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2024

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IELTS Line Graph Model (Band

Score 9)
by Liz 85 Comments

This model line graph for IELTS is estimated at band

score 9. The model answer below is for IELTS
writing task 1 academic paper. Use this sample
writing as a template for structure, key features and
language for any IELTS line graph. There are also
some tips given below to guide you and help you
understand how to describe this type of graph.

IELTS Line Graph Sample Task

The graph below shows the

consumption of 3 spreads from 1981 to
2007.

Source: Graph above not created by

IELTS Liz. Source unknown.

IELTS Line Graph Answer

The line graph illustrates the amount of three
kinds of spreads (margarine, butter, and low
fat and reduced spreads) which were
consumed from 1981 to 2007. Units are
measured in grams.

Overall, the consumption of margarine and

butter decreased over the period given, while
for low fat and reduced spreads, it rose. At
the start of the period, butter was the most
popular spread. Margarine was the most
widely consumed in the middle of the period
but, by the end, low fat and reduced spreads
was most popular.

With regards to the amount of butter used, it

began at around 140 grams and then peaked
at 160 grams in 1986 before falling
dramatically to about 50 grams in the last
year. Likewise, approximately 90 grams of
margarine was eaten in the first year after
which the figure fluctuated slightly and
dropped to a low of 40 grams in 2007.

On the other hand, the consumption of low

fats and reduced spreads only started in 1996
at about 10 grams. This figure, which
reached a high of just over 80 grams five
years later, fell slightly in the final years to
approximately 70 grams in 2007.

Tips for Line Graphs

1. Paraphrase the line graph information for your
introduction.
2. Add axis information to your introduction if
needed, such as categories.
3. Put main trends and any other key features in
an overall statement. The overview is the most
important statement in your writing task 1.
4. Make sure each body paragraph sentence has
numbers and dates to support it. This is vital.
Ensure all data is accurate.
5. Use a range of linking words. Try not to repeat
them.
6. Aim for around 180 words for writing task 1.

Recommended Tutorials

Bar Chart Model: Band Score 9

Line Graph Vocabulary
The 4 main complex sentences for a line graph:
Video Tutorial
All writing task 1 lessons and tips

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Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 1 Tagged With: line

graph, model task 1

Comments

Karim says
April 25, 2024 at

The graph illustrated the consumption of

three kinds of spreads (margarine, butter and low fat
and reduced spreads) over the period between 1981
and 2007. Units are measured in grams.

In general, trend of the spreads usage in the period

given was decreased slightly. The initially most used
butter spread consumption fall more than two folds,
while lately introduced low fat and reduced spreads
became the most popular at the end of period.

In 1981, the butter spread consumption was a bit more

140 grams, while margarine was about 90 grams.
Butter usage reached a peak of about 160 grams in
1986, but margarine was decreased slightly around the
80 grams. Consumption of butter was decline
continuously until the end of period, at about 50 grams
in 2007. Margarine rise moderately exactly 100 grams
in 1991 and had a period of stability until 1996, then
dip to the lowest level around 40 grams in 2007.

Low fat and reduced spreads was introduced in 1996

and grew dramatically to just over 80 grams in 2001,
then fall slightly about the 70 grams in 2007.

Reply

Atique Rehman says

March 8, 2024 at

IELTS Academic Book 15. Test 2

Miss Liz or any ILETS candidate. Please share your
advice on my piece of writing on task 1, I would
humbly appreciate it. Thank you!

The line graph illustrates the proportion of visitors,

who visited a specific Caribbean island over 7 years
from 2010 and 2017. The numbers are measured in
millions.

Overall, the total number of visitors fluctuated

throughout the period given, while the number of
visitors staying on cruise ships who started from the
lowest number in the first year showed a minor
decline after two years before going up to the second
highest number. There was a steady growth in the
number of visitors who stayed on cruise ships.

With regards to the figure of people staying on cruise

ships, it began at around 0.3 millions of visitors in 2010
and grew steadily to 0.5 millions people after one
before falling down to the same number in 2012,
however throughout the coming years the number
climbed considerably to the second highest of
approximately 2 millions visitors in the final year.

Total number of visitors over the years went up

marginally. It started with 1 million visitors which was
the highest compared to other visitors, who reached at
the highest peak of around 3.5 millions 7 years later. In
contrast, the number of people staying on island
accounted for an unstable increase, there were about
0.3 million of people who stayed on island in the first
year, and this remained constant till 2012. The figure
grew up slightly to a peak of 1.5 million visitors in
2015 before dropping to around 1.5 million in 2016 and
grew again to the same number in the final year.

