You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The line graph below shows the population size, birth and death rate of England and Wales from 1700 to 2000.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.
NOTES: GRAMMAR RANGE
As a test taker, you need a range of appropriate structures and tenses. Trying to use complex sentences and tenses is a wrong strategy that makes the response unnatural and can cause making mistakes.
Your response should use complex sentences (such as conditional and relative clauses) that flow naturally. It is wise not to use complicated sentences or tenses just for the sake of it.
Look at some grammar structures below that will help boost your score for charts, such as pie charts, line graphs and bar charts, in this post.
HOW TO DESCRIBE TRENDS.
In IELTS writing task 1, describing trends may come up in a line graph, bar chart or comparing charts.
The two main grammatical structures to describe trends include.
There + be + adj. + noun + in + noun phrase
Example:
A. There was a gradual rise in the birth rate.
B. There has been a sharp drop in the death rate.
Adjectives that can be used:
Modest, sharp, dramatic, gradual, moderate, significant, considerable, rapid, slight, steep, steady
Nouns that can be used:
Variation, decline, rise, slump, decrease, fall, peak, dip, drop, fluctuation, growth, increase
Noun phrase + verb + adverb
Example:
A. The birth rate rose gradually.
B. The birth rate has risen dramatically.
Verbs that can be used:
Decrease, go down, rise, jump, increase, rocket, fall, drop, grow, climb, decline, plummet, plunge
Adverbs that can be used:
Modestly, sharply, gradually, moderately, dramatically, slightly, steeply, steadily, significantly, considerably, rapidly, slowly
How to describe increases and decreases
In IELTS writing task 1, test takers might be required to describe increases and decreases. The three main ways include.
Noun phrase + verb + adverb
Example:
A. The birth rate fell sharply
B. The percentage of death rates dropped dramatically.
There + be + noun + in + noun phrase
Example:
A. There was a fall in death rate levels.
B. There has been an increase in the birth rate.
Using fractions
Example:
A. The death rate halved in less than a year.
B. The death rate has halved since July.
C. By July, the death rate had halved.
How to make comparisons
IELTS writing task 1 requires the test taker to compare data sources, groups and times. The five grammatical structures below can help a test taker make comparisons.
More/few/less + noun + than
Example:
Overall, the birth rate increased more than the death rate.
of one syllable -er + than
Example:
There was a higher rise of birth rate compared to a decrease in death rate.
More/less + adj. of more than one syllable + than
Example:
The birth rate increased higher than the overall population.
of one syllable -est.
Example:
The highest % was seen in birth rate.
The most/least + adj. of more than one syllable.
Example:
The least percentage shown was in death rate.
SAMPLE RESPONSE.