6) References

1. Danesh, R. Twenty tips for IELTS success. Retrieved November 13, 2010, from http://www.ielts-exam.net/ielts-preparation-tips/twenty_tips_for_IELTS_success.htm

2. IELTS Preparation Hints. Retrieved February 12, 2011 from http://www.askynz.com/ielts/preparation.htm

3. Preparing for the IELTS test with Holmesglen Institute of TAFE. The writing component. Retrieved January 23, 2011 from http://www.world-english.org/ielts_listening.pdf

4. IELTS Style Graph Exercises. Retrieved March 1, 2011 from http://www.parapal-online.co.uk/graphs.htm

5. IELTS Writing. Academic Task 1. Types of Charts. Retrieved March 1, 2011 from http://ieltswriting.info/2010/10/ielts-writing-academic-task-1-types-of-charts.html

6. Describing trends. Retrieved October 15, 2010 from http://www.uefap.com/vocab/exercise/matching/trends.htm

7) Exercises

Exercise 1. Match the chart types with their definitions:

1. A pie graph	A presents info in various categories, making it simple to evaluate
2. A barchart	B plots the changes in information more than one time; gives very precise information
3. A linegraph	C consists of rectangular columns arranged horizontally or vertically from the x or y axis; good for comparing and contrasting
4. Atable	D is really a circular chart divided into sectors; illustrate relative sizes of pieces that make up a whole
5. Flow charts	E. describe a trend pictorially
6. Diagrams	F illustrate stages in a process

Exercise 2. Correct language mistakes in the underlined words of the graph description below

1. The above chart show the fluctuations in the numbers of international student attending the Sydney International Language Centre in 2001. 2. At the starting of the year numbers were quite highly at 170, this were because them were a large number of students in University Preparation before the March intake. 3. The student populations remained the same until the end of February which 40 graduated into Bachelors and Masters courses in both April and May, 15 extra students enrolled into ELI courses. 4. There were a sharp increase in June with 20 new students entering UP courses. 5. In July only five students join as the Winter course intake was at the end of July. 6. This time there was drop as 50 students left, leaving only 135 students in ELI for August. 7. From here until the end of the year there was a steady raise in student numbers to a peak of 180 in December. 8. Overall it shows steady growth as comparison to the 2000 enrolments on the previous page.

Exercise 3. Connect these sentences into one:

1) There was a fall to 6,000 by 1968. Then an increase to 8,000 by 1970.

2) It fluctuated around 100 in 1999. Then it levelled out in the year 2,000.

3) It went down to 15,000 in 1960. Then it climbed back to 2,000 in 1961.

4) It dropped swiftly to 1,000 in 1998. Then it went down slowly to 900 in '99

5) It slowly decreased to 100. Then it quickly dropped to 150.

6) It reached a peak at Christmas. Then it dropped back to the November levels of 500.

7) It rose to 35,000 by 1960. After that it fell to 12,000 by 1962.

Exercise 4. Analyze the graph description below. Compare your impression with the comment given by an examiner.

The graph shows the number of cases of X disease in Someland between the years 1960 and 1995. As an overall trend, it is clear that the number of cases of the disease

increased fairly rapidly until the mid seventies, remained constant for around a decade at 500 cases before dropping to zero in the late 80s.

In 1960, the number of cases stood at approximately 100. That number rose steadily to 200 by 1969 and then more sharply to 500 in 1977. At this point the number of cases remained stable until 1984 before plummeting to zero by 1988. From 1988 to 1995 Someland was free of the disease. In conclusion, the graph shows that the disease was increasingly prevalent until the 1980s when it was eradicated from Someland.

Teacher's comments on the sample answer

The report structure is easy to follow and logical with a clear introduction, body and conclusion. The candidate uses cohesive words to connect pieces of information and make the writing flow such as ‘until’ and ‘before’ in the second sentence.

The candidate uses a variety of grammatical structures and vocabulary so that the writing is not repetitive. In terms of task requirements the report is a little short but this is because the simple graph used as an example does not have sufficient information for the candidate to describe. In the real IELTS test the graph will have more information and so the need to look for trends will be even greater than in this example.

Exercise 5. Arrange the following statements logically/chronologically (One statement is extra):

#	Statement
	A. In both April and May, 15 extra students enrolled into ELI courses.
	B. This student population remained the same until the end of February when 40 graduated into Bachelors and Masters courses.
	C. Overall it shows steady growth when compared to the 2000 enrolments shown on the previous page.
	D. This time there was a sharp drop as 50 students left, leaving only 135 students in ELI for August.
	E. In July only five students joined as the Winter course intake was at the end of July.
	F. From here until the end of the year there was a steady rise in student numbers to a peak of 180 in December.
	G. At the start of the year numbers were quite high at 170, this was because there were a large number of students in University Preparation before the March intake.
	H. Lots and lots of students went home in August because the weather was not very good.
	I. There was a sharp increase in June when 20 new students entered UP courses.
	J. The chart shows the fluctuations in the numbers of international students attending the Sydney International Language Centre in 2001.

Exercise 6. There are various ways of indicating quantity. The data in two right columns is mixed up. Rearrange the table to match the equivalents:

A tenth	Just over thirty percent	Three out of four
A fifth	Seventy five percent	Two out of three
A third	Ten percent	One in three
Three quarters	Twenty percent	One in five
Two thirds	Twenty five percent	One in four
A quarter	Just over sixty per cent	One in ten

Exercise 7. Degrees of difference. Match the correlated figures in the left column with phrases from the right:

#	Figures	#	Phrases
1	$220 - $200	A	A is almost/nearly/not quite expensive as B
2	$300-$200	B	A is considerably/much/a lot/far more expensive than B
3	$120- $200	C	A is a bit/a little/slightly more expensive than B
4	$180-$200	D	A is not nearly as expensive as B
5	$400-$200	E	A is more than twice as expensive as B
6	$450-$200	F	A is three times as expensive as B
7	$600-$200	G	A is twice as expensive as B