The bar charts below show the average of annual working hours and the average duration of holidays in five European countries. Average number of working hours per person in a year Average duration of holidays in hours per person in a year
Sample Response
The line graphs compare the typical duration of office hours and holidays in a year for the working class people in five European countries, namely- France, UK, Finland, Germany and Switzerland. Overall, German employees have the longest working hours in a year but they enjoy the least duration of leaves and a reverse scenario could be observed in Switzerland. According to the illustration, A German works for around 1900 hours in a year on an average and this working hour is higher than that of the remaining four European countries. Despite the highest working hours, Germans have the least hours as holidays which is 120. Swiss employees enjoy the highest duration of off from works which accounts for roughly 175 hours a year despite their least duration of works in offices, 1200 hours annually. English and Finnish employees work for around 1600 hours annually and they enjoy roughly 140 hours’ free time off from work. Finally, employees in France spend 1500 hours in workplaces and have more than 150 hours’ holidays. French employees have approximately a ratio of 10:1 working hours and holiday duration but this ratio is almost 19:1.2 in Germany and 12:1.75 in Switzerland.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Identify chart type Original: The line graphs Suggested revision: The bar charts Why it matters: The visuals use bars rather than lines to compare the five countries.
- 2. Name measure precisely Original: typical duration of office hours Suggested revision: average annual working hours Why it matters: The chart reports total working hours per year, not the duration of office hours.
- 3. Use neutral group label Original: working class people Suggested revision: workers Why it matters: Working-class refers to a socioeconomic group and is not the population described by the chart.
- 4. Correct list punctuation Original: namely- Suggested revision: namely: Why it matters: A colon, not a hyphen, should introduce the list of countries.
- 5. Add definite article Original: UK Suggested revision: the UK Why it matters: The country name UK conventionally takes the definite article in running text.
- 6. Use uncountable holiday noun Original: duration of leaves Suggested revision: amount of holiday time Why it matters: Leave is normally uncountable in this meaning, and holiday time matches the chart label.
- 7. State contrast directly Original: a reverse scenario could be observed Suggested revision: the reverse pattern is seen Why it matters: The replacement is concise and keeps the report in the present tense.
- 8. Fix capitalisation and label Original: According to the illustration, A German Suggested revision: According to the charts, a German employee Why it matters: The mid-sentence article should be lowercase, and employee identifies the measured group clearly.
- 9. Use correct fixed phrase Original: on an average Suggested revision: on average Why it matters: The standard adverbial expression is on average without an article.
- 10. Refer to total figure Original: this working hour Suggested revision: this figure Why it matters: The value is an annual total rather than a single working hour.
- 11. Clarify minimum value Original: least hours as holidays which is 120 Suggested revision: least holiday time, at 120 hours Why it matters: The replacement fixes the awkward construction and agrees with the plural quantity.
- 12. Use natural holiday phrase Original: highest duration of off from works Suggested revision: longest holiday duration Why it matters: The original phrase combines incorrect prepositions and an uncountable noun used as a plural.
Suggested Rewrites
- The line graphs The bar charts
- typical duration of office hours average annual working hours
- working class people workers
- namely- namely:
- UK the UK
- duration of leaves amount of holiday time
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response offers a clear comparative overview and accurately reports the principal working-hour and holiday patterns across all five countries. Its strongest feature is the effective pairing of contrasting figures, although the final ratios add little and several awkward expressions weaken precision; the single-paragraph structure also makes the report less easy to scan. Use two purposeful detail paragraphs and replace unnatural employment and leave collocations with concise, standard chart language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The report presents a clear overview and accurately selects the main figures and contrasts from both charts, with only minor imprecision.
Replace the unnecessary ratio calculations with one direct comparison that reinforces the inverse pattern between work and holiday hours.
Coherence and Cohesion
The comparisons follow a logical country-based sequence and cohesive links are clear, but the single-paragraph format limits structural clarity.
Use an overview paragraph followed by two detail paragraphs that group the highest and lowest values and then the middle-ranking countries.
Lexical Resource
The response shows sufficient range for comparisons, but recurring awkward collocations such as 'duration of off from works' reduce naturalness and precision.
Prefer standard expressions such as 'annual working hours,' 'holiday entitlement,' and 'time off work.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied sentence forms communicate the comparisons clearly, although agreement, article, capitalisation, and noun-form errors recur throughout.
Check subject-verb agreement and uncountable noun phrases, especially constructions involving 'hours,' 'work,' and 'holiday time.'