Academic Task 1
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Film spending (line graph)
Question type: Academic Task 1: line graph
The question
The line graph below shows the average amount of money, in dollars, that each person in one country spent per year on three ways of watching films between 2005 and 2025.
- Cinema
- DVDs
- Streaming
View the data as a table
| 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinema | 40 | 45 | 42 | 15 | 38 |
| DVDs | 60 | 48 | 25 | 9 | 3 |
| Streaming | 0 | 5 | 30 | 85 | 110 |
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Write your own answer first. Then get an estimated band and corrections from our AI marker.
Answer this questionHow to approach it
- Find the biggest change first: streaming rose from nothing to the largest category, while DVDs almost disappeared.
- Overview: streaming grew enormously, DVDs collapsed, and cinema was stable apart from one dip.
- Mention the point where the lines cross, in 2015, when streaming overtook DVDs.
Model answer
190 words (minimum 150). Written to show the features of a Band 8-level answer.
The line graph shows how much money the average person in one country spent each year on cinema tickets, DVDs and streaming services between 2005 and 2025.
Overall, spending on streaming grew enormously and became by far the largest of the three categories, while spending on DVDs collapsed. Cinema spending was fairly stable apart from a sharp dip in 2020.
In 2005, DVDs were the main way of watching films, with spending of 60 dollars per person, compared with 40 dollars on the cinema. Nothing was spent on streaming at that time. Over the next ten years, DVD spending fell to 48 and then 25 dollars, and it continued to decline, reaching only 3 dollars by 2025.
Streaming moved in the opposite direction. From just 5 dollars in 2010, it rose to 30 dollars in 2015, overtaking DVDs, and then almost tripled to 85 dollars in 2020. By 2025 it had reached 110 dollars. Cinema spending, meanwhile, increased slightly to 45 dollars in 2010 and stood at 42 dollars in 2015. It then dropped to 15 dollars in 2020, before recovering to 38 dollars at the end of the period.
Useful language from this answer
- grew enormously
- a very large increase
- by far the largest
- much bigger than the others
- apart from a sharp dip in
- noting one exception to a stable trend
- moved in the opposite direction
- contrasting two trends
- almost tripled
- increased to nearly three times the amount
Common mistakes with this question
- Missing the overview. A report without a clear summary of the main trends cannot score above Band 5 for Task Achievement.
- Guessing the reason for the fall in cinema spending in 2020. Describe the dip; do not explain it.
- Forgetting the unit. Write 'dollars per person', not only the number.
Now write your own answer
Reading a model helps, but writing is what improves your band. Answer this question and get an estimated band for all four criteria, with corrections taken from your own sentences.
This model answer was written by TestWise Prep to show the features of a high-scoring answer. It is not official IELTS material. Use it for ideas and language, not to memorise.