IELTS WRITING

LINE GRAPH

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LESSON 1: GETTING FAMILIAR WITH A LINE

GRAPH
- UNIT 8 & UNIT 14 ( Lessons for Ielts Writing)

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LESSON 2: DEEP FEATURES TO DESCRIBE A

GRAPH
I. LANGUAGE FOR TREND / CHANGE

Vocabulary
The following words and phrases will help you describe trends:

Nouns Verbs: Adverbs Adjectives

o a rise o to rise o sharply o sharp
o an increase o to increase o suddenly o sudden
o a surge o to surge o rapidly o rapid
o a growth o to grow o abruptly o abrupt
o a peak o to peak o dramatically o dramatic
o to skyrocket o significantly o steep
o to fluctuate o steadily o significant
o to vary o considerably o steady
o markedly o considerable
o to dive o slightly o marked
o a fluctuation o to plunge o gently o slight
o a variation o gradually o gentle
o wildly o gradual
o a period of
stability
o a plateau

o a fall o to fall
o a decrease o to decrease
o a decline o to decline
o a dip o to dip

Phrases to show an upward trend

o to show a downward trend o to reach a plateau
o to hit the highest point o to level off
o to hit the lowest point o to flatten out
o to reach a peak o the highest
o to show some fluctuation o the lowest
o to fluctuate wildly o the second highest
o to remain stable o the third highest
o to remain static o compared to
o to remain unchanged o compared with
o to stay constant o relative to

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Sample Sentences
 There was a substantial increase in the value of stocks on March 15th.
 House prices rose dramatically in July.
 The number of tourists visiting New York fell sharply in October.
 The percentage of students walking to school continued to rise gradually over the ten year period
from 2000-2010.
 There was a sharp increase in employee turnover after the strike.
 Interest in environmental issues has risen steadily over the last 10 years.

This exercise focuses on some basic language, which you need to describe graphs. Look at the graph
below. Following the graph, there are 25 statements about the data.

remain (-ed, -ed)

unchanged, steady, stable, constant, plateau, fixed/static

From January to March the percentage of children using supplements remained fairly static at approximately
10%.

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The percentage of children taking dietary supplements was relatively stable during the first two months of the
year.
During the first two months, supplement use remained fairly unchanged.
 
fall (fell, fallen), decrease (-ed, -ed), drop (dropped, dropped), plunge (-ed, -ed), decline (-ed, -ed)
slight (slightly), steady (steadily), gradual (gradually), gentle (gently), slow (slowly)
downward trend

It then fell gradually in March.

There was a slight decrease in the use of dietary supplements in March.
The graph shows a slight decrease in March.
Supplement use experienced a steady decrease in March.
Supplement use decreased slightly in March.
 
fluctuate (-ed, -ed)
wildly

It went up and down widely over the next two months.

It fluctuated for the following two months.
 
rise (rose, risen), grow (grew, grown), climb (-ed, -ed), shoot up (shot up, shot up)
dramatic (dramatically), sharp (sharply), significant (significantly), rapid (rapidly)
upward trend

There was a significant increase in the percentage of children taking dietary supplements between June and
August.
The period between June and August saw a dramatic growth in the use of dietary supplements.
Between June and August, the percentage of children taking dietary supplements shot up dramatically.
The greatest rise was from June to August when it rose by 22% for two consecutive months from June to August.
 
peak (-ed, -ed), reach (-ed, -ed)

The percentage of children taking dietary supplements was at its highest level in April.
Supplement use peaked at close to 25% in April.
It reached a peak of 25% in April.
 
fall (fell, fallen), decrease (-ed, -ed), drop (-ed, -ed)
dramatic (dramatically), sharp (sharply), significant (significantly), rapid (rapidly)

Between August and October, this figure dropped dramatically to 11%.

From August to October, there was a drop of 14% in the percentage of children taking dietary supplements.
Between August and October, There was a considerable fall in the percentage of children using supplements.
This was followed by a sharp drop of 14% over the next two months.

