ANALYZING GRAPHS: LINE GRAPHS, BAR

GRAPHS, AND TABLES IN IELTS WRITING TASK 1

Người viết: Lê Kim Bảo

Lớp: 10 Anh 1
 1. Introduction
Data visualization is the use of visual elements such as images, charts, or diagrams to convey
information to an audience, for example, to detect outliers and unusual groups, identifying
trends and clusters, spotting local patterns, or presenting results. Through the use of colors,
lines and shapes, visual data can help break down complex data sets into digestible and concise
infographics due to our innate ability to process visual stimuli rapidly.

Take for example the difference between a standard table chart and a bar chart. Both of
these options provide adequate information; however, the one on the left can be complicated
due to its boring layout and the overwhelming numbers stacked on top of each other, while the
one on the right allows us to not only infer the revenue figures but also to compare the
difference between the years through the use of colors. That is precisely why visual data is such
an effective and popular form of communication in many industries such as STEM, government,
finance, marketing, history, education, sports, and so on; as it enhances clarity, convey
relationships and enables comprehension. So much so that in 2023, according to Venngage,
data visualization charts took the lead as the most prevalent and widely used type of visual
content by marketers (1)
Due to this explosive popularity and the nature of our data-driven world, more and more
jobs are requiring employees to be able to decipher and master the ins and outs of data
visualizations. According to Tableu and Techtarget, data visualization is an important skill for
every applicant and is set to become even more important in the coming future. For this
purpose is why the graph description section in IELTS Writing task 1 was implemented. Not only
does this exercise help prepare and familiarize students with this new style of communication,
but it also examines their language proficiency and logic regarding analyzation within a limited
timeframe.
Some graphs that often appear in IELTS Writing task 1 are line graphs, bar graphs and
tables. Coincidentally, these are also three prominent means of data visualizations that students
may come across even after taking the test. As a result, grasping their description wouldn’t only
aid test – takers within the scope of the IELTS but also in real – life, whether that is in university
or at work.

2. Main body

A, Line graphs
 Definition and purpose:
+ A line graph shows trend over time using data points connected by a line
+ Common in IELTS Writing task 1 when describing time – series data

 Key vocabulary for IELTS Writing task 1: (6)

 Examples:
- While Italy and Portugal saw an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions per person, the opposite was true for the United Kingdom and Sweden.
- Despite the marginal decrease of CO2 emissions per person in the UK, this country
still stood out as the nation with the highest gas emissions at 9 metric tonnes,
beating out Italy whose carbon emissions nearly doubled from around 4 metric
tonnes to 8 metric tonnes between 1967 to 2007.
- While Sweden hit its peak carbon dioxide emissions per person in 1977 at nearly 10
metric tonnes, the amount fell down to just under 6 tonnes by 2007. Moving to
Portugal, it remained as the country with the least CO2 emissions on average, rising
from 1,5 metric tonnes to right below 6 metric tonnes.
 - The number of London Underground Station passengers fluctuated wildly. From 6.00
to 8.00 am, passengers increasingly took the underground station more and more
until reaching its peak of 400. However, after 8.00 am, the number slumped down to
just under 200 passengers by 10.00 am
- In the afternoon, the numbers picked up a little bit before falling to an all time low of
only 100 passengers at 16.00 pm. By the the evening, the London Underground
Station’s passengers nearly quadrupled to just under 400 visitors before slackening
to around 150 passengers at the end of the day.

- Dubai was by far the hottest country, with temperatures rising constantly from the
beginning of the year before reaching its peak at 36 degrees Celcius in August and
slackening to over 20 degrees Celsius December

- Contrastingly, Paris was the coldest city, with temperatures never rising over 20
degrees Celsius. This nation documented its lowest temperature in January and
December at 5 degrees Celsius and its highest temperature in July and August

- Moving to Sydney, this city was neither hot nor cold like Dubai and Paris as it saw
little fluctuations during the year. in January, the temperature was at 25 degrees
Celsius before falling to its lowest point of 14 degrees in July and rising back up to 24
degrees Celsius by December.

