IELTS Essay Bank · Task 1 Academic · Line graph
Mobile Phone Subscriptions Line Graph: Band 8 Sample Answer
200 words · Topic: Technology ·
The question
The line graph below shows the number of mobile phone subscriptions, measured in millions, in three countries between 2005 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
Chart data (summarised):
- Vertical axis: subscriptions in millions (0–120); horizontal axis: 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020.
- Country A: the lowest in 2005 at about 20 million; rises steeply throughout and overtakes the other two countries, reaching about 110 million by 2020.
- Country B: the highest in 2005 at roughly 60 million; grows only gently, finishing at around 80 million.
- Country C: about 35 million in 2005; climbs steadily to a peak of 70 million in 2015, then levels off and ends the period at 70 million.
Band 8 sample report
Highlighted = useful vocabularyThe line graph compares the number of mobile phone subscriptions, in millions, in three countries at five-year intervals between 2005 and 2020.
Overall, subscriptions grew in all three countries, but the most striking feature is the meteoric rise of Country A, which went from the lowest figure to the highest. Growth in Country B was comparatively slight, while Country C levelled off after 2015.
At the start of the period, Country B was the clear leader with roughly 60 million subscriptions, well ahead of Country C (about 35 million) and Country A, whose figure stood at only around 20 million. Thereafter, however, Country A climbed steeply and continuously, overtaking first Country C and then Country B, to finish at approximately 110 million in 2020 — more than five times its initial figure.
The other two countries followed quite different paths. Country B, despite its early lead, grew only gently, adding around 20 million subscriptions to end at about 80 million, some 30 million behind Country A. Country C doubled its total, rising steadily to a peak of 70 million in 2015 before plateauing, so that it finished the period at exactly this level and still had less subscriptions than Country B.
Word count: 200
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The same question is ready on its practice page, with a Band 8–9 model answer to compare.
Why this is Band 8: criterion by criterion
Task Achievement
Band 8All requirements of the task are covered. The overview is clear and well judged: it identifies Country A's rise from lowest to highest as the dominant feature and briefly characterises the other two trends. Key features are illustrated with well-selected data and meaningful comparisons — "more than five times its initial figure", "some 30 million behind Country A", and the observation that Country C "doubled its total" while Country B added only about 20 million. The report sensibly avoids inventing values for 2010 and 2015 except where the chart gives them, which is exactly the accuracy a Band 8 response needs.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 8Information is sequenced logically: the overview is followed by the starting positions and the dramatic change, then a paragraph that groups the two slower-growing countries under a clear topic sentence ("The other two countries followed quite different paths"). Cohesion is managed well and rarely draws attention to itself — "however", "despite its early lead" and "so that" link ideas naturally, and reference items such as "whose figure" and "this level" are unambiguous. Paragraphing is sufficient and appropriate for a Band 8.
Lexical Resource
Band 8A wide range of vocabulary is used fluently and precisely: "meteoric rise", "climbed steeply and continuously", "plateauing" and "comparatively slight" convey different rates of change without repetition. The writer paraphrases the data flexibly ("subscriptions", "figure", "total"). There is one inaccuracy in word choice: "less subscriptions" should be fewer subscriptions, since "subscriptions" is countable. An occasional slip of this kind is consistent with Band 8.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 8The report shows a wide range of structures used accurately: a possessive relative clause ("whose figure stood at…"), participle clauses ("overtaking first Country C and then Country B", "adding around 20 million"), a concessive phrase ("despite its early lead") and a result clause with "so that". The majority of sentences are completely error-free, and punctuation, including the dash used to add emphasis, is controlled. Only the countable/uncountable slip noted above stands out, so Band 8 is secure.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- meteoric rise
- a vivid but accurate collocation for extremely fast growth; use it only for the most dramatic trend.
- levelled off
- precise phrasal verb for a line that stops rising and stays flat.
- climbed steeply and continuously
- combines rate and duration in one phrase, avoiding a list of year-by-year figures.
- followed quite different paths
- a useful topic sentence for grouping and contrasting two data series.
- doubled its total
- expresses proportional change, which is often more meaningful than the raw difference.
How this report could reach Band 9
- 1Add one sharper comparison of relative growth to push towards Band 9 — for example, that Country B grew by roughly a third while Country C doubled.
- 2Check countable nouns carefully: fewer subscriptions, fewer users, but less growth.
This is an original sample report written by IELTS-Bank to illustrate Band 8 against the public IELTS Writing band descriptors. The band scores are our assessment, not an official IELTS result. IELTS-Bank is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, or Cambridge University Press & Assessment. "IELTS" is a registered trademark of its respective owners and is used here for descriptive purposes only.