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Supplement use experienced a dramatic fall between August and October.

 
fall (fell, fallen), decrease (-ed, -ed), drop (dropped, dropped), plunge (-ed, -ed), decline (-ed, -ed), reach (-ed, -ed)
its lowest point
slight (slightly), steady (steadily), gradual (gradually), gentle (gently), slow (slowly)
downward trend

Between October and December, the decrease in the use of dietary supplements was at a much slower pace than
in the previous two months.
Supplement use continued to fall steadily over the next two months until it reached its lowest point in December.
It fell to a low of only 5% in December.

Adjectives and adverbs

This is a selection of some of the most common adjectives and adverbs used for trend language. Please be
careful. This is an area where it is possible to make low-level mistakes. Make sure that you use adjectives with
nouns and adverbs with verbs:

 a significant rise – correct (adjective/noun)

 rose significantly – correct (adverb/verb)
 a significantly rise – wrong wrong wrong
Please also note the spelling of the adverbs. There is a particular problem with the word “dramatically:
 dramatically – correct
 dramaticly – wrong
 dramaticaly – wrong
Adjectives of degree

notes
 “sudden” and “sharp” can be used of relatively minor changes that happen quickly
 “spectacular” and “dramatic” are very strong words only to used to big, big, big changes

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Steady adjectives

Small adjectives

notes
 “marginal” is a particularly useful word for describing very small changes
Other useful adjectives
These adjectives can be used to describes more general trends

notes
 “overall” can be used to describe changes in trend over the whole period: very useful in introductions
and conclusions
 “upward” and “downward” are adjectives: the adverbs are “upwards” and “downwards”

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Other verbs

1. slump (v,n): Slump thường dùng trong các bài miêu tả có yếu tố kinh tế, và có hơi hướng tiêu cực về một sự
giảm mạnh. Danh từ slump được sử dụng trong cụm “economic slump” như các bạn đã biết.
Eg: BP’s profit slumped in the first quarter.
2.  go up/down (v): Đây là cách diễn đạt less formal của increase/decrease.
Trong khi hầu hết các diễn đạt khác chỉ sự tăng giảm như rise, fall, increase…..đều có thể đi với 1 trạng từ/
tính từ chỉ “degree hay speed of change” thì “go up” và “go down” lại không. Trong thực tế, bạn chỉ sử
dụng go up/down để report về số liệu đi kèm sự tăng giảm; eg: BP’s share price went up by 5% last month.
3. surge, soar (v): Tăng mạnh một cách đột ngột.
-> an upsurge  (n): Điều thú vị với động từ surge là dạng danh từ thường sử dụng của nó trong IELTS Writing
Task 1 không đơn giản chỉ là surge, mà là upsurge – chỉ nhìn cũng thấy được xu hướng thay đổi của đối tượng
rồi.
-> Lưu ý là danh từ của động từ soar (soar) thường dành để chỉ các flying objects, nên không được dùng trong
bài miêu tả task 1 nhé 
4. rocket (v): Dùng khi gặp sự tăng mạnh rất bất ngờ, tạo ra một biểu đồ gần như thẳng đứng.
5. rise vs. raise: Hai từ rất dễ làm người viết confused khi làm ielts writing, dù là ở dạng động từ hay danh từ.
(v): raise là ngoại động từ, nên đi cùng raise luôn phải có object, còn rise thì không. Một ví dụ điển hình của 2
từ này mà chúng ta hay dùng là: “the sun rises in the morning” và “you raise me up :P”. Ta cùng xem 2 ví dụ
sau để thấy rõ sự khác biệt nhé:
eg1: ABC corporation raised its advertising budget by 10% last year.

eg2: The number of cars produced by ABC corporation rose to 1 million last year.

