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IELTS Line Graph - The amount of food eaten by Chinese consumers
by jack chen - wu ze tian
(nan jing)

The graph below shows the changes in food consumption by Chinese people between
1985 and 2010.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.









can i get a band 8 for my graph?

The line graph compares the amount of food eaten by Chinese consumers from 1985 to 2010.

Overall, it can be seen that fish was consumed the most by Chinese people. In addition, the
consumption of salt gradually decreased over a 25-year period, while the amount of meat eaten grew
steadily.

In 1985, nearly 600 grams of fish was consumed by average Chinese person, but this number
was much higher than either salt or meat, at just under 500 grams and only 100 grams respectively.
Despite a slight decrease of fish consumption between 1990 and 1995, its figure remained strong
growth over the period to reach the top, at approximately 850 grams in 2010.

As the time passed by, the consumption gap between salt and meat was narrowed. The amount
of salt eaten declined significantly from 500 grams in 1985 to only 200 grams in 2010. By contrast, the
amount of meat consumed rose steadily throughout the period, and its figure finally reached to the
same level as salt by 2010.
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How to Write an IELTS Writing Task 1
On the following pages you can see model answers for IELTS writing task 1 questions.
There are examples of all the different types of task which include line graphs, pie charts, tables,
processes, diagrams and maps.
First, on this page, youll get an overview of how to answer a task 1.
Answers will always vary depending on the type of graph or diagram, and the type of language
will vary, but there is a certain structure that they all follow.
Once you have studied the general structure, you can view other examples by following the links
in the right hand column.
How do I answer an IELTS writing task 1?
To analyse this, well look at a line graph. Look at the following question and the graph.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The line graph below shows changes in the amount and type of fast food
consumed by Australian teenagers from 1975 to 2000.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.


Lesson 1: Line Graph





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There are three basic things you need to structure an IELTS writing task 1.
1. Introduce the graph
2. Give an overview
3. Give the detail
Well look at each of these in turn.
1) Introduce the Graph
You need to begin with one or two sentences that state what the IELTS writing task 1 shows. To
do this, paraphrase the title of the graph, making sure you put in a time frame if there is one.
Here is an example for the above line graph:
The line graph illustrates the amount of fast food consumed by teenagers in Australia between 1975
and 2000, a period of 25 years.
You can see this says the same thing as the title, but in a different way.
2) Give an Overview
You also need to state what the main trend or trends in the graph are. Dont give detail such as
data here you are just looking for something that describes what is happening overall.
One thing that stands out in this graph is that one type of fast food fell over the period, whilst the
other two increased, so this would be a good overview.
Here is an example:
Overall, the consumption of fish and chips declined over the period, whereas the amount of pizza and
hamburgers that were eaten increased.
This covers the main changes that took place over the whole period.
You may sometimes see this overview as a conclusion. It does not matter if you put it in the
conclusion or the introduction when you do an IELTS writing task 1, but you should provide an
overview in one of these places.
3) Give the Detail
You can now give more specific detail in the body paragraphs.
When you give the detail in your body paragraphs in your IELTS writing task 1, you must make
reference to the data.
The key to organizing your body paragraphs for an IELTS writing task 1 is to group data
together where there are patterns.
To do this you need to identify any similarities and differences.
Look at the graph what things are similar and what things are different?
As we have already identified in the overview, the consumption of fish and chips declined over
the period, whereas the amount of pizza and hamburgers that were eaten increased.
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So it is clear that pizza and hamburgers were following a similar pattern, but fish and chips were
different. On this basis, you can use these as your groups, and focus one paragraph on fish and
chip and the other one on pizza and hamburgers.
Here is an example of the first paragraph:
In 1975, the most popular fast food with Australian teenagers was fish and chips, being eaten 100
times a year. This was far higher than pizza and hamburgers, which were consumed approximately 5
times a year. However, apart from a brief rise again from 1980 to 1985, the consumption of fish and
chips gradually declined over the 25 year timescale to finish at just under 40 times per year.
As you can see, the focus is on fish and chips. This does not mean you should not mention the
other two foods, as you should still make comparisons of the data as the questions asks.
The second body then focuses on the other foods:
In sharp contrast to this, teenagers ate the other two fast foods at much higher levels. Pizza
consumption increased gradually until it overtook the consumption of fish and chips in 1990. It then
leveled off from 1995 to 2000. The biggest rise was seen in hamburgers, increasing sharply throughout
the 1970s and 1980s, exceeding fish and chips consumption in 1985. It finished at the same level that
fish and chips began, with consumption at 100 times a year.

Full Model Answer:


The line graph illustrates the amount of fast food consumed by teenagers in Australia between
1975 and 2000, a period of 25 years. Overall, the consumption of fish and chips declined over
the period, whereas the amount of pizza and hamburgers that were eaten increased.
In 1975, the most popular fast food with Australian teenagers was fish and chips, being eaten 100
times a year. This was far higher than Pizza and hamburgers, which were consumed
approximately 5 times a year. However, apart from a brief rise again from 1980 to 1985, the
consumption of fish and chips gradually declined over the 25 year timescale to finish at just
under 40 times per year.
In sharp contrast to this, teenagers ate the other two fast foods at much higher levels. Pizza
consumption increased gradually until it overtook the consumption of fish and chips in 1990. It
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then leveled off from 1995 to 2000. The biggest rise was seen in hamburgers, increasing sharply
throughout the 1970s and 1980s, exceeding fish and chips consumption in 1985. It finished at
the same level that fish and chips began, with consumption at 100 times a year.
(191 words)


Lesson 2: Describing an IELTS Pie Chart
This lesson will provide you with tips and advice on how to write an IELTS pie chart for
task1.
To begin, take a look at the pie chart below, and then answer the quiz questions.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The pie charts show the main reasons for migration to and from the UK in
2007.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features
and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.










