IELTS Academic Writing Task 1/ Graph Writing – Table:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The first chart below shows the results of a survey which sampled a cross-section of 100,000 people, asking if they travelled abroad and why they travelled for the period 1994-98. The second chart shows their destinations over the same period.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Visits abroad by UK residents by purpose of visit (1994-1998)
Destinations of visits abroad by UK residents by main regions (1994-98)
Model Answer:
The tables provide information on the number of UK residents who travelled abroad between 1994 and 1998, detailing their reasons for travel, and showing which regions they visited over the same period. The survey was conducted with a large sample of 100,000 individuals.
As a general trend, the total number of overseas trips by British citizens increased steadily throughout the five-year period. Holidays were consistently the most common reason for travel, while Western Europe remained by far the most popular destination for those visitors.
As the first table depicts, more than 22,000 Brits travelled abroad in 1994, and this figure rose each year, except for 1995, to cross 28,000 in 1998. Holiday travel accounted for the largest share during the entire period, growing from 15,000 in 1994 to well over 20,000 in 1998. More and more Brits travelled abroad for business purposes as the number of such travellers increased gradually, rising from 3,155 to almost 4,000. Visits to friends and relatives followed a similar upward trend, moving from 2,689 to 3,181.
Regarding destinations, Western Europe was the favourite destination of British people travelling abroad, with trips increasing from 19,000 in 1994 to over 24,000 in 1998. North America as a destination witnessed a modest growth, starting at 919 visits in 1994 and reaching 1,823 by 1998. Travel to other regions also rose consistently, from 1,782 to 2,486 over the same period.