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Degrees of Change & High Points in Line graph

Eg1: There was a small rise in the number of students (tăng nhẹ)
Eg2: There was a noticeable rise in the number of students (tăng đáng kể)
Eg3: There was a huge rise in the number of students (tăng mạnh)

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Distinguish high points in LINE GRAPHS

- Chúng ta chỉ sử dụng từ “peak” một lần duy nhất khi miêu tả biểu đồ và bạn phải đảm bảo rằng đó là giá trị
cao nhất của biểu đồ. Peak được sử dụng dưới dạng Verb và Noun. Chúng ta chú ý phân biệt giới từ đi kèm với
2 loại từ này:
+ To reach/hit a peak of …………………
+ To peak at………………..
- Chúng ta sử dụng “the highest point” để mô tả các giá trị cao nhất của từng đường còn lại trong biểu đồ.
+ To reach/hit the/its highest point at………………
- Chúng ta sử dụng “a high point” để miêu tả các giá trị cao khác trong biểu đồ, ngoại trừ các điểm cao nhất
của từng đường. Trường hợp này được áp dụng khi biểu đồ của bạn có nhiều giá trị cao và bạn muốn mô tả 1
giá trị tuy không cao nhất, nhưng cũng đáng chú ý.
+ To reach/hit a high point at……………….

Practice:

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II. LANGUAGE FOR COMPARISON

1. Comparisons between sentences

One way to make comparisons is to start a new sentence with a word/phrase that shows
that you are about to make a comparison with the previous sentence. The basic words you
need here are:

In contrast
The most popular form of holiday among the Welsh was self-catering with over 60%
choosing to cook for themselves. In contrast, only 5 % of the English chose this form of
vacation and hotel accommodation was much more popular at 48%.
In comparison
Almost 50% of the English, Scots and Northern Irish chose to stay in a hotel for their
holiday. In comparison, staying in self-catering accommodation was much less popular
with around 10% of people choosing this.
However
The general pattern was for hotel accommodation to be the most popular with around
half the people choosing it. The majority of the Welsh, however, chose to stay in self-
catering accommodation.
On the other hand
It is clear that a majority of the British chose to stay in hotel for their holiday. On the
other hand, there was an exception to this because over 50%  of the Welsh opted for
self-catering accommodation.

Note that we normally use a comma after In contrast and In comparison.

Note that there are lots of different ways to use compare and contrast and these are just
the most basic examples. If you are looking for a higher band score, it’s good advice to
learn different ways to use these words.

Note too that typically however is not used as the first word in a sentence.

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2. Comparisons within sentences

Another possibility is to compare two pieces of information within the same sentence.
The basic words you need here are:

while
While there are 4 million miles of train lines in the UK, there are only 3 million in
France.
whereas
Whereas the majority of the French prefer to travel to work by train, only a small
minority of the British do.
although
Although 15% of the French read novels, only 5% of the British do.
but
Almost 25% of French females study maths with a private tutor, but nearly 60% study
English with one.

3. Comparisons with more or less/fewer

This is another obvious way to make comparisons and contrasts. You should note though
that you are normally going to compare numbers and nouns and not adjectives. You want
to remember these two key bit of grammar:

Than
Remember that after more/less/fewer we use than
5% more girls chose to read books than go to cinema.
Fewer/less
If the word is uncountable we use less, if it is countable we use fewer:
Fewer mobiles phones were bought in 2013 than 2014.
Less oil was consumed in 2013 than 2014.

4. Qualify your comparisons with much/far/slightly or a number

This is similar. The idea here is that you still use less/more/fewer but this time you
explain how much. Typically, the best way to do this is to use a number:

Far fewer people chose to travel by train than by car. [Where's the detail?]

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25% fewer people chose to travel by train than by car. [Better now we have detail and
not just a comparison]

Practice:

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III. LANGUAGE OF TIME ( PREPOSITIONS)

Useful time expressions: 
over the next... / for the following... (for the following two months... over the next
six months...)
from ... to / between ... and (from June to August... between June and August...)
during (during the first three months.

Preposition problem 1 – by and to

Prepositions are horrid in English. Have another look at the graph:

Note how these two sentences

mean exactly the same:
The rate of unemployment rose to 12% in 2010.
The rate of unemployment rose by 5% in 2010.

