Line graph questions

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• Graph Writing # 23 - Amount of money spent on fast foods in Britain (i
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• IELTS Task 1: Line Charts and Graphs - How to do IELTS

The line graph compares the number of cars stolen for every
1000 vehicles in four countries from 1990 to 1999. Overall, it
can be seen that car thefts were far higher in Great Britain
than in the other three counties throughout the whole time
frame.
To begin, car thefts in Sweden, France and Canada followed a
fairly similar pattern over the first five years, all remaining at
between 5 and 10 per thousand. The general trend though for
France and Canada was a decline in the number of vehicles
stolen over the period, with both at around 6 in 1999. In
contrast, Sweden experienced an upward trend, starting the
period at approximately 8, and finishing at just under 15.
Interestingly, car thefts in Great Britain started at 18 per
thousand, which far exceeded that of the other countries. It
then fluctuated over the next nine years, reaching a peak of 20
thefts per 1000 in 1996, and ending the period slightly lower
than where it began, at approximately 17 per thousand.
Sample Answer 1:
The given line graph compares the wheat exports over
three different parts of the world namely Australia, Canada
and the European Community from 1985 to 1990. As is
presented in the graph, the wheat export in Australia
decreased over time while the export in Canada and
European countries increased with some fluctuations.
According to the graph, around 15 to 20 million tons of
wheat was exported to Australia, Canada and the European
community. This amount decreased slightly in 1986
reaching around 15 million tons and from that point, the
export quantity in Australia kept on decreasing and reached
just over 10 million tons in 1990. In the meantime, the
amount increased sharply in Canada until 1988 and then
there was a quick decline and finally, it reached around 19
million tons in 1990. Finally, the wheat export in the
European Community increased gradually over the years
and reached over 20 million tons in 1990.
Sample Answer 2:
The line graph elucidates the wheat exportation of three regions,
namely Canada, Australia and European community from 1985 to 1990.
As can be seen, Canada was the leader in wheat trading till 1988 and
after that, the European Community became the leading wheat
exporter among the given regions.

Initially, in 1985, Canada exported the highest quantity of wheat which

was approximately 19 million tonnes. The wheat export in this year by
the European Community was about 17 million tonnes and finally, 15
million tonnes of wheat was traded by Australia in this year. Next year,
only Australia managed to export more wheat than the previous year's
quantity, while it declined in the case of Canada and the European
Community. In the next two years (1987 and 1988) the amount of
wheat exported by Canada rocketed and reached to 25 million tonnes
while it was 15 million tonnes for the European Community and far less
for Australia. In 1989, the amount of wheat export by Canada dropped
very sharply while it was quite the opposite for the European
Community. The final year's export figure shows that European
Community shipped just over 20 million tonnes of wheat compared to
Canada's just below 20 million tonnes. In this year Australia consigned
just over 10 million tonnes of wheat.
Model Answer 3:
The line graph compares the quantity of wheat Australia,
Canada, and the European Community exported between
1985 and 1990. Overall, the European Union’s wheat
shipping increased over the time while Australia
experienced a downward trend in its wheat trading.
Although wheat exports of the three given areas have
fluctuated, Canada had the most noticeable oscillations
throughout the given period.

