IELTS Academic Writing Task 1/ Graph Writing – Bar/ Column Graph:
» You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The chart below shows the GDP growth per year for three countries between 2007 and 2010.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.
GDP growth (annual %)
Model Answer 1:
The bar chart compares the annual GDP growth rates of Tunisia, Japan and Ecuador between 2007 and 2010, with figures shown as percentages.
Overall, the three countries followed very different trajectories. Tunisia began with the strongest GDP growth but declined steadily year by year, while Japan moved in the opposite direction, rising continuously to finish as the best performer in 2010.
In 2007, Tunisia recorded the highest GDP growth, at over 6%, which was well ahead of Ecuador (roughly 3%) and Japan (around 2%). Over the next year, Tunisia’s Gross Domestic Product growth fell noticeably to about 4.5%, whereas it improved both in Japan and Ecuador. Japan climbed to roughly 4%, and Ecuador rose to about 5%, which indicated that both countries’ GDP growth surpassed Tunisia by 2008.
From 2009 onwards, the gap between the countries, in terms of their GDP growth, widened again. Tunisia continued its downward trend, slipping to around 3.1% in 2009 and 3% by 2010. Japan, however, maintained consistent progress, being able to improve its GDP growth to approximately 5.1% in 2009 and then peaking at around 6.5% in 2010, the highest figure on the chart. Ecuador followed a less stable path: after hovering at about 1.2% in 2009, its GDP growth then improved to approximately 2.1% in 2010.
Sample Answer 2:
The column graph compares the annual GDP growth of Tunisia, Japan and Ecuador from 2007 to 2010.
Overall, yearly GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth for Tunisia and Ecuador was higher than that of Japan in 2007, but Japan managed to accelerate it, while it declined in the two other countries over the period.
To start with, GDP growth in Tunisia in 2007 was over 6%, which was thrice and double than that of Japan and Ecuador, respectively. Next year, all three countries’ GDP growth was similar, ranging from 4 to 5 percent for each. However, in 2009, Japan witnessed a steady increase in its GDP growth, while both Ecuador’s and Tunisia’s GDP growth plummeted remarkably. The same scenario continued the next year, and Japan had a far better GDP growth this year. Japan’s GDP growth was almost 6.5%, while it was approximately 3% and 2% in Tunisia and Ecuador. Japan achieved a fast-growing GDP during the given period, while this rate actually declined noticeably both in Tunisia and Ecuador.
The bar graph compares the annual GDP growth of three countries (Tunisia, Japan and Ecuador) within a four-year period.
Overall, Japan’s GDP rapidly developed throughout the study period, while Tunisia GDP experienced a moderate decline. Meanwhile, Ecuador GDP experienced considerable fluctuations.
In detail, Tunisia’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was the highest among the given three countries in 2007 – which was around 6.2%. On the other hand, Japan and Ecuador’s GDP was thrice and twice as less, respectively. By next year, the Japanese and Ecuadorian’s managed to marginally increase their growth by approximately 2%, while it was the opposite for Tunisia, a noticeable 2% decline for the same year.
In 2009, Japan’s numbers steadily rose, while the other 2 countries had a significant drop in percentage. Finally, by 2010, Japan’s figures reached their peak at almost 6.5%. By comparison, it was roughly thrice as much as it was at the beginning of the survey. Moreover, Tunisia’s figures remain close to 3%, meanwhile, Ecuador’s number experienced a modest rise up to more than 2%.
Writing task 1.
The given bar chart displays the percentage of annual GDP growth of 3 countries (Tunisia, Japan and Ecuador) from 2007 to 2010.
Overall, it is observed that the annual GDP for Tunisia and Ecuador decreased over the period. On the other hand, it rose very steadily in Japan during the given period.
In detail, the growth of GDP in Tunisia is shown in the diagram as just above 6% in 2007, which was approximately twice and thrice as much as the figure of Ecuador and Japan, respectively. However, after 3 years, the GDP growth of Tunisia was down to half as much. In sharp contrast, Japan saw its GDP rising dramatically (a three-fold increase to 6.5% by the end of the period given).
Regarding Ecuador, the country’s annual GDP growth was 3% in 2007 and reached a peak of 5% the following year. In 2010, the GDP figure of the country was approximately 2.2%.