Academic Writing Task 1 · line graph

Trends in the number of male and female smokers in Bhutan

The line graph below gives information about men and women smokers in Bhutan from 1960 to 2000.

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

Men & Women Smokers in Bhutan (per 1000) (per 1000)

Women
Men

View the data

	1960	1965	1970	1975	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000
Women	50	150	200	350	280	250	200	150	120
Men	600	580	560	550	500	400	350	250	230

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 male and female smokers in Bhutan per 1000 people between 1960 and 2000.

Overall, it is clear that smoking rates for men were significantly higher than those for women throughout the entire period. While the number of male smokers followed a continuous downward trajectory, the trend for women was more varied, peaking in the mid-1970s before declining.

In 1960, 600 men per 1000 were smokers, compared to only 50 women. Male smoking rates decreased gradually to 550 by 1975 and then dropped more sharply to 400 by 1985. This downward trend continued, reaching 230 by the year 2000.

Conversely, the number of female smokers rose steadily from 50 in 1960 to a peak of 350 in 1975. Following this peak, the figure began to fall, reaching 280 in 1980 and 200 by 1990. By the end of the period in 2000, the number of female smokers had decreased to 120 per 1000. Despite the fluctuations in female smoking habits, both genders showed a marked reduction in smoking prevalence by the turn of the millennium.

184 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.

trajectory: a path or course followed by a trend
fluctuations: irregular rising and falling in numbers or amounts
prevalence: the commonness or frequency of a specific condition
downward: moving or pointing towards a lower level
sharply: a sudden or significant change in a trend
conversely: introducing a statement that reverses a previous one

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

While the number of male smokers consistently declined over the period, the number of female smokers rose until 1975 before experiencing a steady downward 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.