Reply

Liz says
March 8, 2024 at

I don’t usually give feedback, but I will

came a few comments:
1) your introduction is very limited. There are only
three lines in this line graph and you didn’t
introduce them. You should be introducing the key
information that helps the reader understand what
the line graph is presenting. In this case, it is visitors
to a Caribean island who stayed on cruise ships,
those who stayed on the island itself and the total
number of visitors overall.
2) your overview statement contains inaccurate
information. Nearly all lines in a line graph will
fluctuate in some way – only a straight line doesn’t
fluctuate. But in this graph, the fluctuation of the
total number of visitors was insignificant. The key
feature was that the total number of visitors
increased considerably over the period given. Not
being able to focus on key features for the overview
will lower your score.
3) Your overview gives information about the
visitors who stayed on cruise ships, but nothing
about those who stayed on the island. Why? The
overview contains ALL key features. While both
visitors on cruise ships and those on the island
increased over the period, cruise ships were less
popular at the start of the period compared with
staying on the island, but this trend reversed by the
end of period. You really need to practice spotting
key features and report them clearly. You also need
to know what to compare and what not to compare.
You don’t compare the total number of visitors with
visitors on a cruise ship. The total number of visitors
is separate and doesn’t need comparing. But you
can compare visitors who chose to stay on a cruise
ship with those who chose to stay on the island.
Most line graphs don’t have much comparisons, but
you can put this one in the overview.

I won’t make more comments on the body

paragraphs because you can see what you need to
focus on. Usually, when someone writes a good
overview, the body paragraphs follow a similar
logic.

For anyone else wanting feedback, please note that I

don’t provide a marking service or feedback service
at present. Any writing you post on my website will
not usually get feedback. So, when I do give
feedback to someone, it is actually for the benefit of
everyone who reads the comments. All the best, Liz

Reply

Shamilah Chesang Busi says

March 8, 2024 at

Hi Liz,my name is Shamilah, iam from

Kenya,I wish to start my IELTS academic from
13th this month,and I would wish to be part of
your classes na training too,iam beginning my
journey for the USA, kindly add me to your
group for the beginners so that I can be able to
learn, thank you so much.

Reply

Liz says
March 8, 2024 at

When your English is at the level

you want to get the band score you want, you
will start learning about IELTS, practicing tests
and materials, and developing skills. There is
no such thing as a beginners IELTS course.
IELTS is IELTS. This website contains over 300
pages of test information, practice lessons, tips,
topics, model answers etc – all for free. It is
your task to use these free resources to prepare
for the test when you are confident in your
level of English.

Reply

Yu says
March 19, 2024 at

You are a great person

Reply

Mehreen says
February 22, 2024 at

The line graph depicts the amount of

consumption of three types of spreads over a period of
26 years, beginning from 1981. Units are measured in
grams.
The amount of butter consumed was higher than
another kind of spread till 1991. By 2007, the
consumption of all of the spreads had reduced among
the population.
In 1981, almost 140 grams of butter was eaten
compared to 90 grams of margarine. By 1991, the
amount of butter and margarine consumed had
become the same. However, after 1991, butter
consumption saw a steady decline but margarine
remained stable till 1996.
The consumption of butter has seen a dramatic decline
since 1981, reducing to about 50 grams in 2007. By
contrast, the popularity of reduced and low fat spreads
increased steeply, reaching a peak of about 80 grams in
2001. Margarine usage remained relatively stable
throughout the given time period, seeing a sharp
decline only after the year 2001.

Reply

Fazilov Temur says

February 11, 2024 at

Hello Liz. I have a question about writing

task one. Recently, I have seen some band nine sample
answers from a particular site, and the have some
strange words. Here is the whole sentence – “The line
graph delineates the fluctuations in average monthly
temperatures across three prominent cities: Paris,
Dubai, and Sydney, over the course of a year, with the
temperatures expressed in degrees Celsius.” Can I use
the word “delineates” in WT1?

Reply

Liz says
February 11, 2024 at

I can’t comment on other websites. Do

you know the author? Did the author complete the
IELTS examiner training? Are you happy with their
teaching qualifications and general experience?
Such language is used to impress the examiner
according to some teachers. It doesn’t impress them.
It is not about creative writing or fancy language. A
report is a simple factual report on data given. Use
the word “illustrates” or “shows” or “gives
information about”. Always aim for accuracy and
appropriacy, even up to band 9.

Reply

katrina says
January 28, 2024 at

The chart illustrates the amount of three

types of spreads (margarine, low fat & reduced
spreads, and butter) which were consumed from 1981
to 2007. Units are measured in grams.

