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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 5.0 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 5.0

The line graph illustrates information about the percentage of selling Australian products with four other countries. Overall, the percentage of Australian export with China is rising constantly while it is plummeting steeply with Japan. On the other hand, the trend with United States of America (USA) is fluctuating. In 1990, the number of Australian product exports to Japan was about 26%, while the figures for the USA, China and India were around 11%, 2% and 1%, respectively. Japan’s share fell to 20% in 1995 and then to 18% in 2000. It remained at approximately this level in 2005, before declining slightly to 17% in 2010 and staying unchanged in 2012. By contrast, China’s share rose gradually to 5% in 2000, then more rapidly, reaching 11% in 2005. It overtook Japan by 2010, at about 25%, and climbed further to 28% in 2012, the highest figure. The USA figure fluctuated, falling to 8% in 1995, rising to 11% in 2000 and then dropping to 5% in 2010 before recovering to 7%. India remained at around 1% until 2000, increased to 7% in 2010 and then fell to 5% in 2012.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Write an overview that names the main contrast: China rises to the highest share, while Japan declines from the highest starting point.
2
Use the correct measure and destination phrase, such as “the share of Australian exports to China,” throughout the report.
3
Check that each trend verb matches the plotted movement: reserve “fluctuated” for the USA and use “fell gradually” for Japan.

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