The following bar chart 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 bar chart shows the changing patterns of transport use in a European city during the period from 1960 to 2000. In brief, the chart shows that the use of the car as a means of transport dramatically increased over the period shown, while the other three modes ended the period at lower levelsthe others fell. In detail, in 1960 the motor car was the least-used mode of transportused least as a method of transport with only about 7% of the population using this method but car use grew steadily and sharplystrongly to finally reach about 37% of the population by 2000. This was a approximately fivefold increasemassive 5-fold increase in use. Over this same period, however, the popularity of walking, which had been the most popular means of transport with 35% of the population in 1960 having it as their preferred way of getting around, fell to 10%. Bicycle use also fell from a high of about 27% in 1960 to just 7% in 2000. By contrastOn the other hand, bus use was more variable, withmore erratic being popular with almost 20% of the population in 1960 and rising to a peak of about 27% in 1980 before falling back to about 18% in 2000.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response accurately identifies the dominant long-term shift from walking to car travel and supports this with well-selected start, end, and peak figures. Its main limitation is presentation: all information appears in one dense paragraph, while several 1980 values are omitted for the car, bicycle, and walking categories. Prioritise clear paragraphing and a compact comparison of the intermediate-year figures to make the trends easier to scan and more fully supported.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report presents a clear overview and accurately selects the most important changes and figures from the chart.
Add a concise comparison of the 1980 values for car, bicycle, and walking to support the changing rankings more fully.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence of trends is logical and cohesive devices clarify contrasts, but the single dense paragraph weakens organisation.
Separate the overview from two grouped detail paragraphs, such as rising car use and declining or fluctuating alternatives.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a strong range of trend and comparison vocabulary with generally precise collocation.
Reduce repetition of phrases such as “method of transport” and choose a more neutral alternative to the emphatic “massive.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex clauses, tense choices, and comparative structures are handled accurately throughout with strong control.
Break up the longest sentences where several trends and figures are combined to improve readability while retaining complexity.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The following bar chart 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.