Overall, the three spreads are on a downward

trajectory. As of 2007, the consumption of all the
spreads are below 80 grams. Initially, butter was the
most popular spread consumed in 1981 and it
remained as the top choice until 1991, when its
consumption fell to 100gr, which was at the same level
of consumption as margarine. From that point
onwards, the popularity of margarine took over the
butter market and the butter fell off.

Butter consumption started off strong at 140 gram in

1981 and then rose to its peak at 160gr in 1986 before
sharply declined to 1991. Afterwards, butter
consumption kept declining to about 50gr in 2007.
Correspondingly, the consumption of margarine also
started strong at 90gr in 1981 and slightly fluctuated
after the first year before dropping to 40gr in the final
year.

In contrast, the consumption of low fat and reduced

spreads in its first year was only at 10gr. However, the
number skyrocketed to a little over 80gr in just 5 years
but the consumption fell of to around 70gr in 2007.

Reply

Liz says
January 28, 2024 at

I don’t usually make comments, but I

will say – please be more careful with the overview.
The overview is the most important part of your
task 1 report. It does not contain any details of how
much in different years. It contains only the main
trends. Please read the model answer above as a
guide, otherwise you will get a low score. Also
check your use of vocabulary, we don’t use words
such as “fell off” or “took over” or “started strong”.
You can find useful vocabulary for line graphs on
the main page for writing task 1 on this website.

Reply

angela says
December 11, 2023 at

The line graph illustrates the fluctuation in

the average prices of staple foods – bread, milk, cereal,
chicken wings, and marmalade – in the UK over 25
years from 1993.

Overall, the prices of all staples increased during the

given period. Cereal stood out as the most significant
expense, experiencing a massive surge after a few
fluctuations. In contrast, the initially lowest-priced
staple, milk, witnessed numerous climbs and
eventually secured a position among the top three
highest.

The trend in cereal prices began at around $1.5,

fluctuated with an uptrend reaching $2.3 in 1998,
followed by a downtrend stabilizing at under $2.
Subsequently, there was a dramatic climb to nearly $3
in 2018. Similarly, chicken wings, initially priced at
approximately $1.2, underwent fluctuations before
reaching almost $2.3 in the final year after the price of
cereal.

Conversely, the initially lowest-priced staple, milk,

started at $0.2 in 1993, gradually rose until 2003 then
experienced fluctuations that surpassed the price of
chicken wings in 2013, and dramatically increased to
$2 in the final year. Bread’s price, starting at nearly
$0.3, considerably rose to $1.2 in 2018. Marmalade’s
price fluctuated from $0.5 in the first year to just $1 in
the final year.

I would like to improve my clarity, cohesion, and

consistency in expression. if possible, please help to
review and give me some feedback for this line graph
writing, thank you so much

Reply

Malika says
January 14, 2024 at

Absolutely good essay

Reply

Sherali says
January 25, 2024 at

hi , of course it’s the most useful task 1

essay , I’ve ever read so far , Thank you so much
Liz
much appreciated

Reply

Aman Khan says

October 6, 2023 at

The depicted graph elucidates the amount

of intake of three different kinds of spreads
(margarine, low fat, and reduced spread) that were
consumed during 26 years from 1981 to 2007. The
measuring unit is the gram.
Overall, the consumption of butter and margarine fell
over the years, and the amount of low-fat and reduced
spread rose. At the start, butter was the most
consumable spread but was replaced by margarine
from 1991 to 2001. Afterthat, low fat and reduced
spread were widely used throughout the remaining
period.
In 1981, the intake of butter was about 140 grams, and
after a period of time around 5 years it rose to around
160 grams. Afterthat, it fell dramatically to around 70
grams in 1996. At last, it ended the journey in 2007 at
about 50 grams. Whereas, the margarine consumption
started at around 90 grams in 1981. While fluctuation it
maintained the position until 2001. Afterthat, it holds a
position below 40 grams at the end of the period given.
Whereas, the low-fat and reduced-spread consumption
started from the year 1996 and in just 4 years it holds
the position above the remaining two spreads at
around 85 grams. By maintaining its rank it ended the
journey at around 70 grams in 2007.

