IELTS Academic Writing Task 1. Sample 4


You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar chart shows the number of visitors to three London Museums between 2007 and 2012.

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

Write at least 150 words.


How to answer this task?

  1. Introduce the bar chart.

    Write what it shows/compares.

  2. Give a general overview.

    Write in brief about the main changes on the chart.

  3. Note the changes that occured to each element.

    Look attentively at the chart and discern each museum's trends.

  4. Describe each element of the chart in a separate paragraph.

    Tell about each museum's number of visitors and how it changed throughout the period. Use vocabulary to describe graphs., linking structures and words from academic wordlist.


Model answer

The bar chart compares the yearly number of visitors in 3 different museums from 2007 to 2012.

Overall, the peak of visitors' number was in 2012, while the lowest point was in 2009 and 2010.

Victoria and Albert Museum was the most popular from 2007 to 2009. During 2007-2008 its annual number of visitors remained constant at about 14 million people per year. However, the figure started to decline rapidly in 2009, and reached its lowest point of about 8 millions in 2010, becoming the least popular museum for the rest of the period. After that, the number of Victoria and Albert Museum's visitors gradually rose up to 10 million visitors within 2 years.

British Museum was the second most popular in 2007, being outraced by Victoria and Albert Museum. Nevertheless, its number of visitors experienced a sharp fall in 2008 and remained unchanged the following year. Then, the figure started to increase. It reached its peak of approximately 14 million visitors in 2012, regaining its position of 2007.

National Gallery Museum showed the most notable development with a steady growth throughout the period. Being the least popular museum in the beginning, it experienced a growth of more than 10 million visitors over 6-year period, and became the most visited museum in 2012.

(213 words)


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