The graph below shows four countries of residence of overseas students in Australia.
Sample Response
The graph below showsillustrates information on the number of overseas studentsstudents from foreign countries who studied in Australia between 1982 and 2000. According to the data given by the graph, it can be clearly seen that the number of students fromstudents that arrived from Indonesia and Hong Kong followed different trends fromdiffered from Malaysia and Singapore.
Between 1982 and 1984, the number of students from Indonesia remained constant. In 1987 it began to rise graduallyit dramatically went up and reached about 10,000 in 1994 before peaking at roughly 27,000 in 1998in 1994 reached a peak with the figure of about 28,000 students. By contrast, the number of students from Hong Kongstudents travelling from Hong Kong to Australia reached its maximum in 1997, at approximatelyhaving achieved the level of 18,000 students. The figures for Malaysia and Singapore differed considerablyslightly differ from those for Indonesia and Hong Kongfrom Indonesia and Hong Kong. In 1987, the Malaysian figure was about 8,000 studentsIn 1987, Malaysia reached the level of about 28,000 students arrived.
To summarise, there was a overall upward trenddownward trend in the number of students coming from thedifferent four countries to Australia to studyfor studies.
Why this response received Band 5.0
The response uses a clear report structure and attempts to compare the four national groups, with generally understandable language. However, it omits most of Singapore’s trend and gives several major inaccuracies, including placing Indonesia’s peak in 1994, reporting Malaysia at about 28,000 in 1987, and describing an overall decline. Prioritise an accurate overview of the common upward movement and select a few reliable peak and end-point comparisons from the graph.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response addresses the graph but lacks a valid overview, omits Singapore’s development, and reports several major figures and trends inaccurately.
State that all four groups increased overall, then verify key dates and values before comparing their peaks and final levels.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is arranged into an introduction, a detail paragraph, and a conclusion, but progression is weakened by loosely connected and incomplete comparisons.
Group the four series logically and connect each comparison to a shared time point or trend.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is sufficient to describe movement and comparison, though repetition and awkward collocations limit precision.
Use accurate trend phrases such as rose gradually, peaked at, and remained stable, while avoiding repetitive references to students.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Simple and complex sentences are both attempted, but recurring errors in clause construction, word order, and noun phrases reduce control.
Proofread comparative clauses and constructions after figures, especially phrases such as the number of students arriving and reached about 28,000.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph below shows four countries of residence of overseas students in Australia.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.