Number of Four Fish Species (1982–2007)

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Line Graph

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IELTS Writing Task 1 Question

The chart below shows the number of four different species of fish between 1982 and 2007.

123 - Number of Four Fish Species (1982–2007)

Common questions for the chart on fish species

1. Graph Type: Line graph

2. Title: Number of Four Fish Species (1982–2007)

3. What are the units of measurement?: Number of fish (in thousands)

4. Who: The fish species compared are Atlantic Cod, Yellow-fin Tuna, Haddock, and Swordfish.

5. When: Data spans from 1982 to 2007.

6. Where: The chart focuses on the population trends of these fish species (location unspecified).

7. Topic: Trends in fish species population over time

Process Showing and Trends

Comparison 1 : Atlantic Cod and Yellow-fin Tuna

Atlantic Cod started with a high population of 225,000 in 1982, but their numbers fluctuated, decreasing sharply to 150,000 by 1992, rising again to 175,000 by 2002, and falling back to 125,000 by 2007. In contrast, Yellow-fin Tuna experienced an increase from 1982 to 1992, surpassing the Cod, before declining after 2002 to 100,000 by 2007.

Comparison 2 : Haddock and Swordfish

The Haddock remained stable, consistently around 75,000 throughout the 25-year period. Swordfish remained the smallest group with a steady population of around 10,000 throughout the period.

Sample Answer

The line graph compares the population numbers of four fish species—Atlantic Cod, Yellow-fin Tuna, Haddock, and Swordfish—over a 25-year period from 1982 to 2007.

Overall, while the Atlantic Cod and Yellow-fin Tuna populations showed significant fluctuations, the Haddock and Swordfish populations remained largely unchanged over the period.

In 1982, Atlantic Cod had the highest population of 225,000, but this number dropped dramatically over the next decade, reaching approximately 150,000 by 1992. Afterwards, their numbers increased to 175,000 by 2002 before declining again to 125,000 by 2007. The Yellow-fin Tuna, which had fewer numbers than the Atlantic Cod in 1982, experienced a sharp rise until 1992, when it surpassed the Cod, but its population decreased thereafter, reaching 100,000 by 2007.

The Haddock maintained a stable population of about 75,000 throughout the entire period. Meanwhile, Swordfish remained in the minority, with numbers staying around 10,000 for the entire 25 years.

Top 25 Vocabularies

Vocabulary	Meaning	Synonyms	Examples	Type
Fluctuations	Variations or changes in numbers	Variations, oscillations	“The population of Atlantic Cod fluctuated over the years.”	Noun
Surpassing	To exceed or go beyond	Exceeding, outstripping	“The Yellow-fin Tuna surpassed the Atlantic Cod in numbers in 1992.”	Verb
Declined	To decrease or become smaller in number	Dropped, reduced	“The number of Yellow-fin Tuna declined after 2002.”	Verb
Minority	A smaller part or group	Smaller group, less	“Swordfish remained the minority species throughout the period.”	Noun
Steady	Consistent or unchanging	Stable, constant	“The Haddock population remained steady throughout the years.”	Adjective
Variation	A change or difference in condition or amount	Alteration, shift	“The population of Yellow-fin Tuna showed significant variation.”	Noun
Increase	To become larger in amount, number, or degree	Grow, rise	“Atlantic Cod numbers increased to 175,000 in 2002.”	Verb
Decline	A decrease in number, quality, or strength	Drop, reduce	“The population of Atlantic Cod declined after 2002.”	Verb
Peak	To reach the highest point	Reach, culminate	“The Yellow-fin Tuna peaked in 1992, surpassing the Cod.”	Verb
Dramatic	Having a great and noticeable effect	Striking, significant	“The decline in Atlantic Cod was quite dramatic.”	Adjective
Stable	Fixed, unchanging, or constant	Steady, consistent	“Haddock’s population remained stable over the 25-year period.”	Adjective
Fluctuate	To change irregularly or vary widely	Vary, oscillate	“The population of the Yellow-fin Tuna fluctuated after 1992.”	Verb
Surpass	To exceed or go beyond a certain limit or level	Outstrip, exceed	“The Yellow-fin Tuna surpassed the Atlantic Cod in population.”	Verb
Minority	A smaller portion or part of a whole	Smaller group, less	“Swordfish was in the minority throughout the entire period.”	Noun
Consistent	Always behaving or happening in the same way	Steady, uniform	“The Swordfish population remained consistent over the years.”	Adjective
Persist	To continue firmly or obstinately	Continue, endure	“Swordfish persisted in maintaining a low population.”	Verb
Remain	To stay in the same place or condition	Stay, continue	“Haddock remained stable at 75,000 throughout the years.”	Verb
Oscillate	To swing back and forth or vary between extremes	Fluctuate, waver	“The numbers of Yellow-fin Tuna oscillated between 1992 and 2007.”	Verb
Sharp	Having a strong or intense quality	Significant, steep	“Yellow-fin Tuna showed a sharp rise in population until 1992.”	Adjective
Subsequent	Coming after something in time or order	Following, succeeding	“The subsequent decline in Yellow-fin Tuna numbers was evident.”	Adjective
Relatively	In comparison with something else	Comparatively, somewhat	“The Swordfish population was relatively low throughout the years.”	Adverb
Considerable	Large in size, amount, or degree	Significant, substantial	“The increase in Yellow-fin Tuna was considerable by 1992.”	Adjective
Trend	A general direction or tendency	Pattern, movement	“The trend shows a steady decrease in Atlantic Cod over time.”	Noun
Proportion	A part or share of the whole	Fraction, percentage	“The proportion of Haddock stayed unchanged.”	Noun
Sharpness	The quality of being intense or severe	Intensity, strength	“The sharpness of the Atlantic Cod’s decline was evident.”	Noun

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