# IELTS Writing Task 1 table A table gives exact figures in rows and columns with no picture of the trends, so your job is to find the patterns yourself: the highest and lowest values, the biggest changes and the rows that behave alike. The examiner looks for a clear overview of the main features, key figures selected rather than copied row by row, comparisons made where relevant, and numbers reported accurately with their units. ## Structure 1. **Introduction**: Paraphrase the prompt: what the table measures, the categories it covers, the years or places and the unit. Openers: The table gives information about ... / The table compares ... in ... categories between ... and ... / The table shows the number of ..., in thousands, ... 2. **Overview**: Summarise the main patterns across the rows, such as which categories grew, which fell and which led at the end. Openers: Overall, ... / The most striking feature of the table is ... / In general, ... , while ... 3. **Body 1**: Group the rows that share a pattern (for example, the falling ones) and compare their key figures. Openers: At the start of the period, ... / ... was initially the largest category, with ... / Both ... and ... fell ... 4. **Body 2**: Cover the rows with the opposite pattern and compare them with Body 1. Openers: By contrast, ... / ... moved in the opposite direction. / The most remarkable growth was in ... ## Key language ### Proportion and change - **almost halve / roughly halve**: Non-fiction loans almost halved between 2010 and 2025. - **nearly quadruple / more than double**: Audiobook loans nearly quadrupled. - **the figure for ... / the number of ...**: The figure for e-books reached 58,000 in 2025. ### Comparing rows - **compared with**: There were 84,000 adult fiction loans, compared with 47,000 for non-fiction. - **respectively**: Adult fiction and non-fiction fell to 55,000 and 24,000 respectively. - **the highest / lowest figure in the table**: E-books had the lowest figure in the table in 2010. - **overtake / move ahead of**: E-books had moved ahead of adult fiction by 2025. ### Units and numbers - **in thousands -> write the full figure**: 84 in a table of thousands is 84,000 loans. - **a mere / just / as many as**: A mere 3,000 e-books were borrowed in 2010. ## The task The table below shows the number of items borrowed from a town library, by category, in 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. Loans from a town library by category, 2010-2025 (thousands of loans) | | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult fiction | 84 | 76 | 61 | 55 | | Children's books | 62 | 65 | 58 | 63 | | Non-fiction | 47 | 39 | 28 | 24 | | Audiobooks | 6 | 9 | 15 | 22 | | E-books | 3 | 12 | 41 | 58 | Chart by Testmigo. The data is invented for practice. ## Band 6 to 9 sample answers ### Band 6 The table shows how many items people borrowed from a town library in 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025. There are five categories of items. Overall, e-books and audiobooks went up, but adult fiction and non-fiction went down. In 2010, adult fiction was the most borrowed with 84,000 loans. However, it decreased to 76,000 in 2015, 61,000 in 2020 and 55,000 in 2025. Non-fiction also decreased from 47,000 to 24,000, so it was about half. Children's books were 62,000 in 2010 and 65,000 in 2015. They decreased to 58,000 in 2020 but then increased again to 63,000 in 2025, so they were the highest in 2025. E-books were very low in 2010 with only 3,000. But they increased very fast to 12,000 in 2015 and 41,000 in 2020, and in 2025 they were 58,000. Audiobooks also increased from 6,000 to 22,000. In conclusion, people borrowed less adult fiction and non-fiction and more e-books and audiobooks. Children's books were popular in all the years. _This Band 6 report reports the figures accurately and covers every row, but the overview only lists which rows went up and which went down, without saying which changed most, and it leaves out children's books, so Task Achievement is limited. Much of the body copies the table row by row, and the vocabulary is basic and repetitive ("decreased", "increased", "were"). For Band 7, the overview should pick out the key features, such as e-books rising from the smallest category to one of the largest and children's books ending as the most borrowed, and the body should compare rows rather than list them._ ### Band 7 The table gives information about the number of loans made by a town library in five categories at five-year intervals between 2010 and 2025. Overall, borrowing of printed books for adults declined, whereas digital items, especially e-books, became much more popular. Children's books stayed relatively stable and were the most borrowed category by the end of the period. In 2010, adult fiction was the most popular category, with 84,000 loans, but this figure decreased steadily to 55,000 in 2025. Non-fiction followed a similar pattern, falling by around half from 47,000 to 24,000. Children's books, on the other hand, fluctuated only slightly, between 58,000 and 65,000, and finished at 63,000, the highest figure of any category in that year. The most remarkable