IELTS Writing Task 1 – Topic 4

🎯 Question

The table below shows the percentage of journeys made by different modes of transport in City X in 2000, 2010, and 2020.

---

📝 Model Answer (Band 8–9, ~190 words)

The table illustrates the proportion of trips made by five types of transport in City X in 2000, 2010, and 2020.

Overall, private car use increased significantly over the period and became the most common mode of travel. By contrast, bus and bicycle use declined steadily. Walking and train travel showed more stable figures, with only slight changes.

In 2000, buses were the most popular, accounting for 38% of journeys, followed by cars at 30%. However, bus usage declined to 25% in 2010 and fell further to just 18% in 2020. Similarly, bicycles dropped from 20% to 10% over the same period.

Car use, on the other hand, rose steadily, reaching 35% in 2010 and 45% by 2020. This made cars the dominant means of travel by the end of the period. Walking accounted for 10% in 2000 and remained fairly stable, fluctuating slightly to 9% in 2020. Train travel also remained relatively low but increased gradually from 2% to 5%.

In summary, City X witnessed a shift away from public and non-motorised transport towards private car usage between 2000 and 2020.

---

🔑 Useful Vocabulary

• Dominant mode / accounted for / represented

• Declined steadily / fell gradually / dropped sharply

• Rose steadily / increased significantly / fluctuated slightly

• By contrast / in comparison / became the most common

---

🔗 Linking Words

• Trend changes: over the period, by 2020, during the decade

• Comparisons: whereas, by contrast, compared with

• Overview phrases: overall, it is clear that, in summary

---

✍️ Guidelines for Writing This Essay

1. Plan (2–3 minutes)

   • Identify largest (cars by 2020).

   • Identify smallest (train throughout).

   • Identify decline (bus, bicycle).

   • Identify stability (walking).

2. Structure

   • Intro: paraphrase question.

   • Overview: key trends (car ↑, bus/bike ↓).

   • Body 1: buses, bicycles, cars.

   • Body 2: walking, trains.

   • Conclusion: summarise.

3. Topic Sentences

   • “Car use rose steadily and overtook buses to become the most popular mode.”

   • “By contrast, buses and bicycles declined steadily over the period.”

   • “Walking remained stable, while train usage grew only slightly.”

---

💡 Language Focus

• Verb vs. Noun phrases:

  • Bus usage declined steadily / There was a steady decline in bus usage.

  • Car travel rose sharply / There was a sharp rise in car travel.

---

🔟 Practice Exercises

A. Fill-in

1. Car use ______ from 30% to 45%.

2. Bus travel ______ from 38% to 18%.

B. Rewrite with noun phrases

1. “Bicycle use fell gradually.” → …

2. “Car usage rose steadily.” → …

C. Choose overview
a) Cars, buses, bicycles, walking, and trains all changed between 2000 and 2020.
b) Car use rose sharply to become dominant, while buses and bicycles fell steadily.

D. Comparisons

1. By 2020, cars were ______ as popular as trains.

2. Bicycle journeys in 2000 were ______ times higher than in 2020.

E. Spot the error
“The percentage of bus use decreased steady from 2000 to 2020.”

---

✅ Suggested Answers

A: 1. increased / rose 2. fell / dropped
B: 1. There was a gradual fall in bicycle use. 2. There was a steady rise in car usage.
C: b)
D: 1. nine times 2. two
E: Wrong word form → should be “steadily”.