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(159 words)

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IELTS
 JOURNAL 
 
33 
Selecting details and grouping them 
Some graphs or tables contain a lot of information, so you will not be able to include 
everything. Look at the exam bar graph below. 
The number of prisoner in thousands in five different countries from 1930 to 1980 
 
In a case like this you should make sure that you write something about each 
country. Select the most relevant point for each country, and don't forget to mention some 
figures. Look at the example sentences about each country below. 
United States 
The United States had the highest number of prisoners in four out of the six years 
shown on the chart, and in 1980 the figure for this country peaked at nearly 
140,000 prisoners.
(33 words) 
Canada 
Canada had the highest figures for imprisonment in 1930 and 1950, with about 
120,000 prisoners in both years.
(18 words) 
New Zealand and Australia 
The figures for New Zealand and Australia fluctuated between 40,000 and 100,000 
prisoners, although New Zealand's prison population tended to be the higher of the 
two.
(26 words) 
 

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IELTS
 JOURNAL 
 
34 
Great Britain 
In contrast to the figures for the other countries, the number of prisoners in Great 
Britain rose steadily between 1930 and 1980, reaching a peak of about 80,000 at 
the end of the period.
(34 words) 
By putting the classified and grouped sentences together, now we can form our body 
paragraphs. Read the sample answer below. 
Sample Answer 
The information given in the chart makes comparisons in the number of prisoners in 
five different countries from 1930 to 1980. 
While the figures for imprisonment fluctuated over the period shown, it is clear that 
the United States had the highest number of prisoners overall. Great Britain, on the 
other hand, had the lowest number of prisoners for the majority of the period. 
As can be seen from the graph, the United States had the highest number of 
prisoners in four out of the six years shown on the chart, and in 1980 the figure for 
this country peaked at nearly 140,000 prisoners. Canada had the highest figures for 
imprisonment in 1930 and 1950, with about 120,000 prisoners in both years. 
The figures for New Zealand and Australia fluctuated between 40,000 and 100,000 
prisoners, although New Zealand's prison population tended to be the higher of the 
two. 
In contrast to the figures for the other countries, the number of prisoners in Great 
Britain rose steadily between 1930 and 1980, reaching a peak of about 80,000 at the 
end of the period.