Line graphs are one of the most common data description tasks in the IELTS test.
One of the most important things to include is an overview. An overview does just what its name suggests – it gives you a view over all the data. It does not select the biggest and smallest parts of the data but instead describes the general trend of the data.
The essay follows the following format:
1st Body Paragraph: a paraphrase of the question
2nd Body Paragraph: all the details
2nd Body Paragraph: an overview that has the flavour of a conclusion
The Question
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows the percentage of teenagers working part-time in five countries between 2010 and 2016
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.
The Answer
The table shows the proportion of teenagers employed in part-time work in five countries over six years, beginning in 2010.
In Mongolia, around a quarter of teenagers were in work at the beginning of the period shown; that figure fell slightly to a fifth in 2012 before returning to original levels by 2016. In Argentina, numbers continued to rise throughout the six-year period, increasing steadily – by comparison to other countries – until 2014, then rising only slightly. The USA, too, saw steady growth until reaching 60% in 2014; at that point, however, numbers began to rise sharply. France, meanwhile, saw a gradual increase in numbers until 2014, but proportions then fell back to around 70%, similarly to 2010. Finally, in Kenya, the only country in which an overall decline could be seen, roughly 85% of teenagers were in work in 2010, declining moderately to around 82% in 2016.
Overall, employment levels remained steady or rose in all countries except Kenya, which witnessed a drop over the final two years.
What Next?
Try your own hand at this question, and then send it to us to receive professional feedback by purchasing one of our Writing Correction Packages.
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