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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.

204 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 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 provided illustrates the number of overseas visitors to three distinct areas within a European country over a span of two decades, from 1987 to 2007. Overall, it is evident that the coastal area consistently attracted the highest number of tourists, whereas the mountainous regions appeared less popular. Notably, the overall trend indicates a general upward movement in visitor numbers, despite some fluctuations. The coast began at about 40,000 visitors in 1987, dipped to roughly 35,000 in 1992, and then rose steadily to around 75,000 by 2007. The lakes followed a sharper but less consistent pattern: their figure increased from approximately 10,000 in 1987 to 40,000 in 1997, before surging to a peak of about 75,000 in 2002. It then fell to around 50,000 in the final year. The mountains, by contrast, recorded the lowest total at the start, at roughly 20,000. Their numbers climbed gradually, reaching about 30,000 in 1997 and ending at approximately 35,000 in 2007. Thus, although the coast showed the strongest sustained growth and finished first, the lakes experienced the most dramatic change, temporarily exceeding the coastal figure in 2002. The mountains rose more modestly throughout the period.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Check which line is highest at each time point; in 2002, the lakes are above the coast, so avoid saying the coast led throughout.
2
Make the overview capture the broad patterns: the coast rises overall, the lakes peak sharply and then fall, and the mountains grow gradually.
3
Keep the introduction concise by naming the measure, locations and years without repeating the period in two forms.

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