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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.

189 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

  • Highlight the main crossover: Japan leads in the earlier years, while China overtakes it between 2005 and 2010.
  • Contrast China’s steep late increase with Japan’s gradual decline.
  • Note that the smaller series do not follow one pattern: the US fluctuates, whereas India rises to a peak and then falls.

Suggested structure

  1. Paraphrase what the graph measures and give the years covered.
  2. Summarise the overall ranking change and the main trends without listing every figure.
  3. Compare Japan and the US, using starting points, changes and final values.
  4. Describe China and India together, emphasising China’s sharp late rise and India’s smaller peak and decline.
Useful vocabulary & examples
accounted for
formed a particular percentage or share of the total

Japan accounted for about 26% of Australian exports in 1990.

rose sharply
increased quickly and substantially

China’s share rose sharply after 2005.

fluctuated
went up and down rather than changing steadily in one direction

The percentage for the US fluctuated over the period.

peaked at
reached its highest point at a particular value

India’s share peaked at about 7% in 2010.

Task Prompt

The line graph shows the percentages of Australian export with four countries. The graph below shows the percentage of Australian exports to 4 countries from 1990 to 2012
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 8.0

The line graph illustrates the proportion of Australian exports to four countries—Japan, the US, China, and India—over the period from 1990 to 2012. Overall, Japan was the leading importer of Australian goods at the beginning of the period, but by the end, China had surpassed it. In contrast, the US and India exhibited lower export figures throughout. Japan’s share fell considerably from about 26% in 1990 to 20% in 1995, then declined more gradually to around 17% by 2010, where it remained in 2012. The US figure fluctuated: it dropped from approximately 11% to 8% between 1990 and 1995, rose to about 11% in 2000, and then generally decreased before recovering slightly to 7% in 2012. By comparison, China’s share increased throughout the period. It rose from roughly 2% in 1990 to 11% in 2005, before climbing sharply to 25% in 2010 and approximately 28% in 2012. India began at about 1% and increased gradually, reaching a peak of around 7% in 2010 before falling to 5% in the final year. China therefore overtook Japan between 2005 and 2010 and finished well ahead of the other destinations.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Make the overview contrast explicit by naming the higher and lower destinations, rather than referring generally to “lower export figures.”
2
Use approximate values selectively to support the major movements: Japan’s decline, China’s sharp late rise, and India’s 2010 peak followed by a fall.
3
Check that every comparison names its reference country or year where needed, especially when using pronouns such as “it.”

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