Pick out the main features of this line graph for your overview, write your report on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model answer.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows the number of marriages and divorces per 1,000 people in one country between 1960 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Category | Marriages | Divorces |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 8.5 | 0.9 |
| 1970 | 9.2 | 1.5 |
| 1980 | 7.4 | 2.7 |
| 1990 | 6.1 | 3.2 |
| 2000 | 5.2 | 2.9 |
| 2010 | 4.6 | 2.5 |
| 2020 | 3.9 | 2 |
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
An overview names the main trends or differences in one or two sentences, without numbers. These are the features a strong answer picks out:
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 150 minimum
Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.
Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
The line graph compares the number of marriages and divorces per 1,000 people in one country between 1960 and 2020.
Overall, the marriage rate fell significantly after a brief rise, while the divorce rate increased until 1990 and then declined. Marriages remained more common than divorces throughout, although the difference became much smaller.
The marriage rate rose from 8.5 per 1,000 in 1960 to a peak of 9.2 in 1970. It then fell consistently, to 7.4 in 1980, 6.1 in 1990 and 5.2 in 2000. The decline continued, with figures of 4.6 in 2010 and 3.9 in 2020, less than half of the peak value.
Divorces started at a very low level of 0.9 per 1,000, but they rose rapidly to 1.5 in 1970 and 2.7 in 1980. They reached their maximum of 3.2 in 1990, more than three times the 1960 rate. After that they declined gradually, to 2.9 in 2000 and 2.5 in 2010, falling to 2.0 in 2020. In 1960 marriages outnumbered divorces by nearly ten to one, but by 2020 the ratio was less than two to one.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| marriage rate | the number of weddings per 1,000 people |
| divorce rate | the number of divorces per 1,000 people |
| peak at | reach the highest level |
| more than halve | fall to under half |
| reverse | change direction |
| a steady decline | a gradual fall |
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