In June 1996, an experimental flu vaccine was trialled in a large country town on females only. The result of this survey is presented in the following illustration.

Same questionCompare 3 different answers (Band 5.5–6.5)

Sample Response

1

The graphs provide the results of a survey on the flu vaccine trial conducted in a large country town involvingon females in June 1996. Overall, despite the vaccination, more females were affected by the flu and the death rate was also higher in females, especially among older women. The line graph illustrates the number of flu casesprevalence of the flu among both genders. DeleteAs seen from the graph, from February to April, a steep rise in flu casesa steep increase in flu rates was recorded:was seen - 1,000 cases among females1000 females and around 600 cases among malesaround 600 males. In the middle of the year, a dramatic increase was noticed; reaching a peak of 3500 in females and above 2500 in males in June at which point the injection experiment was done. Although the number of flu cases began to fallthe flu rates began to drop after June, case numbers remained higherprevalence was still higher among females (about 2,500) than among males (1,500) in Novemberfemales (2500) as compared to males (1500). The bar graph illustrates the number of deaths from fludeath rate from flu; from June to August, 4 women died, while only 2 men diedhad expired. In contrast, from March to May, no male deathsmortality was reported and one1 woman died. Finally from the pie chart, despite immunization over a quarter of girls and 35% of geriatric women were at more risk than other females from other age groups.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 6.5

The response’s strongest feature is its coverage of all three visuals, supported by several relevant comparisons and figures. Its main limitation is imprecise interpretation: it implies unsupported effects of vaccination, describes the 24% child group as over a quarter, and underdevelops the risk-category data. The highest-priority improvement is to report each visual’s measures exactly and organise the overview and details into clear paragraphs.

Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

TA

Task Achievement

6.5
Scoring rule

The report addresses all three visuals and identifies the main flu and death patterns, but its overview implies unsupported causation and the risk-chart coverage is incomplete and partly inaccurate.

Next step

Distinguish the visuals’ measures carefully, state that children account for 24%, and compare the omitted 13% hospitalised and 28% unvaccinated groups.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

6.0
Scoring rule

Information progresses logically from the line graph to the death chart and risk chart, but presenting the entire report as one paragraph weakens the separation of overview and details.

Next step

Use a brief introduction and overview followed by separate detail paragraphs that group the time-series findings and the other two visuals.

LR

Lexical Resource

6.5
Scoring rule

Vocabulary such as “prevalence,” “mortality,” and “immunization” shows range, although phrases such as “had expired” and “at more risk” are imprecise or unnatural.

Next step

Prefer precise chart-reporting collocations such as “died,” “at higher risk,” and “number of cases” throughout.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

6.5
Scoring rule

The response uses a useful range of complex structures with generally clear meaning, but punctuation and clause control lapse in the semicolon fragment and the final sentence.

Next step

Repair the fragment after “was noticed” and recast the final sentence so its concession, percentages, and comparison form one controlled structure.

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

In June 1996, an experimental flu vaccine was trialled in a large country town on females only. The result of this survey is presented in the following illustration.

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