Task 1: Line Graphs

The question

The graph below shows the percentage of households with internet access in three European countries between 2000 and 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

What the examiner is actually rewarding

In Task 1 the first marking criterion is Task Achievement. Task 2 uses Task Response - the names differ, and so do the demands.

Task Achievement asks three things: did you give a clear overview, did you select the main features rather than list everything, and are your figures accurate. Miss the overview and your score for this criterion is capped, no matter how good the English is.

It also rewards one kind of restraint. Task 1 asks you to describe, not explain. Every sentence that begins This is because or The reason for this is is wasted, because the graph does not tell you why anything happened. Speculating costs you words you need elsewhere.

Four steps, twenty minutes

Task 1 is worth twenty minutes. Spend five of them not writing.

1. Read the axes first, not the lines. What is being measured, in what units, over what period? Reading percentages as thousands is the single most expensive mistake in Task 1, and it is invisible to you once you have made it.
2. Find the overview before you write anything. Ask: if I could say only two things about this graph, what would they be? Usually one is the overall direction, and one is the relationship between the lines.
3. Group the data. Decide what belongs together - the two similar lines against the outlier, or the fast-growth phase against the slow one. Grouping is what separates a description from a list.
4. Write, then check the numbers. Leave two minutes. Check every figure against the graph and every verb against its subject.

The introduction: one sentence, fully reworded

Copied wording is discounted from your word count, so a copied introduction can quietly push you under 150 words.

Reword both the what and the how. In this question, shows the percentage of households with internet access can become compares the proportion of homes with an internet connection, and between 2000 and 2020 can become over a twenty-year period.

One sentence is enough. Candidates who write three sentences of introduction are usually padding, and padding is visible.

The overview: the paragraph most candidates skip

If you change one habit after this lesson, make it this one.

An overview is two or three sentences, placed straight after the introduction, that describe the big picture without a single specific figure. It is not a conclusion and it does not belong at the end.

A weak overview says all three countries increased. That is true of almost every rising line graph ever set. A strong overview names the pattern: here, three countries that began far apart finished almost level, and the one that started lowest climbed fastest. That sentence could not be written about any other graph, which is exactly what makes it worth marks.

A useful test: read your overview aloud without looking at the graph. If someone could not sketch the rough shape of it from your words alone, it is not doing its job.

Language for describing change

Two patterns, so you are never forced to repeat a verb.

• Verb + adverb: rose sharply, climbed steadily, grew rapidly, increased gradually, levelled off, edged up
• Adjective + noun: a sharp rise, a steady climb, rapid growth, a gradual increase, a slight dip
• For the fastest line: the steepest growth, the most dramatic increase, by far the largest gain
• For lines meeting or crossing: overtook, converged, narrowed the gap, closed to within, drew level with
• For flattening: levelled off, plateaued, slowed, showed little change

The same question at band 6, 7 and 8

One question, three answers. These are our own model answers, written to illustrate what each band looks like - they are not real candidate scripts and the bands are our assessment, not an official score.

What stops most answers at band 6

• No overview, or an overview at the end. It belongs in paragraph two, and it caps Task Achievement if it is missing.
• Listing every number. The instruction says select the main features. Reporting all of them is not neutral - it is the wrong task.
• Explaining why. The graph shows what happened, never the cause. Speculation earns nothing and costs words.
• Copying the prompt. Copied wording is discounted from the word count, so it can push you under 150 without you noticing.
• Mixing up the units. Percentages are not thousands. Read the axis label before the lines.
• Repeating one verb. Four uses of increased limits Lexical Resource on its own.

Now you try

The graph below shows sales of books in three formats in one country between 2010 and 2022. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words in 20 minutes.

Before you check your answer

• Is there an overview in paragraph two, with no specific figures in it?
• Does your overview name a pattern that could not describe a different graph? This one contains a crossover and a reversal worth finding.
• Have you grouped the three formats, rather than describing each in turn by year?
• Did you avoid explaining why sales changed?
• Are you over 150 words, not counting anything copied from the question?

Build the English underneath

• Unsure which tense to use for describing change? Work through Past Simple and Writing About the Past.
• Comparisons feeling repetitive? Comparatives and Superlatives and Modifying Comparatives cover the range examiners look for.
• Paragraphs not holding together? Try Linking Words for Paragraphs.