Academic Writing Task 1 · line graph

Trends in free time activities among elderly Americans from 1980 to 2010

The graph below shows how elderly people in the United States spent their free time between 1980 and 2010.

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

Free time activities of the elderly in the United States from 1980 to the present (%)

Reading
Hiking
Theatre
Watching TV
Surfing the Internet

View the data

	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s
Reading	30	40	20	60
Hiking	20	40	60	80
Theatre	50	30	40	45
Watching TV	60	65	70	65
Surfing the Internet	5	10	15	50

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 changes in the leisure habits of elderly people in the United States across four decades, starting from the 1980s through to the 2010s.

Overall, hiking and surfing the internet experienced significant growth, while watching TV remained the most popular activity for the majority of the period. Reading and theatre attendance showed more volatile patterns throughout the timeframe.

Watching TV began as the most popular activity at 60% in the 1980s, peaking at 70% in the 2000s before dipping slightly to 65% by the 2010s. Hiking showed a consistent upward trend, starting at 20% and rising steadily to reach 80% by the 2010s, making it the most favoured activity by the end of the period. Similarly, surfing the internet saw a gradual increase from a mere 5% in the 1980s to 15% in the 2000s, followed by a sharp surge to 50% in the 2010s.

In contrast, reading fluctuated, rising from 30% to 40% in the 1990s, dropping to 20% in the 2000s, and finally recovering to 60%. Theatre attendance also experienced instability, falling from 50% to 30% between the 1980s and 1990s, before gradually climbing to 45% by the 2010s.

194 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.

fluctuated: changed frequently and irregularly in rise and fall
upward trend: a general direction of increasing values over time
peaking: reaching the highest point before a subsequent decline
sharp surge: a sudden and significant increase in a value
favoured: preferred or chosen more often than other options
instability: the state of being prone to unpredictable change

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, hiking and surfing the internet experienced significant growth, while watching TV remained the most popular activity for the majority of the period.

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.