The European Union exported approximately 17.5 million

tonnes of wheat in 1985 and the export fell below 15
million tonnes in the following year. Then, it increased to
15 million tonnes in the subsequent year and remained
steady in 1988. EU’s wheat export surged in the next two
years and in 1990 their wheat export was more than 20
million tonnes.
Sample Answer 4:
The line graph illustrates changes in wheat export by Australia, Canada,
and the European Community within a five-year period - from 1985 to
1990.
Overall, what stands out of the graph is that wheat export by the
European Community increased over the period, whereas Australia
witnessed a gradual decrease in the period considered. Although wheat
exports of the three areas fluctuated, Canada had the highest
oscillations throughout the interim.
One of the first things to note is that Canada was the country whose
wheat exportation comprised nearly 20 million tons in 1985. In the
following year, the rate of export fell and then quickly recovered
reaching a peak of 25 million tons in 1988. However, this figure
fluctuated over the years, finishing surprisingly the same as it was at
the starting point.
European Community initially exported less than Canada, but its
outcome turned out more than the other two countries at the final
point- over 20 tons. In contrast to the other two areas, Australia
exported 15 tons in 1985 and saw a slight decrease over the period
except in 1986.
[Writtne by - Nilufar Makhsudova
The line graph illustrates the proportion of people in the UK
over the age of 4 who watched TV and listened to the radio
over 24 hours from October to December 1992.
Overall, a significantly greater percentage of the TV audience
watched in the evening while radio had the most listeners in
the morning. Over the course of each day and night, more
people watched TV than listened to the radio.
Less than 10% of people watched TV between 1 am and 12
noon but at 4 pm this figure increased rapidly, reaching a
peak of almost half the population at 8 pm. After this, the
graph records a sharp decline in viewers, reaching a low of
only a tiny percentage by 3 am.
Radio, on the other hand, shows a very different trend. The
most popular time for listeners to be tuned in was just after 8
am when around 27%% of the population was listening. After
a brief peak, the numbers dropped steadily to barely 2%,
apart from fluctuations at around 4 pm and 10.30 pm. The
percentage of listeners remained low overnight before
beginning a rapid ascent from 6 am to the 8 am high. (198
words)
• Overall, a significantly greater percentage of
the TV audience watched in the evening while
radio had the most listeners in the morning.
Over the course of each day and
night, more people watched TV
than listened to the radio.
• proportion= percentage, ratio,
Important functional words are highlighted in red
Useful vocabulary and phrases are highlighted in green
Synonyms and topic vocabulary are highlighted in blue
The given line graphs illustrates data from a report in 2008
regarding energy consumption in the USA since 1980 with
predictions until 2030.
Overall, fossil fuels have shown increases in consumption
since the start of the period, with expectations for even more
reliance on these fuel sources. Cleaner energy
sources have accounted for considerably less consumption
with predictions for a similar trend.
Regarding fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, petrol and
oil, they have seen steady increases in energy
consumption since 1980. Petrol and oil started at 35
quadrillion units in 1980, then fluctuated until 2000, at which
point they rose steadily with a prediction of over 45
quadrillion units by 2030. Additionally, coal followed a
similar rising trend. It is predicted that it will have
surpassed 30 quadrillion units by 2030. Natural gas
usage and it is set to level off at around 24 quadrillion units
from 2020 onwards.
In contrast, cleaner energy fuel sources all began the
period at under 5 quadrillion units and showed declines
in their use, with the exception of nuclear, which climbed
slightly to 6 quadrillion units in 2005 with solar/wind
expecting to see slight increases . Hydropower is projected
to remain relatively unchanged until 2030
The line graph illustrates how the populations of 5 countries (China, India, the
United States, Indonesia and Brazil) have changed over a 220 year period,
from 1800 to 2020. Overall, all countries have experienced a rise in
population, though the change has been the most dramatic for China and
India.
Looking first at the data for China and India, the former had a population of
just over 300 million in 1800. This figure slowly fluctuated at around 400
million up to 1900. From 1900 to 1950 China’s population then gradually
increased to 550 million. At this stage, there was a dramatic growth that
saw the number reach 1.44 billion in 2020. Although India began the period
with a lower population (at 180 million people), this number slowly rose to
almost 300 million in 1930 before rocketing to 1.38 billion people in 2020.
In contrast, the other three countries’ populations rose more gradually. The
number of people living in the USA began noticeably growing in 1860, from
around 50 million to approximately 130 million by 1940. This growth
accelerated to over 300 million by 2020. Indonesia and Brazil had lower
populations and both followed a similar trend, seeing their populations begin
to rise dramatically in 1960 from under 100 million to around 280 million
and 210 million, respectively.
The graph below gives information about changes in
the birth and death rates in New Zealand between
1901 and 2101.
he graph below gives information about the
technology that households in one US city used for
watching television between 2004 and 2014.
Dates
In December,
In 2005,
From 2001 to 2010, Between 1965 and 1969
By 1998,
It dropped by 6 units.
But if we do not include a specific number, we use the preposition IN after
the noun.
There was a decrease in the number of X. … OR
There was a drop in the number of X.
Here we haven’t specified a number.
We don’t know if it 6 or 6 million. We just know there was a
drop or decline.
Now compare the two together:
There was a drop of 6 units.
There was a drop in the number of… … sales, units, or whatever
OF + specific number …
IN + the number of …
Notice how we use OF after the noun form of drop,
and BY after the verb form of drop when showing the
change or difference between two numbers.
There was a drop of 6 units.
It dropped by 6 units.
Numbers

An Increase of 25%.
Decreased by 10%.
Fell from 200 in July to 150 in August.
Dropped from 200 units to 120 units in a period of 6 months.
Rose sharply over a period of 5 years.
Started at one third and peaked at three thirds
Fell from 30% to just over 20%
We use IN because we are talking about something
that happened in a specific year… in 2004.

And what happened then?

Something started. Let’s imagine it’s talking about
sales of computer units.

How many units were sold in 2004?

4 units were sold.
So what preposition is used as a part of the simple
description?

It started at 4 units in 2004.

Just so you know, instead of saying:
It peaked at 10 units in 2006.

We could say:
It peaked at 10 units two years later.

That shows the examiner you can vary your

vocabulary.

Then what happened after it peaked?

We can see that sales went down. Sales
dropped.

How much did it drop?

It dropped by 8 units.
Why do we use BY in this case?

Because it is the difference between the

starting point, 10 units, and the end point, 2
units. The difference between 10 and 2 is… 8,
so 8 units.

To show this difference we use the preposition

BY. It dropped by 8 units.

We could also say it dropped TO two units

though saying “to two” together sounds
strange.

The sales of only two units that year was the

lowest amount that was sold, which makes it
its lowest point.
We use the preposition TO after the verb
INCREASE when referring to increasing to a
number.

Then we can see it didn’t make a change up or

down. It remained stable or constant.

What is the time period that it remained

stable? We have 2010 and 2012. We can say:

Sales remained stable between 2010 and 2012.

See how we used the prepositions BETWEEN x
AND y …

Another alternative is to use the prepositions

…. FROM x TO y.

Sales remained stable from 2010 to 2012.

• The difference between ‘in’ and ‘during’
The word ‘in‘ is best to use when describing a specific
year or month.
However, the word ‘during‘ is often used when
describing a longer period of time. So, you can use
‘during’ when talking about multiple years or months.
Examples using ‘in’ and ‘during’
Motorcycle sales were highest in 2000.
In 2000, motorcycle sales were highest.
Truck sales fell in 2001.
In 2001, truck sales fell.
Car sales rose during the last two years shown.
During the last two years shown, car sales rose.
• Now, examine the following sentences that describe the above graph.
Notice how “in” or “during” are used to describe a specific time
period. Importantly, notice where and when a comma is used to
separate the years from the main clause of the sentence. If you use
“in” or “during” at the beginning of the sentence, you should add a
comma before the main clause.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ6bLNMx-5A