Vikram from Indore described a line graph one year at a time: “In 2000… in 2005… in 2010…” Twelve sentences later, he still hadn’t said what was happening.

A line graph shows change over time, so describe trends, such as rises, falls, peaks and plateaus, and support them with selected figures. Group lines that behave similarly and compare them instead of walking through the years one by one.

What should you look for before you write?

Spend about three of your twenty minutes studying the graph and planning. Check four things:

  • the overall direction of each line from start to finish;
  • the highest and lowest lines;
  • any points where lines cross;
  • the unit on the axis, such as “in thousands”.

These features give you your overview and your two detail paragraphs, in the four-paragraph plan suggested in our guide to Task 1 structure.

Which words describe each movement?

Trend sentences can be built two ways: verb plus adverb (“rose sharply”) or adjective plus noun (“a sharp rise”).

Movement Verb Noun Adverb or adjective
Rise rise, climb, grow a rise, an increase, growth steadily / steady, sharply / sharp
Fall fall, drop, decline a fall, a drop, a decline gradually / gradual, dramatically / dramatic
Peak peak at, reach a peak a peak, a high highest, record
Plateau level off, remain stable a plateau, stability flat, stable
Fluctuate fluctuate, vary fluctuations, variation slightly / slight, greatly / great
Recover recover, rebound a recovery, a rebound modestly / modest, partly / partial

Incorrect: “The visitors increased with a rapid speed.”

Correct: Visitor numbers rose rapidly. (Or: There was a rapid rise in visitor numbers.)

Numbers rise, not visitors, and “rapidly” already carries the idea of speed.

Practice with invented data

Practice task (written for this post)

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows annual visitor numbers, in thousands, at three museums in City X in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Invented data for practice:

Year Science Museum History Museum Art Museum
2000 45 80 30
2005 60 90 35
2010 85 70 25
2015 110 55 30
2020 125 40 35

How do you group the lines?

Group by behaviour. Put lines that cross or move in opposite directions in your first detail paragraph, and lines that stay separate or stable in your second.

Here the Science and History lines cross, so they share the first paragraph. The Art line stays low and steady, so it gets the second. Our posts on comparison structures and numbers and units help you word the details.

Model answer (illustrative Band 7)

The line graph compares how many people visited three museums in City X every five years between 2000 and 2020, with figures given in thousands.

Overall, visitor numbers at the Science Museum rose throughout the period and overtook those at the History Museum, where numbers peaked in 2005 and then fell. The Art Museum attracted the fewest visitors in every year, and its numbers changed little.

In 2000, the History Museum was the most visited, with 80,000 visitors, compared with 45,000 at the Science Museum. History numbers then rose to a peak of 90,000 in 2005 before falling steadily to 40,000 in 2020. By contrast, Science Museum figures climbed in every period. They exceeded the History Museum’s by 2010, when they stood at 85,000, and reached 125,000 in 2020, more than three times the History Museum total.

The Art Museum’s numbers varied within a narrow range. They stood at 30,000 in 2000, dipped to 25,000 in 2010 and ended at 35,000 in 2020, slightly above their starting level.

Why it works:

  • Task Achievement: the overview names the rise, the peak and fall, and the low, stable line, and the details use selected figures, not the full set of fifteen.
  • Coherence and Cohesion: paragraph three groups the two lines that cross, and paragraph four deals with the line that stays low.
  • Lexical Resource: “overtook”, “peaked”, “climbed” and “dipped” replace repeated “increased” and “decreased”.
  • Grammatical Range and Accuracy: past tenses throughout, with “where numbers peaked”, “before falling” and “compared with” as complex structures.

Tip

Mark each crossing point in your planning notes, so that you remember to say which line overtook which.

Key Takeaways

  • Describe what the lines do, not what happens in each year.
  • Plan with direction, highest and lowest lines, crossings and units.
  • Group lines by behaviour into two detail paragraphs.
  • Match word forms: “rose sharply” or “a sharp rise”.
  • Support each trend with a few selected figures.

The bottom line: Where two lines cross, say so, because a crossing point links the lines in one sentence and gives you a natural comparison.