Academic Writing Task 1 · line graph

Monthly sales of handmade olive oil soaps to tourists in Turkey 2015

The chart below shows the sales of handmade olive oil soaps to tourists in Turkey in 2015.

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

Sales of handmade olive oil soaps to tourists in Turkey in 2015 (Millions of Turkish Lira)

View the data

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sales	200	225	350	250	200	150	125	225	125	175	175	180

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 monthly sales of handmade olive oil soaps to tourists in Turkey throughout 2015, measured in millions of Turkish Lira.

Overall, the sales figures experienced significant volatility throughout the year, peaking in March before reaching a low point in July and September. Despite these fluctuations, the final sales figure in December was slightly lower than the starting point in January.

In the first quarter, sales rose from 200 million in January to 225 million in February, followed by a sharp climb to a peak of 350 million in March. This was the highest point of the year. Subsequently, sales declined steadily over the next four months, dropping to 250 million in April, 200 million in May, 150 million in June, and reaching a trough of 125 million in July.

August saw a sudden recovery to 225 million, matching the February figure, before plummeting back to 125 million in September. From October onwards, the trend stabilised, with sales rising to 175 million, remaining flat through November, and ending the year at 180 million in December, which was slightly below the initial January level.

186 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.

volatility: frequent and unpredictable changes in a trend
peaking: reaching the highest point in a data set
trough: the lowest point reached in a trend
fluctuations: irregular rising and falling of numerical values
stabilised: becoming steady and showing little further change
plummeting: falling or dropping straight down at speed

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, the sales figures experienced significant volatility throughout the year, peaking in March before reaching a low point in July and September.

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.