Writing Task 1: Line Graph: Question 7
Syllabus W.task1
The line graph below shows the unemployment rate, as a percentage of the total workforce, in three countries (Larsenia, Kordova and Mestria) between 2008 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Year | Larsenia (%) | Kordova (%) | Mestria (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 5.2 | 8.0 | 4.5 |
| 2011 | 9.8 | 11.5 | 5.0 |
| 2014 | 7.5 | 9.0 | 6.2 |
| 2017 | 4.9 | 6.5 | 7.0 |
| 2020 | 8.6 | 5.8 | 8.4 |
The graph shows three lines tracking unemployment from 2008 to 2020: Larsenia's rate spikes sharply around 2011 before falling and then rising again by 2020; Kordova's rate starts highest of the three, rises to a peak in 2011, then falls for the rest of the period, ending the lowest of the three; and Mestria's rate starts lowest but climbs steadily throughout, overtaking Kordova by 2017 and finishing 2020 just below Larsenia's rate, which ends the period as the highest of the three.
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Worked solution
Examiner notes: why this is a band 9 response
Task Achievement
The overview correctly identifies the three distinct trajectories that define this graph (Kordova’s overall decline, Mestria’s overall rise, and Larsenia’s volatility) rather than treating the data as a single trend. The supporting paragraphs then select the genuinely significant figures (starting points, the shared 2011 peak, the 2017 crossover, and the 2020 endpoints) and every figure matches the table precisely, including the percentage sign throughout.
Coherence & Cohesion
The response is organised around comparison rather than country-by-country description: Larsenia is introduced first, then Kordova is explicitly contrasted with it (“by contrast”), and Mestria is directly linked back to Kordova (“the opposite trajectory to Kordova”), which fulfils the instruction to make comparisons where relevant and keeps the three countries connected throughout rather than isolated.
Lexical Resource
Trend vocabulary is varied and precise: “rose to a peak,” “rose steadily,” “fluctuated sharply,” “peaked,” “declined,” “overtaking.” The comparative language (“finishing only narrowly below”) and time-referencing phrases (“by contrast,” “meanwhile”) show flexible, accurate control appropriate to an academic report register.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Complex sentence structures are used with full accuracy, including a semicolon to join two contrasted clauses in the overview, participle phrases (“rising from… overtaking…”), and comparative constructions. There are no errors in number agreement between the percentages and their contexts.
Common pitfalls specific to this task
See commonMistakes above: the most damaging is missing the crossing point where Mestria’s rate overtakes Larsenia’s in 2017, since identifying such turning points is exactly what separates a genuine main-features summary from a flat restatement of the numbers.