The graph below shows the different modes of transport used to travel to and from work in one European city in 1960, 1980 and 2000.
Sample Response
The column graph represents information on travellers’ commuting preferencespreference to travel to workreach office and return home in a European city in three different years:years- 1960, 1980 and 2000. Overalloverall, the car gained popularitygained its popularity and the number of people who used to walk gradually decreased. In 1960, almost 20 percent of people20 percent people used buses to and from workplaces and this percentage grew to almost 28% after 20 years. In 2000, bus users fell to less than 20%. By contrastOn the contrary, in the case of private cars, the proportion of usersthe users were only about 7% in 1960, which was the lowest of the four modesamong the 4 categories, and this increased sharply in 1980 reachingamounting 25%, and in 2000, more than 38%, making it the most used form of transportthe transportation system. Besides, more than 27% of people27% people used bikes in 1960 and in 1980 the number decreased by five percentage pointsdecreased by 5% but in 2000 it dramatically fell to aboutsomewhat 7%. Finally, 35% people used to walk to go to work and to return from there. But this foot-walkers' number declined significantly in the 80s and in 2000 one out of ten office goers walked. To summarise, more people used to walk to travel to and from workplaces in 1960 but with the popularity of private cars, this ratio declined.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response selects nearly all major figures and clearly conveys the rise of car use alongside the decline in walking, with comparisons that are mostly accurate. Its main weakness is presentation: the report is one long paragraph and contains recurring awkward or inaccurate phrasing. The highest-priority improvement is to group the categories into clear comparative paragraphs while using more natural data-reporting structures.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and broad coverage of all four modes are supported by mostly accurate figures, although a few values are slightly overstated.
Make the overview more complete by noting both declining active modes and the bus fluctuation, and report exact values where the chart permits.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses logically by transport mode, but the single-paragraph format weakens the grouping of comparisons and some linking is mechanical.
Use separate overview and detail paragraphs, grouping car with walking and bus with cycling to highlight contrasting trends.
Lexical Resource
The response uses an adequate range of transport and trend vocabulary, but several collocations such as reach office and foot-walkers are unnatural.
Prefer precise, natural phrases such as commute to work, car users, and people travelling on foot.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the data clearly, though article, preposition, punctuation, and noun-phrase errors recur.
Proofread quantifier and article patterns, especially constructions such as percent of people and amounting to 25%.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph below shows the different modes of transport used to travel to and from work in one European city in 1960, 1980 and 2000.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.