Task 1 Academic · Line graph · Culture
Music sales by format over twenty-five years
Four lines, three changes of leader and a total that shrinks by a fifth before recovering — a graph where the market's shape changed far more than its size.
The question
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
The graph below shows the revenue from music sales in four formats in one country between 2000 and 2025.
| Year | CDs | Downloads | Streaming | Vinyl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,200 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| 2005 | 950 | 90 | 0 | 15 |
| 2010 | 520 | 380 | 60 | 20 |
| 2015 | 260 | 330 | 310 | 60 |
| 2020 | 130 | 120 | 900 | 110 |
| 2025 | 60 | 30 | 1,050 | 160 |
A 150-word factual summary of a graph, chart, table, process or map. This prompt is original, written in the standard format for teaching purposes — it is not taken from any past paper.
What separates the three answers
The lines cross repeatedly, but the real story is that the total fell by over a fifth and then recovered while the leading format changed twice; the 6.5 answer follows each line separately and sees neither.
The three answers
Band 6.5
181 words (the task asks for at least 150)The answer works. It addresses the task, the reader follows it, and the meaning survives — but ideas stay general, linking is mechanical, wording repeats, and small errors are visible throughout.
The answer
The line graph shows the money from the music sales of four formats in one country from 2000 to 2025.
In 2000, the CDs were the most popular with 1,200 million dollars2, and the vinyl was only 30 million. There were no downloads and no streaming in this year. After that the CDs decreased a lot, to 950 million in 2005, 520 million in 2010 and 260 million in 2015, and in 2025 they were only 60 million.
The downloads started in 2005 with 90 million and increased to 380 million in 2010, but then it decreased to 330 million in 20153 and only 30 million in 2025. The streaming started in 2010 with 60 million and it increased very fast to 900 million in 2020 and 1,050 million in 2025, so it became the most popular format.
The vinyl decreased to 15 million in 2005 but after it increased4, and in 2025 it was 160 million, which is more than the CDs.
Overall, the CDs decreased and the streaming increased, and the streaming is the most popular in the end.1
What an examiner notices
1. Task achievement
“Overall, the CDs decreased and the streaming increased, and the streaming is the most popular in the end.”
Two of four lines and nothing about the total. The graph's main feature is that the market shrank by over a fifth and then recovered as streaming took over.
2. Lexical resource
“the CDs were the most popular with 1,200 million dollars”
The graph shows revenue, not popularity. 'Earned the most' or 'generated 1,200 million dollars' would describe what is actually measured.
3. Coherence and cohesion
“but then it decreased to 330 million in 2015”
'It' refers back to 'the downloads', a plural. The reader can recover the meaning, but the reference is faulty.
4. Grammatical range and accuracy
“but after it increased”
'After' needs an object here; 'afterwards' is the adverb the sentence requires.
One honest caveat
Band labels here describe what each piece of writing demonstrates against the four published assessment areas, paraphrased in plain language. They are teaching illustrations produced for this site, not official material, and no sample has been marked by a test provider. Real scripts are marked whole; two answers with the same label can still look quite different from each other, and nothing on this page can promise anyone a particular result.
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