IELTS Writing Task 1 Line Graph: Three line graphs illustrating Australian trade with China Japan and the US

The question

The graphs below show data on Australian trade with three other countries.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Australia's trade with China

Export
Import

View the data

	2002	2005	2008
Export	42	40	38
Import	32	20	44

Australia's trade with Japan

Export
Import

View the data

	2002	2005	2008
Export	40	42	50
Import	35	30	30

Australia's trade with the US

Export
Import

View the data

	2002	2005	2008
Export	39	39	43
Import	22	21	26

Chart redrawn by BandLadder from the data in the original IELTS practice task. Many IELTS practice tasks come from the Cambridge IELTS series (Cambridge University Press & Assessment); all rights in the original tasks remain with their owners.

Model answer

Band 8 sample answer

Band 8185 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

The provided line graphs illustrate the trends in Australian exports and imports with China, Japan, and the United States between 2002 and 2008.

Overall, trade with the US remained relatively stable throughout the period, whereas trade with China and Japan experienced more pronounced fluctuations in export and import values.

Regarding Australia's trade with China, exports saw a slight decline from 42 to 38. Conversely, imports dropped sharply from 32 in 2002 to 20 in 2005, before surging to 44 by 2008. In contrast, trade with Japan showed a different pattern; exports rose steadily from 40 in 2002 to 50 in 2008, while imports decreased from 35 to 30, remaining flat between 2005 and 2008.

Finally, trade with the US was the most consistent. Exports hovered around 39 to 43, showing a modest increase by the end of the period. Imports also remained low and stable, starting at 22 in 2002, dipping slightly to 21 in 2005, and finishing at 26 in 2008. Overall, Australia maintained a higher export volume than import volume across all three countries by 2008, except for China, where imports surpassed exports.

Write your own report and get a band

Take a timed Academic writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Write a report, get a band free →

Line graphs

How to write about line graphs: tips and vocabulary

→Overview first: the overall direction of each line and which was highest.
→Group lines that move together instead of describing each one in turn.
→Give the start and end figures plus the peak or low point, not every value.

fluctuations
irregular rising and falling in number or amount
pronounced
very noticeable, obvious, or strongly marked
surging
increasing suddenly and powerfully
steadily
in a regular and even manner
hovered
remained at or near a particular level
surpassed
exceeded or became greater than something else

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?+

Overall, while trade with the US remained relatively stable, trade with China and Japan showed more significant fluctuations, particularly regarding export and import values over the six-year period.

How many words and how long for IELTS Writing Task 1?+

At least 150 words; 170 to 200 is the safe range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

How is IELTS Writing Task 1 scored?+

On four criteria: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, vocabulary, and grammatical range and accuracy. A clear overview of the main features is what most separates Band 6 from Band 7 and above.

How do I describe line graphs?+

Overview first: the overall direction of each line and which was highest. Group lines that move together instead of describing each one in turn. Give the start and end figures plus the peak or low point, not every value.

Keep practising

More line graphs

© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy