Academic Writing Task 1 · line graph

Main purposes of overseas residents' visits to the UK 2000-2016

The graph below gives information about the main purposes of overseas residents' visit to the UK between 2000 and 2016.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Overseas residents visits to the UK - by purpose, 2000 to 2016 (thousands)

Holiday
Visit Friends or Relatives
Business
Miscellaneous

View the data

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Holiday	9,300	7,600	7,800	8,000	9,300	9,700	10,600	10,900	11,000	11,400	11,700	12,000	12,000	12,500	13,500	13,800	13,900
Visit Friends or Relatives	5,900	6,000	6,400	7,000	7,900	8,600	9,400	9,800	9,800	8,900	8,500	8,900	9,000	9,300	9,700	10,500	11,600
Business	7,300	6,800	7,200	7,000	7,400	7,900	9,100	8,900	8,200	6,700	6,900	7,300	7,500	7,900	8,300	8,800	9,200
Miscellaneous	2,800	2,700	2,900	2,800	3,100	3,300	3,700	3,400	3,200	3,200	3,000	2,800	2,800	2,900	2,800	3,000	3,000

Chart redrawn by BandLadder from the data in the original IELTS practice task. Many IELTS practice tasks come from the Cambridge IELTS series (Cambridge University Press & Assessment); all rights in the original tasks remain with their owners.

Band 8 sample answer

The line graph illustrates the number of visits made by overseas residents to the UK for four distinct purposes between 2000 and 2016. Overall, it is clear that all categories of visits experienced an upward trend over the period, with holiday visits consistently remaining the most popular purpose for travel to the UK.

Holiday visits began at 9,300 thousand in 2000, dipped slightly in 2001, and then followed a steady upward trajectory to reach a peak of 13,900 thousand by 2016. Similarly, visits to friends or relatives showed significant growth, rising from 5,900 thousand to 11,600 thousand, overtaking business visits in 2003 and becoming the second most common reason for travel by the end of the period.

In contrast, business visits fluctuated more noticeably. Starting at 7,300 thousand, they peaked at 9,100 thousand in 2006 before dropping to 6,700 thousand in 2009. They subsequently recovered to reach 9,200 thousand by 2016. Miscellaneous visits remained the least popular category throughout the entire period, showing minimal variation and hovering consistently between 2,700 and 3,700 thousand visits.

174 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

How to write about line graphs

Overview first: the overall direction of each line and which was highest.
Group lines that move together instead of describing each one in turn.
Give the start and end figures plus the peak or low point, not every value.

upward trajectory: a path or trend that is moving upwards
fluctuated: changed frequently and uncertainly in level
overtaking: catching up with and passing another in rank
hovering: remaining at or near a particular level
minimal variation: very little change in the recorded data
distinct: clearly different or of a different kind

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, all categories of visits experienced an upward trend over the period, with holiday visits consistently remaining the most popular purpose for travel to the UK.

How long should an IELTS Task 1 answer be?

At least 150 words; 170 to 200 is the safe range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

How do I describe line graphs?

Overview first: the overall direction of each line and which was highest. Group lines that move together instead of describing each one in turn. Give the start and end figures plus the peak or low point, not every value.