IELTS Writing Task 1 Price Changes
IELTS Writing Task 1 Price Changes
?Instructions:
? Visual data adopted from https://www.ielts-exam.net/
The line graph below shows some relative price changes for fresh fruits and vegetables, sugars and sweets, and carbonated drinks among urban consumers in the United States between 1978 and 2009.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
? LELB Society’s Student: Sasan
The line graph demonstrates how the prices of some products namely, Fresh((Do not capitalize it in the middle of the sentence.)) fruits and vegetables, Carbonated((Do not capitalize this word in the middle of the sentence.)) drinks((drinks, –> it’s better to use a comma after “drink” to separate the items.)) and sugar and sweets changed in the United States from 1978 to 2009 and also((Also is generally used to link 2 sentences of the same length, and not a long and a short sentence to each other, as you have.)) the trend for((trend in)) CPI (Consumer Price Index) has been clarified.
It can be seen the prices of all products experienced increases((this part is not collocationally common. We usually say: prices go up, rise, soar, etc.)) during this time span per capita. To be more elaborate, in 1979, the prices of all products were almost the same, standing at 70 approximately.((It’s better to use a conjunction here to show some transition between the 2 sentences. It is felt that the 2 sentences are rather detached. For example: “however” or even better conjunctions or adverbs.)) The prices rose moderately with the same speed((at the same speed / rate)) until 1981. Afterwards, all the prices perpetuated rising((Prices cannot perpetuate a rise by themselves, it’s neither collocationally nor semantically acceptable. By the way, it must be a “rise” and not “rising”)) but the price of sugar and sweets overtook that of other products and commenced decreasing in 1982 and ultimately all the prices reached 100, in 1983. In the rest of this period, on average, all the prices grew with various speeds((at various speeds)) and as a result, in 2009, the prices of Fresh fruits and vegetables, Sugar and sweets and carbonated drinks ranked first, second and third((were ranked first, second and third)) respectively. In addition, the increases of((an increase in)) all prices were((was)) almost smooth except for the price of Fresh fruits and vegetables which witnessed some fluctuations((It’s better to use this word in a singular format)). Last but not least, CPI((the CPI, because it is known to us and we know which CPI you are writing about)) which elucidates the average changes of((It’s better to say: changes in)) all products was increasing during this period of time.
✅ Examiner’s Notes:
- Visual Data Analysis
- There was a marked increase in the price of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially toward the end of the specified time period in comparison to the prices of the other two items.
- Choice of Words (Diction): Good
- Coherence: Above average
- Cohesion: Above average
- Grammar: Good
- Reasoning: Good
- Word Count: “203” Great!
General Information
- You have 20 minutes for this task.
- Your summary should consist of at least 150 words.
- The IELTS Writing Task 1 is an information transfer task, which requires you to write an accurate account of some information presented in graphic form, for example, a graph, table, or some form of a pictorial representation of data.
- Your addressee is a university lecturer.
- It is important to read the instructions closely to specify the main focus of your report.
Planning Your Task
- Make sure to spend around 2 to 3 minutes planning and organizing your answer. That is to say, do NOT start writing immediately. During this pre-writing time, try to analyze the delineated data carefully.
- In the exam, you can write notes on the illustration and in a clearly defined space on the front of your answer paper.
- Your notes could be in abbreviated forms in order to save time. Remember that your notes are personal and won’t be assessed.
- During planning, decide which significant details will be discussed to reflect the task requirements. For example:
- The apex (high points) or base (low points)
- Steady pace or rate of changes
- Fluctuation in the rate of changes
- While planning your task, you should determine the time period so that the correct tense is used.
How to Start Writing?
- It is recommended that you start your IELTS Writing Task 1 with a restatement of the keywords in the instructions. In so doing, you will give a brief description of the details in the pictorial form.
- You should write one clear sentence to introduce the illustration.
- After your general description, you should write one or two sentences to indicate the relationships between the data or demonstrate a trend.
- Write more sentences to provide a more in-depth account of the data that transcends your general statement.
How to Analyze the Graph?
- In your second paragraph, you should give a detailed account of the visual data reflected in the graph or chart.
- Do not try to describe the graph in a linear or sequential order. Instead, you must develop a nonlinear and profound understanding of the data.
Providing an Overview
- Since the data with a pictorial form are not accessible to your addressee, who is a university lecturer, you ought to provide a brief overview of the general trends and patterns to make sense of the whole data. Remember that IELTS Writing Task 1 is NOT an essay. Instead, it’s just a summary of some visual data. Accordingly, the existence of a conclusion is not necessary; however, it is strongly recommended to give an overall overview of the data.
Important Tips
- You can write your summary either in British or American English style, but you need to be consistent throughout your summary.
- As it is typical of any writing task, it is strongly recommended that you proofread your own report for possible mistakes.
Recognizing Similarities and Differences
- Mention the actual data (numbers, percentages, dates, units, etc.) in your comparison as long as the statistics are in line with the point you are trying to make.
Verbs to Describe the Data
- Decline ⬇️
- Decrease ⬇️
- Fall ⬇️
- Grow ⬆️
- Increase ⬆️
- Plummet ⬇️
- Rise ⬆️
Intensifiers to Describe the Data
- Considerably
- Dramatically
- Gradually
- In the same way (making comparisons)
- Moderately
- Noticeably
- Rapidly
- Similarly (making comparisons)
- Sharply
- Slightly
- Slowly
- Steadily
Another Dominant Structure
| There | Article | Adjective | Descriptive Noun | Prepositional Phrase (in what) |
| a(n) |
|
| in something |
The line graph demonstrates how the prices of some products namely, Fresh fruits and vegetables, Carbonated drinks and sugar and sweets changed in the United States from 1978 to 2009 and also the trend for CPI (Consumer Price Index) has been clarified.
It can be seen the prices of all products experienced increases during this time span per capita. To be more elaborate, in 1979, the prices of all products were almost the same, standing at 70 approximately. The prices rose moderately with the same speed until 1981. Afterwards, all the prices perpetuated rising but the price of sugar and sweets overtook that of other products and commenced decreasing in 1982 and ultimately all the prices reached 100, in 1983. In the rest of this period, on average, all the prices grew with various speeds and as a result, in 2009, the prices of Fresh fruits and vegetables, Sugar and sweets and carbonated drinks ranked first, second and third respectively. In addition, the increases of all prices were almost smooth except for the price of Fresh fruits and vegetables which witnessed some fluctuations. Last but not least, CPI which elucidates the average changes of all products was increasing during this period of time.