Skip to the tool
formerly ielts.gg
Start

Line graph: Monthly online spending per person

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.

WRITING TASK 1

Line graph

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows average monthly spending on online shopping by four age groups between 2012 and 2022.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Monthly online spending per person
Line graph: Monthly online spending per person ($). The values are in the data table below.$0$50$100$150$200201220142016201820202022
  • 18–24
  • 25–34
  • 35–54
  • 55+
Show data table
Monthly online spending per person
Category18–2425–3435–5455+
2012$40$60$45$10
2014$55$80$60$15
2016$70$105$80$22
2018$85$130$105$35
2020$110$175$150$65
2022$120$190$160$75

GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.

What your overview should say

An overview names the main trends or differences in one or two sentences, without numbers. These are the features a strong answer picks out:

  1. 1Overall, online spending increased in every age group, with the 25–34 group the biggest spenders and the 55+ group the smallest.
  2. 2The 25–34 group rose from $60 to $190 per month, while the 55+ group saw the biggest proportional jump, growing from $10 to $75.
  3. 3Spending accelerated in 2020 across all groups, then grew only slightly to 2022.

Write it on the clock

Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.

20:00

0 words of 150 minimum

Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.

Band-8 model answer

Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.

Show model answer (170 words)

The line graph illustrates average monthly spending on online shopping per person among four age groups between 2012 and 2022.

Overall, spending rose in every group, with the 25–34 group spending the most throughout. The 55+ group spent the least, but it showed the largest proportional increase.

Spending among 25–34-year-olds rose from $60 per month in 2012 to $105 in 2016, then $175 in 2020 and $190 in 2022. The 35–54 group was consistently second, climbing from $45 to $80 in 2016 and $150 in 2020, and finishing at $160 in 2022. The 18–24 group spent less than the 35–54 group in every year. Their spending grew from $40 to $70 in 2016, $110 in 2020 and $120 in 2022.

The 55+ group began with only $10 a month, a sixth of the 25–34 figure. Its spending rose slowly to $15 in 2014, $22 in 2016 and $35 in 2018, but then accelerated to $65 in 2020. By 2022 it had reached $75, which was 7.5 times the 2012 figure.

Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
monthly spendingmoney spent each month
biggest spendersthose who spend the most
increase sharplyrise quickly
proportional jumpbig increase relative to the starting point
acceleratespeed up
slow downgrow more slowly

Guides

More questions like this

All line graph questions

Getting ready for IELTS?

Get your study plan

More free IELTS tools

All free tools

Speaking topic generator

Answer random Part 1, 2 and 3 questions on an exam timer.

IELTS band score calculator

Average your four skill bands, rounded the way IELTS rounds them.

IELTS score converter

Compare an IELTS band with TOEFL, Duolingo and PTE scores and CEFR levels.

University IELTS requirements

Look up the IELTS score a university asks for, with the source.