growth was seen in e-books. In 2010, only 3,000 e-books were borrowed, the lowest figure in the table, but this number rose to 41,000 in 2020 and 58,000 in 2025, overtaking adult fiction. Audiobook loans also increased considerably, nearly quadrupling from 6,000 to 22,000, although they were remained one of the smaller categories. _This Band 7 report has a clear overview that groups the rows into falling print categories, rising digital ones and stable children's books, and the body compares them with accurate figures and approximations ("by around half", "nearly quadrupling"). There is a grammatical slip ("they were remained"), and some figures are still reported in sequence rather than compared. A Band 8 answer would compare the size of the changes more sharply and use the language of tables with full control._ ### Band 8 The table compares the number of items, in thousands, borrowed from a town library in five categories in 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025. The most striking development was the rapid rise of e-books, which went from being the least borrowed category to one of the most popular. Over the same period, loans of adult fiction and non-fiction fell considerably, while demand for children's books remained steady. Adult fiction was initially the library's most borrowed category, with 84,000 loans in 2010, but this total declined in every subsequent year shown to reach 55,000 in 2025. The decline in non-fiction was proportionally even greater: loans almost halved, from 47,000 to 24,000. Children's books, by contrast, held up well, ranging between 58,000 and 65,000, and by 2025 they were the most borrowed category at 63,000. Digital formats moved in the opposite direction. E-book loans rose from a mere 3,000 in 2010 to 41,000 a decade later, before reaching 58,000 in 2025, which placed them second, ahead of adult fiction. Audiobooks also grew steadily, from 6,000 to 22,000, although they were still the least borrowed category in the final year. _This Band 8 report selects the key features skilfully, leading with the e-book story and grouping the rows into print and digital formats so that every paragraph makes comparisons ("proportionally even greater", "which placed them second, ahead of adult fiction"). Vocabulary is wide and precise, and complex sentences are error-free. To reach Band 9, the overview could also note that children's books ended as the most borrowed category, and the body could flow with full naturalness._ ### Band 9 The table provides data on the number of library loans, in thousands, across five categories at a town library between 2010 and 2025. Overall, the library's lending shifted markedly from printed adult titles towards digital formats. E-books showed by far the strongest growth, while loans of adult fiction and non-fiction steadily declined. Children's books were the most consistent category and ended the period as the most borrowed. At the start of the period, adult fiction dominated, with 84,000 loans, compared with 62,000 for children's books and 47,000 for non-fiction. Both adult categories then fell in every five-year interval, adult fiction to 55,000 and non-fiction to 24,000, roughly half its 2010 level. Children's books, in contrast, fluctuated within a narrow band, dipping to 58,000 in 2020 before recovering to 63,000. E-books underwent a remarkable transformation. From a mere 3,000 loans in 2010, the lowest figure in the table, they rose to 12,000 in 2015 and then surged to 41,000 and 58,000 in the following two intervals, overtaking adult fiction by the final year. Audiobook loans also climbed consistently, from 6,000 to 22,000, although they remained the smallest category in 2025. _This Band 9 report fully satisfies the task: the overview summarises all three patterns in the table, and the body selects and compares the key figures precisely, including where e-books overtook adult fiction and where each category ended. Information is grouped logically rather than row by row, cohesion is seamless, and the range of vocabulary and grammar ("underwent a remarkable transformation", "surged to") is natural and error-free, which is what the top band requires._ ## Common mistakes - **No overview, or one that says only "some figures rose and some fell".** Name the patterns: which rows fell, which rose and which led at the end, in an "Overall, ..." paragraph. - **Getting the length wrong: copying the table row by row, or stopping under 150 words.** Aim for about 170-190 words that group similar rows and select the start, end and turning points. An answer under 150 words loses marks. - **Using the present tense for past years ("e-book loans rise to 58,000 in 2025").** Use past tenses for finished years: "rose to 58,000 in 2025", "had overtaken adult fiction by 2025". - **Giving reasons or opinions, such as "because people prefer reading on their phones".** The table shows numbers, not causes. Describe and compare the figures only. - **Dropping the unit: writing "84 loans" when the table is in thousands.** Check the heading or note on the unit and write the full figure: "84,000 loans", or say "in thousands" in your introduction.