B, Bar graphs
 Definition and purpose:
+ Bar graphs compare quantities across categories using bars
+ Frequently used in IELTS Writing task 1 to show comparative data
 Key vocabulary for IELTS Writing task 1:

- PHRASES TO REFER TO TRENDS OR DATA

+ Shows changes in
+ Highlights trends in
+ Provides information about
+ Depicts the pattern of
+ Outline changes in

- FOCUS ON THE MOST AND THE LEAST

+ The most noticeable trend is that (most significant feature). On the other hand,
(another feature) stands out for Its (contrasting behavior)
+ At the beginning of the period, (X was the most/ least consumed), but by the
end, (Y had overtaken it)

- COMPARISON BETWEEN GROUPS

+ Comparing the categories, (Group X) saw the highest/lowest values
throughout the period, while (Group Y) demonstrated consistent growth/decline
+ A striking comparison reveals that while (X grew rapidly),(Y followed a
contrasting trend

- USEFUL LANGUAGE TO DELIVER PRECISE DATA (7)

UNDER ABOUT OVER

Under About Over
Below Approximately Above
Less than Around More than
Just under Just over
Slightly under Slightly over
Nearly Marginally above
Almost Well over
Close to Considerably more than
Well under
Considerably less than

  Examples and IELTS-style Language

- In 2016, people on twitter spent around 20 minutes a day using the app. Every year,
the duration slightly increased by 5 minutes until it reached its peak at the end of the
period, in which users nearly spent 45 minutes a day. As for Facebook, it used to be a
social media platform with the longest duration spent by its users. However, the
number witnessed a sharp decrease in 2017, and kept experiencing a slight decline
from that point on.

- Moving to snapchat, the duration spent on this platform used to be the shortest
among other apps, just a little below 15 minutes a day. However, people spent more
time using the app and by the year 2019, as they used it for nearly 45 minutes a day.
Instagram had the second longest duration of roughly 20 minutes a day in 2016. A
year later, its users spent more than forty minutes daily. In the next two years, the
duration spent on instagram decreased to half an hour and 20 minutes respectively.
At the end of the period, people spent nearly forty minutes using instagram.
- In 1968, families spent the majority of their weekly income on food, standing at a
large proportion of 35%. However, this number was halved to just 16% in 2018.
While the categories of housing, transport and leisure all enjoyed an increase in
expenditure during the 50-year time period, most notably with transport and leisure
expenses jumping from 8% and 9% to 14% and 23% respectively; the percent of
weekly income allotted to household goods stayed unchanging at 7%

- On the other hand, the groups of fuel and power, clothing and footware and
personal goods saw a decrease between 1968 and 2018, with income spent on
clothing and footware and personal goods halving in percentages.
 - (2) The quantity of national and international call making during this time in the UK
was about 36 billion minutes in 1995 and swelled gradually to about 60 billion
minutes in 2002, approximately two times higher than that of 1995. Meanwhile,
mobile call showed the same trend. The number of calls went up significantly from
only about 2 billion minutes in 1995 to about 45 billion minutes in 2002 and outlined
a dramatic rise, in fact, almost 28 times higher than in 1995.

- In contrast, the number of local calls fluctuated over the times observed. It was
about 71 billion in 1995 and rose modestly to about 90 billion in 1998. The figure
levelled off and began to go down in 2002 and remained falling significantly until
2002 when the figure hit about 71 billion. Nevertheless, the local – fixed line was
true as the highest phone call made among other lines. The popularity of cell phone
calls increased steadily over the period

C, Table charts
 Definition and Purpose:
+ Tables present detailed numerical data in rows and columns
+ Often used in IELTS Writing task 1 for precise, comparative data
 Key vocabulary
- DESCRIBING PRECENTAGES (8)

