The pie charts below show the methods used by international students when booking online English courses in three different countries in 2009 and 2010.
Sample Response
The provided pie charts delineate the methods usedmodalities employed by international students to book online English coursessecure online English language courses across three distinct nations—Australia, Canada, and the USA—during the years 2009 and 2010.
Overall, while pre-booking via agencies and the Internet were generally prominent methods, the data reveals divergent trends across the countriesregions over the given period. Most notably, there was a significant shift towards online bookings in Australia and agency bookings in Canada, whereas the United States displayed relativeremarkable stability in student preferences.
In 2009, booking habits varied significantly by region. Canada stood out with a heavy reliance on bookings on arrivalheavy reliance on on-arrival bookings, which accounted for the largest proportion at 45%, while the 'Other' category was negligible at merely 6%. Conversely, students in Australia and the USA demonstrated a more balanced distribution of preferences; in these nations, no single method proved overwhelmingly dominant, with figures for all categories hovering within a relatively narrow range of approximately 23% to 27%.
By 2010, distinct shifts occurred. In Australia, online bookings surged from 24% to 39%, largely at the expense of bookings made through agentspre-booking agencies, which plummeted from 27% to 11%. Canada saw a marked change in its booking patterna restructuring of its previous trend; on-arrival bookings dropped sharply from 45% to 22%, while agency pre-bookings rose to 35%. The USA, however, remained consistent, with all booking methods continuing to fluctuate marginally between 23% and 28%.
Why this response received Band 8.5
The response gives a clear, well-selected account of the principal patterns and changes, supported by accurate figures and fluent comparisons. Its main limitation is that some phrasing is more elaborate or abstract than necessary, and a few secondary movements are omitted. Prioritise plainer, more precise wording while adding one or two carefully chosen cross-country comparisons to make the report even more comprehensive.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report presents an accurate overview and selects the most important contrasts and changes across all three countries.
Add a brief comparison of the remaining arrival and other-category movements to make coverage more complete.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overview to the two years, with well-managed paragraphing and cohesive links.
Keep transitions direct so that each sentence foregrounds the comparison rather than announcing a shift in discussion.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, with strong language for proportions, stability, and change.
Prefer natural terms such as booking methods over unnecessarily elevated choices such as modalities or restructuring of a trend.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately and punctuation is controlled throughout.
Maintain this control while occasionally simplifying sentence structures to keep dense comparisons effortless to read.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The pie charts below show the methods used by international students when booking online English courses in three different countries in 2009 and 2010.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.