The charts below show the average hours worked last year by full time and part time employees in 3 countries.
Sample Response
The bar charts show the average number of hours that full-time and part-time employees worked in the Netherlands, the UK and Greece in the previous year.
Overall, what immediately stands out is the fact that the number of hours worked by male and female workers was relatively equal for both types of work, and that full-time employees worked almost twice as much as part-time employees.
Taking a closer look at the numbers for full-time positions, the figures for both men and women ranged between 35 to 40 hours per week. Male workers in the UK were the only ones to exceed 40 hours a week. The figures for the Netherlands were the lowest for both genders, at around 35 hours weekly.
Moving on to part-time employment, the difference between the number of hours worked by men and women is more apparent in this chart. People from the Netherlands worked the fewest hours with men spending 10 hours, and women – roughly 15 hours per week at work. The UK had almost equal figures for both genders, around 17 hours a week, while the figures for Greece were slightly higher; the male workers there did around 20 hours per week and female – a touch above 20.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix range structure Original: between 35 to 40 Suggested revision: from about 35 to just over 40 Why it matters: Ranges use ‘from ... to’, and the UK male figure is slightly above 40.
- 2. Clarify comparison group Original: Male workers in the UK were the only ones Suggested revision: UK men were the only group Why it matters: ‘Group’ makes the comparison among the six full-time categories more precise.
- 3. Differentiate Dutch figures Original: at around 35 hours weekly Suggested revision: at about 37 hours for men and 34 for women Why it matters: The chart shows different full-time values for Dutch men and women rather than one shared figure.
- 4. Name the category Original: in this chart Suggested revision: for part-time work Why it matters: Referring directly to the employment type is clearer than using the vague phrase ‘this chart’.
- 5. Report UK values accurately Original: The UK had almost equal figures for both genders, around 17 hours a week Suggested revision: The UK figures were close, at about 18 hours for men and 19 for women Why it matters: The bars are close but show two distinct values, both slightly above 17 hours.
- 6. Use correct work verb Original: did Suggested revision: worked Why it matters: Employees ‘worked’ a number of hours; ‘did hours’ is not appropriate here.
- 7. Complete parallel clause Original: and female – a touch above 20 Suggested revision: and female workers worked a little over 20 Why it matters: The second coordinated clause needs an explicit subject and verb for grammatical parallelism.
- 8. Sentence rewrite Original: Overall, what immediately stands out is the fact that the number of hours worked by male and female workers was relatively equal for both types of work, and that full-time employees worked almost twice as much as part-time employees. Suggested revision: Overall, men and women worked broadly similar hours, while full-time staff worked roughly twice as many hours as part-time staff. Why it matters: This version is more concise and uses the countable comparison ‘twice as many hours’.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: People from the Netherlands worked the fewest hours with men spending 10 hours, and women – roughly 15 hours per week at work. Suggested revision: Employees in the Netherlands worked the fewest part-time hours, at about 13 hours for men and 17 for women. Why it matters: The rewrite corrects both Dutch values and specifies that the comparison concerns part-time employment.
Suggested Rewrites
- between 35 to 40 from about 35 to just over 40
- Male workers in the UK were the only ones UK men were the only group
- at around 35 hours weekly at about 37 hours for men and 34 for women
- in this chart for part-time work
- The UK had almost equal figures for both genders, around 17 hours a week The UK figures were close, at about 18 hours for men and 19 for women
- did worked
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response is fluent, logically organised, and supported by well-selected comparisons across employment type, country, and gender. The main weakness is numerical precision: the full-time range excludes the UK male figure above 40, while the Dutch part-time values are understated. Refining these approximations and checking every reported range against the chart would make an otherwise strong account more exact.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and relevant comparisons cover the main patterns, but several reported figures and ranges are not fully accurate.
Check approximate values more closely, including the Dutch part-time hours and the UK male full-time figure above 40.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is arranged in a clear four-paragraph sequence, with each employment type developed logically and cohesive links used effectively.
Maintain this progression while making transitions slightly less formulaic where the paragraph topic already signals the shift.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and precise for describing figures and comparisons, with only occasional awkward phrasing such as 'ranged between 35 to 40'.
Refine the few collocational slips by using forms such as 'ranged from 35 to 40' or 'ranged between 35 and 40'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is handled accurately, and the few grammatical lapses do not impede communication.
Polish preposition pairings and make elliptical comparisons fully explicit when doing so improves grammatical completeness.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The charts below show the average hours worked last year by full time and part time employees in 3 countries.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.