Preposition problem 2 – in and of

This one is harder. We use “in” to describe changes in things and “of” to describe changes in
number or amount. For example,

There was a rise in the rate  of unemployment

There was a rise of 5% in the rate of unemployment.
Preposition problem 3- At & With
AT:
Petrol prices were particularly high in January, at £1.30 per litre.
WITH:
Petrol prices were particularly high in January, with a litre costing £1.30.
Fill the gaps in the sentences below using the word 'with' or the word 'at'.

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1. The figure for resources peaked in 1991 ______ 20%.

2. Bristol was the UK’s second city in terms of the number of cyclists, ______ 8,108 in
2001.
3. It is uncommon for families to own three or more cars, ______ only 2% of households
falling into this category.
4. The percentage change, ______ only 45%, was the lowest of the twelve areas shown in
the table.
5. The North East of England had the highest unemployment rate, ______ 10.1%.
6. France’s population was more evenly distributed across the age ranges, ______ similar
figures for each five-year cohort.

MORE TIME EXPRESSIONS (Visuals about Writing Task 1-page 17)

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IV. DO PRACTICE

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LESSON 3: HOW TO DESCRIBE A LINE GRAPH

WITH MORE THAN 3 LINES
I. WRITE INTRODUCTIONS with PARAPHRASING SKILL

The graph shows / indicates / depicts / illustrates/ represents….

II. HOW TO WRITE AN OVERALL STATEMENT

1. Useful Introductory expressions for IELTS WRITING TASK 1

o It is clear from the graph that….
o As can be seen, …
o The most striking feature from the graph is that…
o As is illustrated in the graph, …
o It can be clearly seen that …
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o In general/ Generally speaking, …

o It is noticeable that…
o As is highlighted in the graph, …

2. Different ways to identify the most striking feature in a line graph of IELTS Writing Task 1
2.1  Nếu line graph có 1 xu hướng chung, hãy mô tả xu hướng đó
>>> Cấu trúc:
 ………….the general trend was upward/downward.
 ………… something experienced/witnessed/saw (a similar)
upward/downward trend(s) over the given period.
  …………there was/were (a similar) upward/downward
trend(s)in something (time phrase).

Line graph 1: Upward trend

Kết hợp với phần Expressions of prediction các bạn sẽ có
>>> Ví dụ:
 Eg1: It is clear that the figures for these countriesare
estimated to see upward trends over the given period.

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 Eg2: As can be seen, after noticeable rises in thefirst 70

years, the forecast is that there will be upward trends in the
figures for these countries in the rest of the given period.
>>> RELATED:  IELTS Writing Task 1 – Degree of Change & High Points in Line
graph
2.2 Nếu line graph có 2 xu hướng đối lập nhau, hãy
mô tả cả 2 nhóm xu hướng đó 
>>> Cấu trúc:
o It can be clearly seen that there was (a/an)
upward/downward trend(s) in…….,while/whereas
………..witnessed (a/an) downward/upward trend(s).

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Line graph 2: Two general trends – Upward and

downward
>>> Ví dụ:
o It can be clearly seen that there were upward trends in the
amounts of Hamburger and Fish&Chips consumption,
whereas the figure for Pizza witnessed a downward trend
over the given period.

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2.3 Nếu line graph không có chung xu hướng rõ

ràng, và thứ tự các đường là phân biệt, hãy mô tả
đường cao nhất
>>> Cấu trúc 1:
o Sử dụng so sánh hơn kém khi có 2 đường: As is highlighted
in the graph, ……A…..was generally higher/more popular
than …..B……..

Line graph 3: No general trend – Comparative

>>> Ví dụ:
o As is highlighted in the graph, Pop Parade was generally
more popular than Music Choice over the given period.
>>> Cấu trúc 2:
o Sử dụng so sánh bậc nhất khi có nhiều hơn 2 đường: It is
noticeable that …..A…..was generally highest/ most popular
……

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Line graph 4: Many lines – Different trends – Superlative

 
>>> Ví dụ:
o It is noticeable that the amount of goods transported by
road was highest in this period.
2.4 Nếu line graph không có xu hướng chung rõ
ràng và các đường có giao cắt rõ ràng chia cắt
thành các giai đoạn, hãy mô tả thời điểm đạt giá
trị lớn nhất của từng đường
>>> Cấu trúc:

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o As is shown in the graph,…..A….. was highest at/on….

