The table below illustrates how much money a single person and a couple in Australia need for a comfortable lifestyle after they retire.
Sample Response
The table compares the budgets needed for retired singles and couples to live a comfortable lifestyle in Australia.
Overall, the average budget of a retired single person is much lower than that of a couple. In addition, while housing is the biggest expenditure for single retirees, retired couples need more money for leisure activities.
The expenditure for housing of retired single people is $184, which is $10 lower than that of couples. Meanwhile, singles retirees spend $140 on leisure activities, while couples spend $60 more. Regarding healthcare, couples spend $177, which is $50 higher than the expenditure of a single retired person.
In terms of transport, couples and singles need roughly the same amount of money, at $108 and $107 respectively. When it comes to clothing, food, and other things, the figure for an individual is almost half that of a couple. A single person spends $44, $50 and $37 respectively on these categories, while a couple spends $80, $100 and $70. In general, the total amount of money spent by an individual is $684, whereas the figure for a couple is $931.
In contrast, the majority of people participating in the survey expected to see improvements in the communication between people, at 64%, while only 36% of them thought the opposite. Meanwhile, opinions on food quality were divided almost equally with just over half the survey participants believing that things would improve, and 49% thinking the opposite.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use parallel labels Original: retired singles and couples Suggested revision: single retirees and retired couples Why it matters: The replacement uses clear and parallel labels for the two groups.
- 2. Use accurate total Original: average Suggested revision: total Why it matters: The table gives a total for each household type rather than an average.
- 3. Make phrasing concise Original: The expenditure for housing of retired single people Suggested revision: Housing expenditure for single retirees Why it matters: The replacement expresses the same comparison more naturally and concisely.
- 4. Fix noun modifier Original: singles Suggested revision: single Why it matters: Single, rather than singles, modifies the plural noun retirees.
- 5. Correct the difference Original: 60 Suggested revision: 62 Why it matters: The table shows $202 for couples and $140 for singles, a difference of $62.
- 6. Correct health difference Original: 50 Suggested revision: 55 Why it matters: The health figures are $177 and $122, which differ by $55.
- 7. Improve comparative phrasing Original: the expenditure of a single retired person Suggested revision: that for a single retiree Why it matters: That clearly substitutes for expenditure and avoids repetition.
- 8. Use precise category Original: things Suggested revision: expenses Why it matters: Other expenses is a more precise rendering of the table's Others category.
- 9. Delete unrelated paragraph Suggested revision: Delete this paragraph because it reports unrelated survey results. Why it matters: The table contains no information about communication, food quality, percentages, or survey opinions.
Suggested Rewrites
- retired singles and couples single retirees and retired couples
- average total
- The expenditure for housing of retired single people Housing expenditure for single retirees
- singles single
- 60 62
- 50 55
Why this response received Band 7.0
The table itself is described accurately and thoroughly, supported by a clear overview, well-chosen comparisons, and strong language control. However, the final paragraph introduces unrelated survey findings about communication and food quality, seriously weakening relevance and progression; the highest-priority improvement is to remove that paragraph entirely and end after the total-cost comparison, keeping every detail anchored to the supplied table.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response accurately covers the table's main patterns and figures, but a substantial final paragraph invents information that is absent from the visual.
Delete the survey paragraph and ensure every reported percentage, category, and comparison comes directly from the retirement-budget table.
Coherence and Cohesion
The table description progresses logically through grouped expenses, but the abrupt unrelated final paragraph breaks the otherwise clear sequence.
Conclude with the total comparison and remove the unsupported contrast so that all paragraphs form one coherent report.
Lexical Resource
The response demonstrates flexible and mostly precise vocabulary, though singles retirees is awkward and the irrelevant material disrupts lexical relevance.
Use retired singles consistently and reserve all reporting vocabulary for categories and comparisons shown in the table.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex comparative sentences are varied and generally error-free, with only minor awkwardness that does not impede meaning.
Polish noun phrases such as spending on housing by retired singles while retaining the strong control of comparison clauses.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The table below illustrates how much money a single person and a couple in Australia need for a comfortable lifestyle after they retire.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.