The essay below is 151 words long. I've tried to make it as simple as possible, but it's still good enough to get a band 9.
The line graph compares the percentage of people in three countries who used the Internet between 1999 and 2009.
It is clear that the proportion of the population who used the Internet increased in each country over the period shown. Overall, a much larger percentage of Canadians and Americans had access to the Internet in comparison with Mexicans, and Canada experienced the fastest growth in Internet usage.
In 1999, the proportion of people using the Internet in the USA was about 20%. The figures for Canada and Mexico were lower, at about 10% and 5% respectively. In 2005, Internet usage in both the USA and Canada rose to around 70% of the population, while the figure for Mexico reached just over 25%.
By 2009, the percentage of Internet users was highest in Canada. Almost 100% of Canadians used the Internet, compared to about 80% of Americans and only 40% of Mexicans.
Dear Simon,
I would appreciate if you give your suggestion for the following paragraph.
Topic: Some believe that success in sport is due to fitness and physical condition, while others argue that mental status is more important. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
There are arguments regarding as to whether health condition and fitness is more crucial to success in sports or mental conditions. I personally believe that by working hard and being in perfect physical condition, athletes can meet their goal.
There is no doubt that fitness and health of sport people are two important factors in sport. Health is the top priority for performing well, while being in shape is the requirement for success and lack of each can lead to failure. Needless to say that for each competition athletes have to dedicate huge amount of their time and energy for practice. For instance, in football or basketball players require to have enough strength, speed and endurance to run for long times. Therefore, if they suffer from health conditions, they would not be able to meet their expectations.
Posted by: Felora | August 26, 2010 at 20:06
Dear Simon,
Is this sentence correct?
The place we are living is stands out and is distinctive due to the spectacular views around it.
Thanks
Posted by: Felora | August 27, 2010 at 03:09
Hi Felora,
Your introduction and paragraph are both very good - clear, logical and relevant to the question.
Your sentence is nearly correct. Just write: "The place where we are living stands out..."
Posted by: Simon | August 28, 2010 at 14:09
Many Thanks.
Posted by: Felora | August 28, 2010 at 20:38
No problem Felora.
Posted by: Simon | August 28, 2010 at 22:09
Hi Simon,
With regards to the above line graph, your 'overview' is simple and clear.
Though there are no numbers given in the y axis, it represents percentage and is divided.
In the 'two paragraphs' you have chosen to give numbers to represent internet usage.
My doubt here is if I could still write a about the trend without including the numbers and then still score well?
If yes, can you give an example by writing one of the 'two paragraphs'?
Posted by: Mithun | November 11, 2010 at 05:42
Hi Mithun,
I have to admit that I made this graph, and I forgot to put the numbers on it! Sorry about that.
In the real test, you will always see the numbers written clearly on the y axis, and you should always try to include some numbers if you want to score well.
Posted by: Simon | November 13, 2010 at 13:42
Point taken!
Posted by: Mithun | November 18, 2010 at 06:26
Ok Mithun. Thanks for pointing out the missing numbers!
Posted by: Simon | November 18, 2010 at 16:12
Hi Dear Simon,
can you please tell me if its ok that i add the following sentences at the end of 3rd paragraph. i mean dose it hurt the appearance of essay that 3rd paragraph is much longer than 4th paragraph?
"There was a dramatic increase in the proportion of Canadian who used the Web between 1999 and 2005, a rise of about 60% in 6 years. A gradual increase (almost 20%) happened in Mexican's Net users for the same period of time."
thank you.
Posted by: Nima | January 13, 2011 at 06:08
Hi Nima,
That's fine. It's a good addition to the paragraph.
Posted by: Simon | January 13, 2011 at 17:32
thanks, you are a great person :)
Posted by: Nima | January 14, 2011 at 06:29
No problem Nima
Posted by: Simon | January 17, 2011 at 16:32
Hi Master,
"...a much larger percentage of North Americans had access to the Internet in comparison with Mexicans..."
Can u explain more about the meaning of that sentence, please! Cuz I think Mexico located in North Americans? Or Did I misunderstand...Thanks
Posted by: huyquangha | March 07, 2011 at 17:33
Hi huyquangha,
Yes you're right - Mexico is in North America. It wouldn't make a difference to the IELTS score, but thanks for pointing this out.
Posted by: Simon | March 08, 2011 at 16:06
Hai sir,
is it possible to skip some trends while explaining graphs.you didnt describe the trend just before reaching the year 2005.can i get some feedback sir.
