The three pie charts below show the changes in annual spending by local authorities in Someland in 1980, 1990 and 2000.
Sample Response
The three pie charts illustrate how annual spending across six6 sectors by local authorities in Someland changed in the years 1980, 1990 and 2000. It is noticeable that higher education took up the largest proportion of spending in all three given years. The share for environmental services, K-12 education and other categories either rose or fell steadily during the given period, while the other three underwent some fluctuations. As the smallest spending categoryleast significant factor with a 4% share in 1980, spending on environmental services grew slightly to 5% in 1990environmental services slightly grew in 1990, at 5%, before experiencing a larger rise to 9% in 2000. In contrast, spending on K-12 education dropped steadily throughout the periodin the whole period, from 25% in 1980 to 20% in 1990 and eventually 18% in 2000. Other expenditures also decreased from 6% in 1980 to 4% in 1990 when it became the lowest figure in the chart, and continued falling to 1% in 2000 while remaining in the lowest positionwhile remaining the same position. Meanwhile, more complex trendsIn contrast, more complicated trends can be seen in the other three areas of expendituresources of spending. The proportion for higher education first increased from 35% in 1980 to 45% in 1990, before declining moderately to 40% in 2000. The same kind of variation also happened to health and human resources, in comparison with the opposite fall and rise of the figure for transportation.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The report effectively highlights the main trends and provides an accurate overall picture using clear comparative structures. However, it omits key numerical data for transportation and health in the final paragraph, leaving some visual details incomplete. Including specific data for all categories in the body paragraphs will ensure complete task coverage.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The overview accurately identifies major trends, though specific figures are missing for two categories in the body text.
Ensure all key features mentioned in the body paragraphs include exact percentage values to fully support comparisons.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically organized into thematic paragraphs with clear logical progression throughout.
Use more explicit transition signals when contrasting trends between separate body paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
A good range of topic-appropriate vocabulary is used flexibly to describe trends and percentages.
Refine precise prepositional collocations such as changing 'remaining the same position' to 'remaining in the same position'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammar and sentence structures display a mix of complex forms with good control and few noticeable errors.
Maintain complete grammatical structures when writing participle clauses and comparative phrases.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The three pie charts below show the changes in annual spending by local authorities in Someland in 1980, 1990 and 2000.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.