Newspaper readers: print vs online (line graph)
IELTS Academic Task 1 sample: a line graph showing print and online newspaper readership in millions from 2005 to 2025, with band 8 model answer.
Band 6.5
Prompt: The line graph below shows the number of newspaper readers, in millions, who used print and online formats between 2005 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The line graph shows the number of people who read newspapers in print and online formats between 2005 and 2025, measured in millions.
At the beginning, print readers were far more numerous than online readers. In 2005, there were 45 million print readers but only 5 million online readers. Over the next twenty years, print readers fell steadily to 40 million in 2010, 30 million in 2015 and just 12 million by 2025.
Online readers, on the other hand, increased throughout the period. The figure climbed from 5 million in 2005 to 25 million in 2015, and then reached 50 million in 2025.
Overall, the two formats moved in opposite directions, and online reading overtook print reading during the period, so that by 2025 online readers greatly outnumbered those who read printed newspapers.
Band 8.0
Prompt: The line graph below shows the number of newspaper readers, in millions, who used print and online formats between 2005 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The line graph illustrates changes in the number of newspaper readers, in millions, who used print and online formats over a twenty-year period from 2005 to 2025.
Overall, readership of printed newspapers fell steadily, while online readership rose consistently. The two formats swapped positions, with online overtaking print at some point between 2015 and 2020.
In 2005, print was overwhelmingly dominant, with 45 million readers compared with only 5 million reading online. The number of print readers subsequently declined throughout the period, dropping to 30 million in 2015 and continuing down to just 12 million by 2025.
Online readership followed the opposite trajectory. From its modest starting point of 5 million, it climbed to 25 million in 2015 and then rose more steeply to 38 million in 2020. By 2025, 50 million people read newspapers online, over four times the print figure. The crossover occurred between 2015 and 2020, after which digital readers clearly outnumbered those still reading printed editions.