Posted by: minu | July 20, 2011 at 12:47
Hai sir,
can u spend some of your valuable time in correcting this sentence.
In the initial year the propotion of the internet users in USA and Canada were about 10% and 20% respectively where as it was low in mexico.with in one year the proportion is doubled in canada and america but it remained same in mexica.after that those two countries proportion rose contonuosly before reaching to peak and the outstanding feature is that they showed similar proprtion in 2005.
Posted by: minu | July 20, 2011 at 13:15
Hi Minu,
It's impossible to describe every change/trend in only 20 minutes, so you must select some things and skip others.
I'm afraid I don't offer detailed feedback or correction. If I did that, too many people would send me their work. I'm happy to answer questions, but I can't help with grammar correction.
Posted by: Simon | July 20, 2011 at 14:31
Dear Simon, can you look at this sentence for me ?
In 2003, Canadian users’ figure exceeded 50% to surpass that in the USA. The 2 numbers were in equilibrium in 2005, at approximately 65%.
Thanks in advance
Posted by: Kevin | September 14, 2011 at 19:50
It's fine Kevin.
Posted by: Simon | September 16, 2011 at 15:00
hi simon
can i write"among the three countries" instead of "overall"
can i write the figures for internet users "fluctuated" in usa during 2000 and 2009.
Posted by: sohaib | February 01, 2012 at 15:18
Hi Sohaib,
"among the three countries" is fine.
"fluctuated" is fine, but use "between...and..." instead of "during".
Posted by: Simon | February 01, 2012 at 17:01
Thanku Simon
God bless you
Posted by: sohaib | February 02, 2012 at 12:07
The line graph illustrates the percentage of internet users in three specific countries ( Canada,the USA and Mexico) over a 10 year period.
The Most interesting feature to note is that there was an overall upward trend in the number of users in all the countries.
According to the stadistics the number of people using the internet in Canada rose dramatically by 60% between 1999 and 2003 following then there was a slight increase between 2003 and 2005.After that the number of users increased sharply reaching a peakof 100 percent in 2009.
On the other hand the number of people using the internet in the USA increased dramatically by 50 percent between 1999 and 2007 after that there was a slight rise in the number of netizens reaching a peak of 80 percent in 2009.
It can be clearly seen from the graph that the number of people using the Internet in Canada was the highest overall followed by the USA while the lowest number of netizens was in Mexico.
Posted by: isabel | September 22, 2013 at 23:32
Hi Simon,
I have a question that bothers me. As I was taught, there should be a "the" before the superlative degree. Why we don't need a "the" before "highest"?
Thanks for your help
Jasmine
Posted by: Jasmine | February 22, 2014 at 04:33
Hi Jasmine,
It's a tricky one to explain, but we do use the superlative without "the" in some cases. Try searching for "superlative without the" on Google, and you'll find lots of people discussing it!
Posted by: Simon | February 22, 2014 at 16:28
Hi Simon,
In writing task 1, the numerical letters like year,percentage,price and so forth are counted as complementary part of whole 150 words?
Thanks.
Posted by: Kawsar Ahmed | August 05, 2014 at 11:53
Dear Simon. My name is Linh. I am learning to write IELTS task 1 and finding it quite hard. I just read your this post recently. Can you plz help me to correct my below writing practice? Thank you very very much.
--> The line graph shows the percentage of people who used the internet in three distinct countries, namely the USA, Canada and Mexico, during the period 1999-2009.
Overall, the trend was obviously upward for the all given countries over the time period in question.
In 1999, the USA experienced the highest percentage of internet users, about 20%, followed by Canada with 10%, and then Mexico who accounted for 5%. During the time of 6 years (1999 – 2005), there was a significant increase in the proportion of the Americans and Canadians using the internet, the both countries reached the high of approximately 70% in 2005. Similarly, the figure for Mexico also increased over this time period but at a slower pace, to just over 25%.
By 2009, almost 100% of Canada people used the internet, which made the country owned the most remarkable rise among the others. It was followed by the USA, who had the second highest percentage of using internet population (80%). And the last country, Mexico, comprised nearly 40%, making it 8 times higher than that in 1999.
Posted by: Linh | December 21, 2014 at 15:04
Dear Simon,
Can I write "the line graph compares the percentage of people in three countries who used the Internet between 1990 and 2009" instead of writing "the line graph compares the percentage of people who used the Internet in three countries between 1990 and 2009", or "the line graph compares the percentage of people who used the Internet between 1990 and 2009 in three countries" ?
