The line chart below shows the results of a survey giving the reasons why people moved to the capital city of a particular country.
Sample Response
The line graph sets out the main reasons people movedkey motivations for people relocating to the capital of a specific country between 2000 and 2015. The number of people moving to studyMoving for the purpose of study saw the greatest rise overall, with a jump of approximately 62,000. It rose considerably in two periods - from 2000 to 2005 (by 22,000), and then again from 2010 to 2015 (by 33,000), with gentler growtha more gentle growth of around 7,000 in between. Elsewhere, the numberfigure of people relocating for work began at 61,000 in 2000, then peaked at 92,000 in 2010—the highest figure for any reason in any year—2010 - the highest of any reason, in any year - before finishing as the joint highestjoint-highest in 2015 (87,000 - equal toon a level with those relocating in order to study). Notably, this category was the only one of the four that underwent a downturn. Turning to 'adventure', this category increased most steadilyrose the most stably and steadily of all four categories, from 11,000 to 15,000 over the fifteen-year period. Meanwhile, the number of people relocating for 'reasons related to family and friendsfamily and friends' reasons climbed gently in the first five years (12,000 to 14,000), then rose more sharply to 22,000followed by an upswing to 22,000, before eventually levelling off at around 23,000 in 2015.
Why this response received Band 8.5
The response is exceptionally accurate and selective, capturing every major trend and supporting comparisons with well-chosen figures. The principal weakness is presentation: all information is compressed into a single paragraph, while a few phrases are slightly awkward or redundant. The highest-priority improvement is to separate the overview from grouped details, preserving the precise data coverage while making the report easier to navigate.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report fully and accurately covers the major trends, key turning points, rankings, and final convergence shown in the chart.
Keep this comprehensive coverage while making the final convergence of employment and study especially prominent in the overview.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence of categories and time periods is logical and easy to follow, with smooth transitions throughout.
Divide the overview and grouped details into distinct paragraphs so the strong progression is visually clearer.
Lexical Resource
A broad and precise vocabulary supports nuanced descriptions of changes, peaks, stability, and convergence, with only slight awkwardness in a few phrases.
Prefer more natural collocations in place of expressions such as the figure of people and most stably and steadily.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex comparative, participial, and subordinate structures are used with consistently strong accuracy and control.
Refine punctuation around parenthetical dashes and retain the same grammatical control when separating the response into paragraphs.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The line chart below shows the results of a survey giving the reasons why people moved to the capital city of a particular country.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.