The chart below shows the total number of minutes (in millions) of telephone calls in Finland, divided into three categories, from 1995 – 2004.
Sample Response
The bar graph gives information about the people of Finland who spent millions of minutes on calls between the years 1995 to 2004. Overall, it can be seen that throughout the period, the local landline washas been the most widely used call categorythe most favourite medium of calling.
According to the chartAs per the information, in 1995, local landline calls accounted for exactly 12,000 million minutesinhabitants used exactly 12000 million minutes on locally available landlines. This number rose steadily up to 2001, when it reached about 17,000 million minutesthe year 2000 and reached 17000 million minutes. In the next year, the figure remained approximately the same but after the next three years, the minutes decreased and stood in the same position which was nine years ago.
In 1995In the starting year, which is 1995, nationalNational and international landline calls were recorded at 6,000 million minuteswere recorded 6000 million minutes and rose steadily until 2004constantly surged up to the year 2004 reaching just over 10,000 million minutesbut still remained above 10000. By 2004In the same year, mobile callsthe mobiles calls accounted for just under 10,000 million minuteswere recorded below 10000, up from approximately zero in 1995.but the popularity increased from the year 1995 which was approximate O.
At last, although local landline use declined after 2001though local landline popularity decreased still, it was the most widely used call categorythe most favourite medium of interaction out of 3 given categories.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response identifies local landline calls as the largest category and broadly describes the three series, so the main message remains understandable. However, the overview omits the contrasting rises in the other categories, several figures are vague or inaccurately timed, and recurring grammatical and collocational errors reduce precision. The highest-priority improvement is to state all three overall trends clearly, then support them with accurately dated comparisons from the chart.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report addresses all three categories and identifies the dominant series, but the overview is incomplete and some data descriptions are vague or slightly inaccurate.
State that local calls peaked then fell while the other two categories rose, and support each trend with correctly dated figures.
Coherence and Cohesion
Paragraphing and chronological sequencing provide a broadly clear progression, though repetition and unclear references weaken cohesion.
Replace the repetitive conclusion with a fuller overview and ensure references such as in the same year point to one unmistakable year.
Lexical Resource
There is enough vocabulary to describe trends, but frequent awkward collocations such as medium of calling and stood in the same position reduce precision.
Use standard chart language such as peaked, remained stable, fell back, and call volume to describe the data more naturally.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response attempts varied sentence structures, but recurring errors with articles, plurals, prepositions, agreement, and punctuation are noticeable.
Prioritise accurate noun phrases and verb patterns, especially mobile calls, were recorded at, and rose to, before attempting longer clauses.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The chart below shows the total number of minutes (in millions) of telephone calls in Finland, divided into three categories, from 1995 – 2004.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.