Thanks
Posted by: Huyen | February 22, 2015 at 02:11
Hi Linh,
"Mexico who accounted for 5%" does not make sense. You can write " followed by Canada and Mexico with 10% and 5%, respectively."
Also, ( ) is unacceptable in Ielts task 1 because it shows that you can not use words to explain.
In my opinion, you try to use complex sentence to get enough 250 words or over, which make your essay unnaturraly.]
Hi Huyen,
The second sentence is better because relative clause should be close to the noun that it replace
Posted by: Nguyen | March 19, 2015 at 02:15
The line graph compares the percentage of people in three countries who used the Internet between 1999 and 2009.
It is clear from the graph that the proportion of people who used the Internet rose in each country over the period shown. Overall, a much larger percentage of Canadians and Americans had access to the Internet in comparison with Mexicans, and Canada experienced the fastest growth in Internet usage.
In 1999, the percentage of people using the Internet in the USA was about 20%. The figures for Canada and Mexico were lower, at about 10% and 5% respectively. In 2005, Internet usage in both the USA and Canada rose to around 70% of the population, while the figure for Mexico reached just over 25%.
By 2009, the proportion of Internet users was highest in Canada. Almost 100% of Canadians used the Internet, compared to around 80% of Americans and just 40% of Mexicans.
............................................
Posted by: Dr Ali Ahmad | May 30, 2016 at 15:18
Hi Simon,
In the last paragraph, you used "compared to", while in the second paragraph, you used "in comparison with".What's the difference between "compared to" and "compared with"? Is it OK to use either "to" or "with"?
Thanks
Posted by: Michael | October 26, 2016 at 10:18
Dear Simon,
I have a question about the sentence "By 2009, the percentage of Internet users was highest in Canada.". Why didn't you put a word 'the' before the superlative 'highest'? Because as far as I am concerned, the superlative form of a word should be preceded by a definite article 'the'. I am not sure that I am right, so I am looking forward to your valuable suggestion. Thank you very much in advance.
Posted by: Zhang Shuxiang | December 15, 2016 at 12:31
Hi Zhang,
Have a look at this lesson:
http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2015/12/ielts-grammar-superlative-without-the.html
Posted by: Simon | December 15, 2016 at 15:05
The line graph compares the changes int he Internet users in the USA, Canada, and Mexico over a period of a decade between 1999 and 2009.
It is clear that the proportion of people who use the Internet increased in the three countries. Mexico had the lowest percentage of Internet users and Canada experienced the largest growth.
In 1999, about a% of Americans used the Internet which was higher than the other two countries. Internet users increased steadily to around b% in 2005 and continued to rose to about c% in 2009. The similar trend was also can be seen in the percentage of people who used the Internet in Canada. Internet users surpass those in the USA in 2005, and reached to about d% in 2009.
There was only e% of Internet users in Mexico, this figure rose gradually and stood at f% in 2009.
Posted by: senshuran | May 22, 2017 at 14:10
The line graph compares the changes int he Internet users in the USA, Canada, and Mexico over a period of a decade between 1999 and 2009.
It is clear that the proportion of people who used the Internet increased in the three countries. A much large proportion of people in Canada and American had access to the Internet than those in Mexico. Canada experienced the largest growth in the proportion of Internet usage.
In 1999, about a% of Americans used the Internet, which was higher than the other two countries. Internet users increased steadily to around b% in 2005 and continued to rose to about c% in 2009. The similar trend was also can be seen in the percentage of people who used the Internet in Canada. the proportion surpass those in the USA in 2005, and reached to about d% in 2009.
There was only e% of Internet users in Mexico, this figure rose gradually and stood at f% in 2009.
Posted by: senshuran | May 22, 2017 at 14:19
The line graph shows the percentage of population who use internet in three countries from 1999 to 2009.
It is clear that internet user increased in all three countries in that period, while almost all Americans and Canadians became internet user by 2009.
In 1999, USA ranked the highest in the proportion of internet user among three countries. However, the proportion of three countries were all below a quarter. In 2002, Canada exceed USA to nearly half of its people using internet.
By 2009, almost all of Canadians used internet. The number of USA was slightly below Canada, that was around 80%. By contrast, the development speed of internet user in Mexico was much slower than the other two countries, only about 40% of its population used internet by the end of 10 years period.
Posted by: arnoldzhen | May 29, 2017 at 08:34
Can you prepare an other topic at these graph
Posted by: Abbosbek | July 15, 2019 at 01:09