subsequent fall. In 1987, the coast attracted about 40,000 visitors, compared with roughly 20,000 to the mountains and 10,000 to the lakes. Five years later, coastal visitor numbers dipped slightly to around 35,000, while both the mountain and lake figures stood at approximately 25,000. By 1997, the coast had recovered to 50,000, and the number visiting the lakes had increased to 40,000; the mountains reached about 30,000. The most striking change occurred in the lakes, whose visitor total surged to approximately 75,000 in 2002, exceeding the coast at about 65,000. By 2007, the coastal figure had climbed to around 75,000, whereas the lake total fell to 50,000. Mountain visits rose more gradually, ending at roughly 35,000.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Revise the overview to identify the coast’s general rise and the lakes’ 2002 peak, rather than saying the coast led in every year.
2
Use approximate figures with units consistently, and include the key comparisons: the lake and mountain totals are level in 1992, and the lakes exceed the coast in 2002.
3
Check category labels for consistency: use “the coast,” “the mountains,” and “the lakes” throughout the report.

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