The pie charts illustrate the primary reasons that people came to and left the UK in
2007. At first glance it is clear that the main factor influencing this decision was employment.
Having a definite job accounted for 30 per cent of immigration to the UK, and this figure
was very similar for emigration, at 29%. A large number of people, 22%, also emigrated
because they were looking for a job, though the proportion of people entering the UK for this
purpose was noticeably lower at less than a fifth.
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Another major factor influencing a move to the UK was for formal study, with over a
quarter of people immigrating for this reason. However, interestingly, only a small minority,
4%, left for this.
The proportions of those moving to join a family member were quite similar for
immigration and emigration, at 15% and 13% respectively. Although a significant number of
people (32%) gave other reasons or did not give a reason why they emigrated, this accounted
for only 17% with regards to immigration.
173 words____________________________________________________________________
As you can see, the pie chart description is easy to follow. Here are some key points in organizing your
answer.

Choose the most important points to write about first
These will be the largest ones. As you can see in the model answer, definite job, looking for
work, and formal study were all written about first, in order of importance, as these are the
main reasons that were chosen for moving.
Items such as other are usually less important and account for small amounts, so can be left till
the end.

Make it easy to read
When you write a task 1, you should always group information in a logical way to make it easy
to follow and read.
With an IELTS pie chart, the most logical thing to do is usually to compare categories together
across the charts, focusing on similarities and differences, rather than writing about each chart
separately.
If you write about each one separately, the person reading it will have to keep looking between
the paragraphs in order to see how each category differs.

Vary your language
As with any task 1, this is important. You should not keep repeating the same structures. The
key language when you write about pie charts is proportions and percentages.
Common phrases to see are "the proportion of" or "the percentage of"
However, you can also use other words and fractions. These are some examples from the
model answer:
A large number of people
over a quarter of people
a small minority
A significant number of people
less than a fifth
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This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to fractions or ratios:
Percentage Fraction
80% four-fifths
75% three-quarters
70% seven in ten
65% two-thirds
60% three-fifths
55% more than half
50% half
45% more than two fifths
40% two-fifths
35% more than a third
30% less than a third
25% a quarter
20% a fifth
15% less than a fifth
10% one in ten
5% one in twenty

If the percentages are not exact as above, then you can use qualifiers to make sure your
description remains accurate. Here are some examples:
Percentage Qualifier
77% just over three quarters
77% approximately three quarters
49% just under a half
49% nearly a half
32% almost a third
This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to other phrases:
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Percentage
proportion / number / amount
/ majority / minority
75% - 85% a very large majority
65% - 75% a significant proportion
10% - 15% a minority
5% a very small number
The words above are interchageable, though number is for countable nouns and
amount is for uncountable nouns.

Sample Pie Chart - IELTS Task 1
This is a sample pie chart for IELTS task 1.
In this example, there are four pie charts that you have to compare.


Model Graph 8
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The pie charts show the electricity generated in Germany and France from all
sources and renewables in the year 2009.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.


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Sample Pie Chart - Model Answer
The four pie charts compare the electricity generated between Germany and France during 2009,
and it is measured in billions kWh. Overall, it can be seen that conventional thermal was the
main source of electricity in Germany, whereas nuclear was the main source in France.
The bulk of electricity in Germany, whose total output was 560 billion kWh, came from
conventional thermal, at 59.6%. In France, the total output was lower, at 510 billion kWh, and in
contrast to Germany, conventional thermal accounted for just 10.3%, with most electricity
coming from nuclear power (76%). In Germany, the proportion of nuclear power generated
electricity was only one fifth of the total.
Moving on to renewables, this accounted for quite similar proportions for both countries, at
approximately 15% of the total electricity generated. In detail, in Germany, most of the
renewables consisted of wind and biomass, totaling around 75%, which was far higher than for
hydroelectric (17.7%) and solar (6.1%). The situation was very different in France, where
hydroelectric made up 80.5% of renewable electricity, with biomass, wind and solar making up
the remaining 20%.
(Words 183)
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Sample IELTS Bar Graph
Here is an IELTS sample bar graph on the topic of British emigration.
This chart is over time, so it uses the language of change as well as language of comparison and
contrast.
IELTS Writing Task 1 - Example 9
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The chart shows British Emigration to selected destinations between
2004 and 2007.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features
and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.


IELTS Bar Chart Model Answer
The bar chart shows the number of British people who emigrated to five destinations over the
period 2004 to 2007. It is evident from the chart that throughout the period, the most popular
place to move to was Australia.
Emigration to Australia stood at just over 40,000 people in 2004, which was approximately
6,000 higher than for Spain, and twice as high as the other three countries. Apart from a jump to
around 52,000 in 2006, it remained around this level throughout the period.
The next most popular country for Britons to move to was Spain, though its popularity declined
over the time frame to finish at below 30,000 in 2007. Despite this, the figure was still higher
than for the remaining three countries. Approximately 20,000 people emigrated to New Zealand
each year, while the USA fluctuated between 20-25,000 people over the period.
Although the number of visitors to France spiked to nearly 35,000 in 2005, it was the country
that was the least popular to emigrate to at the end of the period, at just under 20,000 people.
(Words 179)
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