Academic Writing Task 1 · line graph

Trends in international student enrolment at Sheffield University from 2005 to 2009

The line graph gives information about the number of Iranian, Greek and Turkish students who enrolled at Sheffield University between 2005 and 2009.

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

International student enrolment (Number of students)

Iran
Greece
Turkey

View the data

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Iran	37	60	70	88	158
Greece	178	153	70	70	46
Turkey	22	50	87	105	123

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 changes in the number of students from Iran, Greece, and Turkey enrolling at Sheffield University between 2005 and 2009.

Overall, it is clear that while the popularity of the university among Greek students plummeted, there was a marked increase in the number of enrolments from Iran and Turkey. By the end of the period, Iranian students became the largest group among the three nationalities.

In 2005, Greece had the highest enrolment with 178 students, compared to 37 from Iran and 22 from Turkey. However, the number of Greek students fell sharply to 70 by 2007 and continued to decline to 46 by 2009. Conversely, Turkish student numbers rose steadily from 22 in 2005 to 87 in 2007, eventually reaching 123 by the end of the period.

Iranian student numbers also grew, starting at 37 in 2005 and reaching 70 by 2007, matching the figure for Greek students that year. Following a period of stability for Greek students between 2007 and 2008, Iranian enrolment accelerated significantly, rising from 88 in 2008 to a peak of 158 in 2009, surpassing both Turkish and Greek student numbers.

189 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.

plummeted: fell very quickly and by a large amount
upward trend: a general direction of increasing values over time
steadily: in a regular and even manner without fluctuations
accelerated: increased in speed or rate of growth
surpassing: becoming greater in number than another group
conversely: used to introduce a statement that is opposite

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?

While the number of Greek students experienced a significant decline over the period, enrolment figures for Iranian and Turkish students showed a consistent upward trend.

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.