IELTS Commentry: IELTS Report, topic: Bar chart of average rainfall by month (from IELTS High Scorer’s Choice series, Academic Set 1)

This is a model response to a Writing Task 1 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is close to IELTS Band 9.

Set 1 Academic book, Practice Test 1

Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar chart below shows the average rainfall for Australia by month for last year. The line shows the average rainfall for Australia by month for the last 40 years.

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

You should write at least 150 words.

Bar chart of average rainfall for Australia by month for last year (from IELTS High Scorer's Choice series, Academic Set 1 book)

Sample Band 9 Report

This report will describe a bar chart showing the average rainfall for Australia last year by month and the average rainfall in Australia for the past forty years.

In a general trend for both last year and the average of the last forty years, the rainfall in Australia decreased from a peak at the beginning of the year to lows in the months in the middle of the year. Rainfall again rose towards the end of the year. Rainfall for last year therefore generally followed the trend for the last forty years.

Although the general pattern of the two sets of data is similar, there are some differences. The line representing the accumulation of the average rainfall from the past forty years begins at around eighty millimetres in January and then drops sharply to around thirty millimetres in April. Rainfall then drops slowly to around thirteen millimetres in September and then again rises steadily to just under sixty millimetres in December. Average rainfall for the last forty years was a little lower than average for most months, excepting March, May, June and November when the rainfall was a little heavier. August and October were particularly dry when compared with the forty-year average, at around five millimetres each compared with about fifteen and twenty millimetres each respectively for the forty-year average.

In conclusion, average rainfall for Australia last year was a little lower than average rainfall in Australia for the past forty years, but generally followed the same pattern.

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