Reply

Pepe says
July 19, 2023 at

The line graph illustrates the amount of

consumed margarine, low fat & reduced spreads, and
butter between 1981 and 2007 in grams.
Overall, the amount of butter and margarine showed a
downward trend over the given period whilst low fat
& reduced spreads experienced an upward trend
despite its late entrance to the market.
When the line graph is examined in detail, the amount
of consumed butter was just over 140 gr in 1981. In the
following five years, it peaked at 160 gr and then
significantly decreased by 100 gr. Subsequently, it
slightly fell to 50 gr. A similar trend was seen including
a fluctuation in margarine which was eaten at
approximately 90 gr at the beginning then modestly
declined to 80 gr and recovered quickly to 100 gr in a
decade in which the butter had the same amount in
1991. Till 1996, the figure levelled off and then dropped
gently to the same amount as in 1986. Afterwards, it
was almost halved at the end of the given time frame.
The use of low fat & reduced spreads started in 1996 at
almost 10 gr. It reached a peak of 80 gr in which
margarine had the same amount in 2001. In the
following five years, it gently dropped by
approximately 10 gr.

Hi Liz, could you please mark my answer.

Reply

Shohista says
January 27, 2024 at

great

Reply

Shanto says
July 13, 2023 at

The line graph indicates how the number of

three spreads which was consumed over a 26-year
period, starting in 1981.
Overall, it can be seen that three spreads consumed
where Margarine and Butter reduced whereas Low fat
& reduced spreads escalated. Furthermore,
consumption of Low fat & reduced spreads was
consistently higher over the period.
Looking at the chart in more detail it is evident that the
amount of butter was used, it began at around 140
Grams(gm) in 1981. By 2007, it had decreased to
approximately 65 gm, which was the greatest drop of
all the categories. Similarly, the consumption of
Margarine was around 90 gm in 1981. After that it was
slightly increased in 1991 and remained constant to
1996, it fell to around 40 gm in 2007, respectively.
Turning to the remaining amount of consumption of
low fat & reduced spread in beginning almost it was 10
gm in 1996. This number climbed to 85 gm in 2001,
which has taken only 5 years. However, in 2007 it
reduced approximately 70 gm.

Reply

Gurpreet Singh says

November 4, 2023 at

Very nice

Reply

nuha says
May 30, 2023 at

The above given line graph depicts the

utilisation of margarine, low fat and reduced spreads
and butter spreads between 1981 to 2007.

Overall, the consumption of margarine, low fat and

reduced spreads and butter has declined throughout a
twenty six years period. Utilisation of margarine over
the years shows significant fluctuations while butter
shows a general decline and low fat and reduced
spread consumption shows a drastic increment with a
steady downturn. During the beginning of the period
consumption of butter had been the highest and utility
of low fat and reduced spread was the lowest while in
contrary during the end of the period low fat and
reduced spread consumption had been consumed
enormously out of all and margarine consumption had
hit rock bottom.

In 1981 approximately 140 g of butter had been

consumed which illustrates a gradual downward trend
in the years 1986 to 1991 and the consumption load
drops down to 100g. During the entire period from
1986 to 2007 the consumption of butter depicts a
negative gradient showing a gradual drop in the utility
reaching almost 40g of consumption amount by 2007.
While on the other hand, the consumption of
margarine in 1981 was almost 90g which dropped
down to 80g during 1986. Then it attained a gradual
resurgence to 100g surpassing the consumption
amount of butter and reached a constant plateau from
1991 to 1996. Then the amount gradually dropped
down in the next consecutive years and reached 40g by
2007.

While the consumption of margarine was less than 20g

during 1996 and the amount skyrocketed making the
utility congruent to the amount of margarine
consumption during 2001 and eventually dropping
down with a steady amount to approximately 60g by
2007.

Reply

Wai Lin Htay says

May 24, 2023 at

Thank you so much Liz. I have learned a lot

on your website and I did well in my exam. Thanks
again from the bottom of my heart.

Reply

Liz says
June 7, 2023 at

Glad to hear you did well Wishing

you all the best for your future

Reply

Sardor says
July 8, 2023 at

thank you Liz.I have learned a lot on

your website.

Reply

Javlon says
May 3, 2023 at

The information regarding the amount of

three different spreads in terms of grams (margarine,
low-fat and reduced-fat spreads, and butter) consumed
between 1981 and 2007 is shown in the line graph.
Overall, it is clear that the consumption of low-fat and
reduced-fat spreads and butter experienced both
decline and rise, while margarine’s rate fluctuated over
the period given. Interestingly, the number of
consumers of margarine and low-fat and reduced-fat
spreads was equal at the end of the final third of the
whole time frame.

From 1981 to 1986, there was a rise of nearly 20 grams,

from 140 to 160 grams, in butter consumption. Low-fat
and reduced-fat spreads’ average usage, however,