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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 4.0 Example

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

220 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 4.0

The line graph illustrates amount of foreign visitors to three various zones in a European country from 1987 and 2007. Overall it is clear that all three zones shown on the graph experienced varying degrees of increase in the thousands of tourists over the period given. We can also see that the biggest rise was seen in the lakes, where the number of visitors went up very quickly until 2002. In 1987, the coast was the most popular area, with about 40 thousand visitors. The lakes had only 10 thousand, while the mountains received around 20 thousand. Visitors to the coast went down a little to 35 thousand in 1992, but then it increased and reached about 75 thousand in 2007. The lakes also rose, reaching 25 thousand in 1992 and 40 thousand in 1997. It had a very large increase to around 75 thousand in 2002, before falling to 50 thousand at the end. In comparison, the mountains had a slow growth during the whole time. It began at 20 thousand and finished at approximately 35 thousand. In 1997, the coast had about 50 thousand visitors and the lakes had 40 thousand. The chart shows that the lakes had the highest number in 2002, but the coast became the most popular in 2007. The mountains stayed lowest after 1992.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Rewrite the overview to contrast the coast’s steady overall rise, the mountains’ modest rise, and the lakes’ sharp rise followed by a decline.
2
Check each time phrase: use “between 1987 and 2007” or “from 1987 to 2007,” not a mixture of the two patterns.
3
After drafting, trace each pronoun such as “it” back to its noun; repeat “the figure for the lakes” if the reference is unclear.

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