The table below shows the number of medals won by the top ten countries in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Sample Response
The table gives information about the 2012 Olympics games, which was held in London, total medals won by the first top 10 ten countries in the medallist.
Overall, the USA and China won most of the games and they ranked first and second place respectively regarding medal count. Moreover, what stood out from the list is that the remaining countries, all are from Europe, it is marked that European dominance was evident in the games.
To see in detail, the USA has more victories than any other country in the competition. In fact, it won 106 medals in total, of which 46 is gold and the number of Bronze and Silver medals are equal. The next is the far east country China, which won 38 games at first rank, in addition, it took 2nd place in 27 tournaments and lastly 23 bronze medals registered in the name of Chinese athletes.
Interestingly, 8 countries which ranged from 2nd to 10th places belong to the continent where the event took place. To commence, the host country came third in the medallist, athletes from Great Britain were able to finish at the first line in 29 competitions and get Silver medals in 17 games. Finally, 19 bronze medals were awarded to them. On the other hand, Russia’s national flag waved higher than other nations 24 times in the competition and the number of Silver and Bronze medals of Russia was more than Great Britain. At the same time, the Anthem of South Korea was heard loud under the sky of London 13 times and it has shared 8 silver and 7 bronze medals from the Olympics.
Moreover, France and Germany won equal Gold medals, which is 11, but the former has more bronze and silver medals than the latter. Similarly, the Italy and Hungary Gold prize was finishing first in 8 races whereas Italy took a better number of Silver and Bronze. Finally, we found Australia at last on the list with 10 Gold medals,16 and 12 silver and Bronze respectively.
In conclusion, the USA and China were more successful in the 2012 London Olympics game than any other country and in the tournament, most of the European countries had shine.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Name the measure Original: won most of the games Suggested revision: won the most medals Why it matters: The table reports medals rather than games won.
- 2. Use medal wording Original: has more victories Suggested revision: won more medals Why it matters: Medal totals, rather than victories, are the measure shown in the table.
- 3. Correct USA total Original: 106 Suggested revision: 104 Why it matters: The table gives the United States a total of 104 medals.
- 4. Fix agreement and tense Original: is Suggested revision: were Why it matters: The plural number requires were in this past-tense report.
- 5. Fix number agreement Original: the number of Bronze and Silver medals are equal Suggested revision: the numbers of bronze and silver medals were equal Why it matters: Two medal counts require plural numbers and the past-tense verb were.
- 6. Report China's golds Original: won 38 games at first rank Suggested revision: won 38 gold medals Why it matters: The value 38 refers specifically to China's gold medals.
- 7. Report China's silvers Original: took 2nd place in 27 tournaments Suggested revision: won 27 silver medals Why it matters: The value 27 is China's silver-medal count, not a number of tournaments.
- 8. Add passive verb Original: 23 bronze medals registered in the name of Chinese athletes Suggested revision: 23 bronze medals were awarded to Chinese athletes Why it matters: The clause needs a finite passive verb to be grammatically complete.
- 9. Use table ranking Original: came third in the medallist Suggested revision: ranked third in the table Why it matters: Medallist refers to a person, whereas the sentence describes a country's table position.
- 10. Name gold medals Original: finish at the first line Suggested revision: win gold medals Why it matters: Winning gold medals expresses the achievement shown by the value 29.
- 11. Fix comparison structure Original: the number of Silver and Bronze medals of Russia was more than Great Britain Suggested revision: Russia's silver and bronze medal totals were higher than Great Britain's Why it matters: The revision correctly compares two plural medal totals with those of Great Britain.
- 12. Report medals directly Original: the Anthem of South Korea was heard loud under the sky of London 13 times Suggested revision: South Korea won 13 gold medals Why it matters: Direct medal terminology is clearer and accurately identifies what the value 13 represents.
Suggested Rewrites
- won most of the games won the most medals
- has more victories won more medals
- 106 104
- is were
- the number of Bronze and Silver medals are equal the numbers of bronze and silver medals were equal
- won 38 games at first rank won 38 gold medals
Why this response received Band 5.5
The response covers every country and follows the ranking in a broadly understandable sequence, with several accurate medal figures. Its main limitation is substantial factual inaccuracy, including the United States total, the claim that all remaining countries were European, the France-Germany comparison, and Australia's gold count. The priority is to select fewer key comparisons, verify every figure against the table, and describe medals with precise, neutral language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The table is broadly covered and an overview is attempted, but several major claims and figures conflict with the visual data.
Verify each selected feature, especially the United States total of 104, Australia's seven gold medals, and the non-European countries in the table.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses through the countries in a recognizable order, although repetitive transitions and long comma-linked sentences weaken cohesion.
Group countries by meaningful medal patterns and use fewer, more controlled linking phrases instead of narrating nearly every row separately.
Lexical Resource
There is some range in language for ranking and comparison, but frequent inaccurate collocations make the description imprecise and occasionally distracting.
Use neutral table-report language such as 'won gold medals,' 'ranked third,' and 'recorded a total' instead of figurative or unsuitable expressions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mixture of sentence forms is attempted, but frequent errors in agreement, articles, punctuation, and clause control reduce accuracy.
Prioritize complete sentences with one clear comparison each, then check subject-verb agreement and plural forms throughout.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The table below shows the number of medals won by the top ten countries in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.