The charts below show the results of a survey of adult education. The first chart shows the reasons why adults decide to study. The pie chart shows how people think the costs of adult education should be shared.
Sample Response
The given data shows why the grownup people continue their study and their opinion how the cost of this adult study should be shared. According to the first bar graph, around 40% adults decide to study because of their interest in studying which is the most influential reason for adults to study. Gaining qualification is another important reason that influences more than 35% adult to continue their studies. Job-related reasons contribute to around 20% adult to decide to study while meeting people inspire around 10% people to study. According to the pie chart, the people who have decided to do the further education think that 40% of this cost should be provided by the individuals who are getting enrolled in the study while 35% cost should be shared by the employer since they are deciding to study to do better in their job position. The remaining 25% cost should be shared by the taxpayers according to these people. In summary, interest in subjects, improving qualification, better job position and improving communication with people are the reasons most adults decide to study and according to them the cost of this study should be shared by individuals, employers and taxpayers.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Subject agreement Original: shows Suggested revision: show Why it matters: Data is treated as plural in formal academic reporting.
- 2. Use formal noun Original: grownup people Suggested revision: adults Why it matters: Adults is the concise formal term used by the task.
- 3. Use plural noun Original: study Suggested revision: studies Why it matters: Studies is the natural plural form for continuing education.
- 4. Missing preposition Original: their opinion how Suggested revision: their views on how Why it matters: Views on how is the correct grammatical pattern.
- 5. Use plural costs Original: the cost of this adult study Suggested revision: the costs of adult education Why it matters: The chart concerns how course costs should be shared.
- 6. Missing of Original: 40% adults Suggested revision: 40% of adults Why it matters: A percentage before a noun requires of.
- 7. Match category Original: interest in studying Suggested revision: interest in the subject Why it matters: Interest in the subject is the exact leading reason shown at 40%.
- 8. Report exact figure Original: more than 35% adult Suggested revision: 38% of adults Why it matters: The chart gives 38% for gaining qualifications.
- 9. Subject agreement Original: inspire Suggested revision: inspires Why it matters: The gerund phrase is singular and requires inspires.
- 10. Use exact percentage Original: around 10% people Suggested revision: 9% of people Why it matters: The chart shows 9% for meeting people.
- 11. Wrong collocation Original: do the further education Suggested revision: pursue further education Why it matters: Pursue further education is the natural academic phrase.
- 12. Plural reference Original: 40% of this cost Suggested revision: 40% of these costs Why it matters: The chart refers generally to course costs.
Suggested Rewrites
- shows show
- grownup people adults
- study studies
- their opinion how their views on how
- the cost of this adult study the costs of adult education
- 40% adults 40% of adults
Why this response received Band 5.5
The response reports the cost-sharing chart accurately and identifies the two leading reasons for study. However, its overview is weak and the bar-chart coverage is incomplete, with several distinct reasons omitted or merged into a vague job-related category. The highest-priority improvement is to group and compare all seven reasons accurately before summarising the overall ranking.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The pie-chart figures and leading study reasons are accurate, but the response omits several bar-chart categories and lacks a clear comparative overview.
Cover all seven reasons by grouping the highest, middle, and lowest figures, while keeping each category distinct.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response moves from the bar chart to the pie chart in a generally logical order, although paragraphing is absent and ideas are sometimes repetitive.
Use separate paragraphs for the overview and each chart, and reduce repeated phrases about adults deciding to study.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is adequate for the topic, but repetition and frequent unnatural choices such as 'grownup people' and 'do the further education' limit flexibility.
Use concise academic terms such as 'adults', 'pursue further education', and 'course fees', with more varied reporting verbs.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning remains generally clear, but frequent errors in articles, agreement, plurals, and sentence construction reduce grammatical control.
Proofread percentage structures and subject-verb agreement, using forms such as '40% of adults' and 'meeting people inspires'.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The charts below show the results of a survey of adult education. The first chart shows the reasons why adults decide to study. The pie chart shows how people think the costs of adult education should be shared.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.