The table below gives information on consumer spending on different items in five different countries in 2002. Percentage of national consumer expenditure by category - 2002
Sample Response
The table shows the percentage of national consumer expenditures on different items in five separate counties in 2002. It is obvious that in all the surveyed countries, the major spending was on food, drinks and tobacco, more than that spent on clothes and leisure and education- after being added to each other.
The largest sum of money spent on "Food, Drinks and Tobacco" was in Turkey, 32.14% of the national consumption, while the least was in Sweden (15.77%). As for "Clothing and Footwear" category, Italy came first with 9%, followed by Turkey, Spain and Sweden with very close percentages, about 6%.The least was Sweden again with 5.4%. Again, Turkey topped the expenditure; 4.35% of the national consuming was on "Leisure and Education" This time Spain came last with 1.98%.
Overall, we can see that Turkey's spending on the tow of the three mentioned categories was the highest; however, Sweden had the lowest spending.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use singular noun Original: expenditures Suggested revision: expenditure Why it matters: “Expenditure” is uncountable when referring to national spending in general.
- 2. Correct country spelling Original: counties Suggested revision: countries Why it matters: The table compares countries, not administrative counties.
- 3. Describe a proportion Original: sum of money Suggested revision: proportion of expenditure Why it matters: The table reports percentages rather than monetary sums.
- 4. Add proportion marker Original: Turkey, 32.14% Suggested revision: Turkey, at 32.14% Why it matters: “At” correctly links the country to its reported percentage.
- 5. Match table measure Original: national consumption Suggested revision: national consumer expenditure Why it matters: The figures represent expenditure shares, not quantities consumed.
- 6. Use comparison term Original: the least was in Sweden Suggested revision: the lowest proportion was in Sweden Why it matters: “Lowest proportion” identifies the table measure precisely.
- 7. Add article Original: "Clothing and Footwear" category Suggested revision: the "Clothing and Footwear" category Why it matters: The definite article is required before this named category.
- 8. Use data language Original: came first Suggested revision: recorded the highest figure Why it matters: This wording describes a statistical ranking more formally.
- 9. Add sentence space Original: 6%.The Suggested revision: 6%. The Why it matters: A space is required after the full stop.
- 10. Use precise comparison Original: Again, Turkey topped the expenditure Suggested revision: Turkey again recorded the highest figure Why it matters: A country records a percentage rather than topping expenditure itself.
- 11. Correct noun form Original: national consuming Suggested revision: national consumer expenditure Why it matters: “Consuming” is not the noun used for the spending measure shown.
- 12. End the sentence Original: "Leisure and Education" This Suggested revision: "Leisure and Education". This Why it matters: A full stop is needed before the next sentence begins.
Suggested Rewrites
- expenditures expenditure
- counties countries
- sum of money proportion of expenditure
- Turkey, 32.14% Turkey, at 32.14%
- national consumption national consumer expenditure
- the least was in Sweden the lowest proportion was in Sweden
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response selects several useful extremes and gives a recognizable overview, with the figures for Turkey, Italy, Sweden and Spain mostly matching the table. Its main weakness is incomplete and occasionally overgeneralized comparison: Ireland disappears from the clothing discussion, and the final claim that Sweden had the lowest spending overlooks Spain's lower leisure-and-education figure. Prioritize a fully accurate overview and systematic comparisons across all five countries.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and several accurate extremes address the task, but Ireland is omitted from one comparison and the concluding claim about Sweden is not fully accurate.
Compare all five countries within each category and state that Spain, not Sweden, has the lowest leisure-and-education percentage.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response moves logically from an overview to category-based detail, although the separate final overview repeats earlier information and some punctuation disrupts flow.
Keep one concise overview and use clean sentence boundaries between the clothing and leisure comparisons.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is adequate for reporting expenditure and rankings, but errors such as 'counties', 'national consuming' and 'tow' reduce precision.
Proofread key reporting nouns and use precise collocations such as 'consumer expenditure' and 'two of the three categories'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the comparisons, but article, punctuation and noun-form errors recur.
Check articles and sentence punctuation, especially around category names, percentages and transitions between comparisons.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The table below gives information on consumer spending on different items in five different countries in 2002. Percentage of national consumer expenditure by category - 2002
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.