Academic Writing Task 1 · line graph

Unemployment rate trends in rural and urban Australia during 2012

The chart shows the unemployment situation in Australia in the year 2012.

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

Unemployment rate in Australia, 2012 (%)

Rural areas
Urban areas

View the data

	first	second	third	fourth
Rural areas	6.5	5.5	4.5	5
Urban areas	2.2	3.8	2.1	4.8

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 fluctuations in unemployment rates across rural and urban regions in Australia throughout the four quarters of 2012.

Overall, rural areas experienced a general downward trend in unemployment, whereas urban areas showed significant volatility, ultimately ending the year with a higher rate than they began. Notably, rural unemployment remained consistently higher than urban unemployment for the majority of the year.

In the first quarter, rural unemployment stood at 6.5%, significantly higher than the 2.2% recorded in urban areas. Over the subsequent two quarters, the rural rate declined steadily, reaching a low of 4.5% by the third quarter. Conversely, urban unemployment rose to 3.8% in the second quarter before dropping sharply to 2.1% in the third quarter, representing the lowest point for either region during the year.

In the final quarter, the trends diverged significantly. Rural unemployment saw a slight increase to 5.0%. Meanwhile, urban unemployment surged dramatically to 4.8%, nearly catching up to the rural figure. By the end of 2012, the gap between the two regions had narrowed to just 0.2 percentage points, a stark contrast to the 4.3 percentage point difference observed at the start of the year.

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.

fluctuations: irregular rising and falling in number or amount
volatility: tendency to change rapidly and unpredictably in value
consistently: in every case or on every occasion
subsequent: coming after something in time or order
surged: increased suddenly and powerfully in a short time
diverged: separated and went in different directions

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, rural areas experienced a general downward trend in unemployment, whereas urban areas showed significant volatility, ultimately ending the year with a higher rate than they began.

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.