IELTS Task 1: Line graphs
A line graph shows change over time, so the report is about movement, not values. The most common weakness is a sentence for every data point — which is a table in prose, and misses what the graph is for.
Describing a trend
Two patterns do nearly all the work, and alternating them is most of what "range" means here: verb + adverb (rose sharply) and adjective + noun (a sharp rise).
| Direction | Verbs | Degree |
|---|---|---|
| Up | rise, increase, climb, grow, surge | sharply, steeply, dramatically, steadily, gradually, slightly |
| Down | fall, decrease, decline, drop, plummet | sharply, steeply, dramatically, steadily, gradually, slightly |
| Flat | remain stable, level off, plateau, hold steady | — |
| Turning | peak at, bottom out, fluctuate, recover | — |
Tenses, and the trap in them
- Past dates — past simple throughout.
- Dates in the future — these are projections, and need *is expected to*, *is projected to*, *will*. Writing a forecast in the past tense is a direct accuracy error and a common one.
- No dates at all — present simple.
Select the turning points: the start, the peak, the trough, the end, and any crossing of two lines. Those are the key features; the values between them are not.
Line graphs — FAQs
2 questions
Enough to support each trend you describe — typically the start, end and any peak. A figure for every year is a list.
That crossing is a key feature and usually belongs in the overview. It is one of the few single moments worth naming.
More writing question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.