4-Year Period Bar Chart

Here is an IELTS sample bar graph on the topic of British emigration.

This chart is over time, so it uses the language of change as well as language of comparison and contrast.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart shows British Emigration to selected destinations between 2004 and 2007.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Sample Answer

The bar chart shows the number of British people who emigrated to five destinations over the period 2004 to 2007. It is evident from the chart that throughout the period, the most popular place to move to was Australia.

Emigration to Australia stood at just over 40,000 people in 2004, which was approximately 6,000 higher than for Spain, and twice as high as the other three countries. Apart from a jump to around 52,000 in 2006, it remained around this level throughout the period.

The next most popular country for Britons to move to was Spain, though its popularity declined over the time frame to finish at below 30,000 in 2007. Despite this, the figure was still higher than for the remaining three countries. Approximately 20,000 people emigrated to New Zealand each year, while the USA fluctuated between 20-25,000 people over the period.

Although the number of visitors to France spiked to nearly 35,000 in 2005, it was the country that was the least popular to emigrate to at the end of the period, at just under 20,000 people.

(Words 179)

Evaluation of the Answer

Task Achievement: Band 8

The response effectively summarizes the main trends in the bar chart, highlighting the consistent popularity of Australia as a destination and the fluctuations in emigration to other countries.
Specific data points are used to support the analysis, such as the numbers for Australia, Spain, and France, providing a well-rounded response.
The task is well-addressed, though the word “visitors” in the last paragraph should be corrected to “emigrants” to maintain accuracy.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 8

The response is logically organized, with a clear comparison between the five countries.
Cohesive devices such as “apart from,” “despite this,” and “although” are used effectively to guide the reader through the text.
The transitions are smooth, but some sentences could be slightly restructured for better flow, particularly when moving from one country’s data to another.

Lexical Resource: Band 7

The vocabulary is appropriate and includes phrases such as “remained around this level,” “popularity declined,” and “spiked.”
There is some repetition of terms like “people” and “countries,” which could be diversified (e.g., “individuals,” “nations”).
A broader range of descriptive vocabulary could further enhance the response, particularly when discussing changes over time.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 8

The response includes a variety of sentence structures, including complex sentences with subordinate clauses (e.g., “Apart from a jump to around 52,000 in 2006, it remained around this level throughout the period”).
There are no major grammatical errors, and passive and active structures are used appropriately.
Slight variation in sentence patterns and length could further improve the score.

Overall Band: 7.5-8

This is a well-structured and clear response that accurately describes the trends in British emigration. Small improvements in lexical variety and grammatical complexity could further enhance the overall quality.

4-Year Period Bar Chart – IELTS Task 1