A Simple Guide To Writing Well On IELTS Writing Task 1 - Questions Type 2: A Graph/A Line Graph

Necessary words:
- data points
- straight line segments
- an x-axis (horizontal)
- a y-axis (vertical)
- peaks (ups)
- troughs (downs)

Example Reports:
(These would achieve Band 8 &9)

1. The graph below gives information about Dubai gold sales in 2002.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and making comparisons where relevant.
 

 
The diagram given illustrates how gold sales in Dubai fluctuated over a period of 12 months. Overall, gold sales in Dubai remained relatively unchanged in 2002, at their highest in March while weakest in July and September.
It is observed that in the first month of 2002, gold sales stood at 200 million dirhams and rose slightly to reach about 225 million in February. This was followed by another increase, although much steeper, in March when sales were almost 125 million dirhams higher than February. However, this upward trend was suddenly broken and sales plummeted dramatically over the next 4 months to reach a little over 100 million dirhams in July. August sales showed a significant rise back to January levels as figures nearly doubled, but this was not to last as they dropped again in September to the same level as they were in July. October came with a small increase of about 100 million dirhams in sales, after which sales figures levelled off and remained static over the last two months of 2002.

2. The charts show the number of international students in the USA by subject and country.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

 
The charts show changes in numbers of overseas students studying in the USA between the years 2000 and 2004.
The first chart shows that numbers of students from India doubled over a four-year period, shooting up from 40,000 to 80,000 by 2004. The second largest group were the Chinese, although during 2003 there was a noticeable downward trend. Overall, numbers remained relatively stable at between 50,000 and 60,000. Numbers of Korean students meanwhile rose steadily to around 50,000, while numbers of students from Japan declined gradually to 40,000 by 2004. Numbers of Taiwanese students also fell from 30,000 by about 5,000, to be overtaken by the Canadians at the end of 2003. Student figures from Mexico, Turkey, Thailand and Indonesia showed little change, remaining at approximately 10,000.
The second chart reveals that the most popular subject for international students was business and management. Numbers rose significantly in 2001, but then gradually declined to around 100,000 by 2004. Crowd studying engineering plummeted in 2003 from 90,000 to 60,000, slightly less than mathematics and computing by the end of the year. Student statistics in social and life sciences were both stable at around 40,000 until 2003, when digits studying social science showed a significant increase of over 50,000 students.

3. The graphs below show average monthly temperature and rainfall in two places in South Africa.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
 

 
The graphs provide climatic information for Cape Town and Upington in South Africa. The red and blue lines plot average maximum and minimum monthly temperatures, while the orange bars show average rainfall.
From the line graphs it can be seen that there is less fluctuation in temperature in Cape Town than in Upington, where maximum temperatures reach over 35 degrees C in January (the highest temperatures in Cape Town are well below 30 degrees C). Both places are at their coolest in June and July. In Upington, temperatures rise steeply again through August and September, whereas in Cape Town, the increase is more gradual.
Also, Upington is much wetter than Cape Town outside the months of June to September. March is the wettest month in Upington, with an average rainfall of around 180 millimetres. In contrast, Cape Town has hardly any rain in the period November to March. Its peak rainfall is in June, when it receives approximately 100 millimetres.