Academic Writing Task 1 · line graph

Trends in three specific crime rates in England and Wales

The graph below shows the percentage of 3 types of crimes: car theft, house burglary, and street robbery in England and Wales from 1970 to 2015

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

Percentage of 3 types of crimes in England and Wales (%)

Car theft
House burglary
Street robbery

View the data

	1970	1975	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000
Car theft	0.4	0.8	1	1.4	1.2	0.9	0.8
House burglary	0.3	0.35	0.38	0.5	0.6	0.55	0.4
Street robbery	0.1	0.15	0.1	0.15	0.1	0.15	0.1

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 percentage of three distinct criminal activities—car theft, house burglary, and street robbery—in England and Wales between 1970 and 2000.

Overall, car theft was consistently the most prevalent crime throughout the period, while street robbery remained the least common, showing minimal fluctuation. While all three categories experienced some growth during the initial decades, car theft and house burglary saw significant declines towards the end of the period.

Car theft began at 0.4% in 1970 and climbed steadily to reach a peak of 1.4% in 1985. Following this, the rate declined to 1.2% in 1990 and continued to fall, finishing at 0.8% in 2000. House burglary followed a similar, albeit less dramatic, trajectory. Starting at 0.3% in 1970, it rose gradually to a high of 0.6% in 1990, before decreasing to 0.4% by the end of the period.

In contrast, street robbery remained relatively stable throughout the thirty years. It fluctuated marginally between 0.1% and 0.15%, never exceeding the rates of the other two crimes. By 2000, the percentage of street robbery returned to its starting point of 0.1%.

182 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.

prevalent: widespread or common in a particular area
fluctuation: an irregular rising and falling in number
trajectory: the path followed by a development or trend
marginally: to a very small or insignificant degree
steadily: in a regular and even manner
distinct: recognizably different in nature from something else

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?

Car theft was consistently the most prevalent crime throughout the period, while street robbery remained the least common, showing minimal fluctuation.

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.