The chart shows the total distance travelled by passengers on five types of transport in the UK between 1990 and 2000.
Sample Response
The chart shows the passenger-kilometres travelledhow far passengers traveled by five types of transport in the UK in 1990 and 2000. The modes shown areThe transport types are bicycle, bike, air, bus, and rail. Overall, the total passenger distance travelledtotal distance traveled was higher in 2000 than in 1990. Bus and rail travel accounted for the greatest distancesBuses and trains had the most distance, while bicycle, bike and air travelbicycles, bikes, and air travel had much lower figuresmuch smaller numbers. In 1990 and 2000, bicycles and bikes had low numbers. They both stayed around 5 billion kilometers. Air travel was also low, but it went up a little to about 5 billion passenger-kilometresabout 8 billion kilometers in 2000. For bus and rail travelFor buses and trains, the figuresnumbers were much higher. Bus travel recorded the highest figureBuses were the highest with about 42 billion passenger-kilometres in 1990about 45 billion kilometers in 1990 and about 44 billion passenger-kilometres in 2000a bit more in 2000. Rail travel was also highTrains were also high, going up from about 40 billion to 44 billion passenger-kilometresfrom 40 billion to 45 billion kilometers.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response presents a clear overview and identifies the dominant transport modes, with generally straightforward organisation. Its main limitation is incomplete and occasionally inaccurate coverage: it is under length, does not report the total figures, overlooks the declines in bicycle and bike travel, and overstates air travel in 2000. Prioritise accurate comparisons of every major trend and include the overall totals.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A relevant overview and the largest categories are identified, but the response omits the total figures and misrepresents several smaller-category values and trends.
Report the total increase and distinguish the declines in bicycle and bike travel from the rise in air travel using accurate figures.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information follows a sensible overview-to-detail sequence, although the single-paragraph presentation and repeated category references make the progression somewhat mechanical.
Separate the overview from grouped detail paragraphs and organise categories by similar trends.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is adequate for describing the chart, but repeated words such as numbers and distance and awkward collocations reduce precision.
Use precise terms such as passenger kilometres, figures, rose, fell, and remained comparatively low.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses mostly accurate simple and compound structures, with some controlled comparison and subordination.
Develop a wider range of concise comparative structures while maintaining the existing grammatical control.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The chart shows the total distance travelled by passengers on five types of transport in the UK between 1990 and 2000.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.