The chart below shows the different levels of post-school qualifications in Australia and the proportion of men and women who held them in 1999.
Sample Response
The illustration compares the post-school qualifications of Australian males and femalesAustralian male and female in 1999. As is observed, more females' highest educational qualifications weremore female's highest educational qualification was undergraduate diplomas and bachelor's degreesundergraduate diploma and bachelor degree while males outnumbered femaleswhile male outnumbered female in postgraduate qualificationshigher qualification levels and skilled vocational qualificationsskilled education.
According to the chart, 90%almost 90% of males had a skilled vocational diploma, while only 10%approximately 10% of females had the same qualificationqualifications. 70%Nearly 70% of undergraduate diploma holders were womenwomen's highest qualification was an undergraduate diploma, and this proportionratio is more than twicemore than twice than that of males. In terms of males and females whose highest education was a bachelor degree, females were slightly ahead of male with a ratio of 50%. But if we consider the females and males who had obtained postgraduate qualificationspost-graduation degrees, males were well ahead of females. 70% of post-graduate diplomas were completed by males and 60% master's degree was completed by females. By comparisonOn the contrary, only 30% of postgraduate diploma holders were womenwomen finished a post-graduate diploma and four out of ten master's degree holders were females.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The report has a clear overview and covers all five qualification types with generally effective comparisons. Its main weakness is data accuracy: the master’s-degree figure is first attributed to women although the chart shows 60% men, creating a contradiction with the following sentence; the undergraduate ratio is also overstated. Verify each gender-value pairing before writing, then express the figures as proportions of qualification holders.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response presents a relevant overview and covers every qualification, but it reverses one master’s-degree figure and slightly overstates the undergraduate comparison.
Check each bar’s gender and value carefully and describe the percentages as proportions of holders rather than qualifications completed.
Coherence and Cohesion
The overview and detail paragraph create clear progression, although some contrast markers are mechanical or logically misplaced.
Group related comparisons more deliberately and use contrast linkers only where the preceding and following statements genuinely oppose each other.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient chart vocabulary and some effective comparative language, but awkward collocations and inaccurate forms reduce precision.
Use standard phrases such as ‘the proportion of holders’ and proofread noun forms, possessives, and qualification labels.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the main comparisons, but recurring agreement, article, plural, and comparative errors remain noticeable.
Prioritise agreement between percentage subjects and verbs, and revise comparative structures such as ‘twice as high as’.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The chart below shows the different levels of post-school qualifications in Australia and the proportion of men and women who held them in 1999.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.