1–5% A tiny fraction

24% Almost a quarter
25% Exactly a quarter
26% Roughly a quarter
32% Nearly one third
49% Around a half
50% Exactly a half
51% Just over a half
73% Nearly three quarters
77% Approximately three quarters
79% Well over three quarters

2% A tiny portion, a very small proportion

4% An insignificant minority, an insignificant proportion
16% A small minority, a small portion
70% A large proportion.
72% A significant majority, A significant proportion
89% A very large proportion
 Examples and IELTS-style Language

- (3) The London underground is the oldest system, having opened in 1863. It is also
the largest system, with 394 kilometres of route. The second largest system, in Paris,
is only about half the size of the London underground, with 199 kilometres of route.
However, it serves more people per year. While the Tokyo system is only third in size,
it is the most easily used, with 1927 million passengers annually.

- Of the three newer networks, the Washington DC underground is the most

extensive, with 126 kilometres of route, compared to only 11 kilometres and 28
kilometres for the Kyoto and Los Angeles systems. The Los Angeles network is the
newest, having opened in 2001, while the Kyoto network is the smallest and serves
only 45 million passengers per year.
- (4) Starting salaries in Australia showed the lowest income, accounting for 28,000,
followed by Korea and Japan at 30,000 and 34,000, respectively. Next was Denmark
at 45,0000, while teacher salaries in Luxembourg were the highest, consisting of
80,000. Regarding teachers with 15 years of experience, Luxembourg showed a
significant increase in earnings, representing 119,000. Japan comprised 65,000, and
Korea and Australia both amounted to 48,000 in this category.

- In terms of maximum salaries, Luxembourg again indicated the highest figure,

totaling 132,000. Japan and Korea followed at 86,000 and 62,000 respectively. Most
notably, Australian and Danish salaries did not change, comprising 48,000.

- Regarding reaching maximum salary, Japan took the longest at 37 years. Next came
Korea at 34 years and then Luxembourg at 30 years. Interestingly, teachers in
Australia and Denmark achieved maximum salary in just 9 years and 8 years
respectively.

- (5) The highest participation in any activities was seen in the 16-24 age group, with
35% and 30% respectively doing performance and visual arts. In contrast, other
activities were much lower, particularly those computer-based, at only 10%.

- Turning to the older age groups, like the under 25s, the highest participation rate
seen for 25-44 years olds was in performance, though this was much lower, at only
22%. A similar rate of 22% was evident for the most popular activity for the 45-74
 age group, which was crafts. Again, the popularity of computers was very low for all
those who were 25 plus, as was interest in writing.

- Taking all age groups together, it can be seen that performance and crafts were the
most popular, at over 19%, whereas cultural purchases and visual arts were slightly
less popular at 16% and 15% respectively. Finally, little interest was shown in writing
and computing.

3. Conclusion
As the goal of the IELTS Writing task 1 is to compare and contrast information in a
chart, diagram or a graph; accurate and precise use of vocabulary and grammar is
extremely crucial. Not only are they criteria for judging, they also help clarify and
create a quality essay that’s easy to follow.

As mentioned before, graph descriptions are indispensable to many industries, and

are set to become even more important in the near future. Hence, grasping all off
the key components regarding the IELTS Writing task 1 would not only just prepare
the applicants for the examination, but it will also aid them in professional settings.

4. References
(1) https://venngage.com/blog/visual-content-marketing-statistics/
(2) https://itn.edu.vn/chien-thuat-dang-bar-chart-task-1/
(3) https://www.izone.edu.vn/luyen-thi-ielts/ielts-writing-task-1-rail-networks/
(4) https://ieltsfocus.com/2024/10/29/ielts-task-1-salaries-table/
(5) https://www.ieltsbuddy.com/writing-task-1-table-sample.html
(6) https://www.ieltsadvantage.com/2015/03/10/ielts-writing-task-1-grammar-guide/
(7) https://ieltsliz.com/vocabulary-for-accurate-data/
(8) https://www.ielts-mentor.com/48-ielts-vocabulary/vocabulary-for-academic-ielts-
writing-task-1/528-