The graph and table below show the number of fishers in millions for different regions in 1980, 1990, and 2000, and the world's top exporters of fish in 2000.
Sample Response
The chart compares the population of fishermen from five different regions in three decades - 1980, 1990 and 2000, and the table lists the top-ten fish exporters in the year 2000. Overall, the highest number of fishers lived in the Asian continent and their number soared dramatically and more rapidly than any part of the world. Moreover, five Asian countries were positioned on the global top-ten fish exporter list in 2000. In details, approximately 9 million fishermen lived in Asia in 1980 which was more than the combined fishers in the rest of the world. In this year, Africa and South America each had around 2 to 3 million people whose profession was fishing. The number of fishermen in North America and Europe was even fewer this year. Next decade, Asian fishermen population increased to over 13 million where these numbers slightly grew in African and American continents. In 2000, around 23 million population in Asia were fishers, almost double than the previous decade, while the rest of the continents had around 8-9 million fishermen in total. European fishers were minorities with fractional fluctuations over the range of half a million to a million, the least in any continent. Tuning to the table data, Thailand, Norway and the USA ranked the top-three fish exporters in 2000. Despite the small population of fishers in Europe, Norway and Denmark held the second and fifth places on the list. Four other Asian countries were listed among the top-ten while no African country was found on the list.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise measure Original: population of fishermen from five different regions Suggested revision: number of fishers in five different regions Why it matters: The graph measures a number of people in each region, so this phrasing is more precise.
- 2. Name the years Original: in three decades - 1980, 1990 and 2000 Suggested revision: in 1980, 1990 and 2000 Why it matters: The graph presents three specific years rather than totals for three whole decades.
- 3. Improve noun phrase Original: top-ten fish exporters Suggested revision: top ten exporters of fish Why it matters: This is the clearer and more natural form of the ranking label.
- 4. Use concise wording Original: in the Asian continent Suggested revision: in Asia Why it matters: The shorter geographical expression is more natural here.
- 5. Fix comparison Original: more rapidly than any part of the world Suggested revision: more rapidly than in any other region Why it matters: The comparative needs a matching preposition and an explicit comparable group.
- 6. Fix collocation Original: were positioned on Suggested revision: appeared in Why it matters: Countries appear in a ranking rather than being positioned on it.
- 7. Use fixed phrase Original: details Suggested revision: detail Why it matters: The standard transition is the singular fixed expression 'in detail'.
- 8. Add measure noun Original: the combined fishers Suggested revision: the combined number of fishers Why it matters: The comparison requires a numerical head noun after 'combined'.
- 9. Improve time reference Original: this Suggested revision: that Why it matters: A past reference already introduced in the preceding sentence is more naturally resumed with 'that'.
- 10. Correct the figures Original: 2 to 3 million Suggested revision: around 2 million Why it matters: The chart shows both Africa and South America at approximately two million fishers in 1980.
- 11. Compare numbers correctly Original: was even fewer this year Suggested revision: was even lower in 1980 Why it matters: A numerical figure is lower, while countable people are fewer.
- 12. Add missing words Original: Next decade Suggested revision: In the next decade Why it matters: The time phrase needs the preposition and article in this sentence.
Suggested Rewrites
- population of fishermen from five different regions number of fishers in five different regions
- in three decades - 1980, 1990 and 2000 in 1980, 1990 and 2000
- top-ten fish exporters top ten exporters of fish
- in the Asian continent in Asia
- more rapidly than any part of the world more rapidly than in any other region
- were positioned on appeared in
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response selects the main trends effectively, gives a clear overview of Asia’s dominance, and makes useful links between the regional figures and exporter rankings. Its impact is reduced by several imprecise figures and recurring awkward grammatical and lexical combinations, so the highest priority is to report comparisons more exactly while using natural noun phrases and comparative structures throughout.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response provides a clear overview, selects the principal trends from both visuals, and supports them with mostly accurate comparisons, though a few figures are overstated.
Report smaller-region values and decade-to-decade changes more precisely, especially North America's doubling and the combined 2000 total outside Asia.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from an overview to graph details and exporter rankings, with clear referencing despite some awkward transitions and dense single-block presentation.
Separate the overview and detail sections into clear paragraphs and replace mechanical transitions with direct topic sentences.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise enough to describe trends and rankings, but several collocations such as '23 million population' and 'fractional fluctuations' are unnatural.
Use standard Task 1 collocations, including 'the number of fishers', 'roughly doubled', and 'minor fluctuations'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a range of complex structures, but recurring errors in comparison, agreement, articles, and clause linking reduce accuracy.
Practise controlled comparison structures and noun agreement, particularly 'almost double the figure' and '23 million people were fishers'.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph and table below show the number of fishers in millions for different regions in 1980, 1990, and 2000, and the world's top exporters of fish in 2000.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.