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 percentage of children classed as obese in three countries between 1990 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Category | United States | Mexico | Japan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11% | 5% | 4% |
| 1995 | 13% | 7% | 5% |
| 2000 | 15% | 9% | 5% |
| 2005 | 17% | 12% | 6% |
| 2010 | 18% | 15% | 6% |
| 2015 | 19% | 17% | 5% |
| 2020 | 19% | 19% | 5% |
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
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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 illustrates the percentage of children classed as obese in the United States, Mexico and Japan between 1990 and 2020.
Overall, childhood obesity increased in the United States and, even more markedly, in Mexico, whereas Japan's rate stayed low and almost unchanged. By 2020 Mexico had caught up with the United States.
The United States began with the highest rate, at 11% in 1990. This climbed steadily to 15% in 2000 and 18% in 2010, and then levelled off, edging up to 19% in 2015 and remaining there in 2020. Mexico started from a lower base of 5% but grew faster, rising to 9% in 2000, 15% in 2010 and 17% in 2015. In 2020 it reached 19%, exactly the same as the American figure.
Japan's rate was far lower and much steadier than those of the other two countries. It rose slightly from 4% in 1990 to 6% in 2005 and 2010, but then fell back to 5% in both 2015 and 2020. Throughout the thirty-year period it never exceeded 6%, which was less than a third of the level recorded in the other two countries in 2020.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| obesity rate | the proportion of obese people |
| almost quadruple | rise to nearly four times the level |
| level off | stop rising and become steady |
| catch up with | reach the same level as |
| remain low | stay at a small figure |
| a gradual rise | a slow increase |
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