Academic Writing Task 1 · mixed chart

Travel trends to and from the UK and popular destinations

The charts below give information about travel to and from the UK, and about the most popular countries for UK residents to visit.

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

Visits to and from the UK (millions)

visits abroad by UK residents
visits to the UK by overseas residents

View the data

	1979	1984	1989	1994	1999
visits abroad by UK residents	13	19	30	41	53
visits to the UK by overseas residents	10	13	18	23	26

Most popular countries visited by UK residents 1999 (millions of UK visitors)

View the data

	Turkey	Greece	USA	Spain	France
visitors	2	3	3.5	9.5	11

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 to and from the UK between 1979 and 1999, while the bar chart details the most popular destinations for UK residents in the final year of that period.

Overall, both travel categories experienced significant growth over the two decades, with UK residents consistently travelling abroad more than overseas visitors travelled to the UK. By 1999, France was the most popular destination for British travellers.

In 1979, 13 million UK residents travelled abroad, a figure that rose steadily to 19 million by 1984. Growth accelerated thereafter, reaching 30 million in 1989 and peaking at 53 million in 1999. Conversely, visits to the UK by overseas residents started at 10 million in 1979 and followed a similar upward trend, albeit at a slower pace, reaching 26 million by 1999.

Regarding the most popular countries visited by UK residents in 1999, France was the clear leader with 11 million visitors. Spain followed with 9.5 million, while the USA and Greece attracted 3.5 million and 3 million visitors respectively. Turkey was the least popular of the listed destinations, recording 2 million visits.

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

How to write about mixed charts

Write one overview sentence that links the two visuals.
Give each visual its own detail paragraph.
Point out where one chart explains the other.

accelerated: increased in speed or rate of growth
conversely: introducing a statement that reverses a previous one
steady: regular, even, and continuous in development
peaking: reaching the highest point or value
clear leader: the item with the highest value by far
recorded: set down in writing or other permanent form

Write your own report and get a band

Take a timed Academic writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS Academic writing

On your phone? Get the BandLadder app.

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, both travel categories experienced significant growth over the two decades, with UK residents consistently travelling abroad more than overseas visitors travelled to the UK, while France remained the most popular destination in 1999.

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 mixed charts?

Write one overview sentence that links the two visuals. Give each visual its own detail paragraph. Point out where one chart explains the other.