(timephrase), whereas ……B….. was most popular at/on….
(time phrase)…..

Line graph 5 – no general trend with clear small periods of

comparison
>>> Ví dụ:
o As is shown in the graph, the percentage of radio listeners
was highest at about 8 A.M., whereas TV was most popular
at 9 P.M.

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III. DEVELOP A SAMPLE ESSAY

2.1 Mô tả từ đường có giá trị cao nhất (hoặc nhìn chung cao nhất) trong suốt giai đoạn. Lần lượt
mô tả các đường còn lại theo giá trị giảm dần.

Eg: “The Tea Room” generally had the highest income in the period shown
with the figure starting at the highest amount among the four cafes at
160000 dollars and reaching the highest point at almost 180000 dollars in
March. There were wild fluctuations in the amount of income generated by
this cafe at around 140000 dollars over the next 7 months before a sudden
plunge to the lowest position, with a mere 50000 dollars at the end of the
year.

1.2 Với các đường không chứa sự thay đổi điển hình, hãy mô tả đơn giản và ngắn gọn.

- Quay lại với ví dụ của bài, “Internet Express”  đứng vị trí thứ 2 và hầu như
không có sự thay đổi về vị trí trong suốt giai đoạn (đứng thứ 2)

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Eg: Meanwhile, Internet Express ranked second with a moderate drop from
100000 dollars to 80000 dollars in April. This figure remained stable in the
next 3 months before seeing a substantial rise to finish at 140000 dollars.

2.3 Với các đường có xu hướng tương tự, hãy nhóm chung vào 1 khổ và mô tả.

- Trong bài ví dụ IELTS Line Graph của chúng ta, Wifi café và Café Cool có
chung xu hướng tăng nên có thể nhóm vào 1 khổ. Chú ý nhiều hơn đến sự
thay đổi của Wifi Café vì income của shop này tăng từ vị trí thứ 3 ở đầu giai
đoạn lên vị trí thứ nhất ở cuối giai đoạn.

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Eg: It is clear that there was a similar upward trend in the amounts earned
by the remaining coffee shops which started at a low point of  around 30000
dollars for Café Cool and 50000 dollars for Wifi Café. While the data of the
former fluctuated wildly before rising suddenly over the last two months to
reach a high of 120000 dollars, that of the later witnessed a remarkable
increase to 100000 dollars in July before dropping by 40000 dollars in
August and September. The most noticeable change could be seen in the
income of Wifi Café in the last quarter of the year when the figure soared to a
peak of nearly 190000 dollars, significantly outnumbering the incomes of
the other coffee shops in the last month.

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IV. DO PRACTICE
1. The graph below gives information about car ownership in Britain from 1971 to 2007.

The graph shows changes in the number of cars ______ household in Great Britain ______ a
period of 36 years.
Overall, car ownership in Britain increased ______ 1971 and 2007. In particular, the number of
households with two cars rose, while the number of households ______ a car fell.
In 1971, ______ half of all British households did not have regular use of a car. Around 44% of
households had one car, but only about 7% had two cars. It was uncommon for families to own
three or more cars, ______ around 2% of households falling into this category.
The one-car household was the most common type from the late 1970’s ______, although there
was little change in the ______ for this category. The biggest change was seen in the proportion
of households without a car, which fell steadily over the 36-year period ______ around 25% in
2007. In contrast, the proportion of two-car families rose steadily, reaching about 26% in 2007,
and the proportion of households with more than two cars rose ______ around 5%.

Fill the gaps in the essay with the following words:

Almost , to, figures, per, between, by, over, with, without, onwards

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2. The graph below shows the changes in food consumption by Chinese people between
1985 and 2010.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

3. The graph below shows the amount of money spent on books in Germany, France, Italy
and Austria between 1995 and 2005.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

Write at least 150 words.

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4. The line graph below gives information about the number of visitors to three London
museums between June and September 2013.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

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