Writing Task 1: Line Graph: Question 8
Syllabus W.task1
The line graph below shows sales of books by format (print, e-book and audiobook) in the Calderwood publishing market between 2005 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Year | Print books (millions of units) | E-books (millions of units) | Audiobooks (millions of units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 320 | 2 | 15 |
| 2010 | 290 | 45 | 22 |
| 2015 | 250 | 95 | 40 |
| 2020 | 230 | 80 | 75 |
The graph tracks three lines from 2005 to 2020: print book sales decline gradually and continuously throughout; e-book sales rise sharply to a peak in 2015 before falling back slightly by 2020; and audiobook sales grow slowly at first, then rise steeply in the final five years to approach the e-book total.
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Worked solution
Examiner notes: why this is a band 9 response
Task Achievement
The overview accurately captures all three lines in a single sentence and, crucially, correctly identifies that print books stayed dominant despite declining. A feature many candidates miss by assuming decline means being overtaken. The detail paragraphs go on to select the genuinely notable features (the 2015 peak and subsequent fall in e-books; the late acceleration in audiobooks) rather than reporting every data point with equal weight, and every quoted figure matches the table exactly.
Coherence & Cohesion
Paragraphing follows a clear logic (overview, then print, then e-books and audiobooks together) with each paragraph opening on a clear topical focus. Cohesive devices such as “yet,” “before,” and “nearly matching” link ideas within and across sentences without repetitive or mechanical connectors.
Lexical Resource
Precise, varied trend vocabulary is used throughout: “declined steadily,” “rose dramatically,” “peak,” “falling back,” “grew only modestly,” “surged.” The phrase “nearly matching the e-book total” shows an ability to draw a comparison in natural language rather than simply restating two numbers side by side.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
The response uses accurate complex sentences, including a three-clause overview joined by “while” and “and,” past participle phrases (“falling to 250 million by 2015”), and comparative structures (“far exceeding,” “far ahead of”), all without grammatical error.
Common pitfalls specific to this task
See commonMistakes above: the most damaging is wrongly inferring that a rising line always overtakes a falling one, this graph specifically tests whether a candidate reports the actual relative values (print books stayed highest throughout) rather than the direction of change alone.