The pie charts below show the different types of courses, which were followed by the students during the years of 1984, 1994 and 2004.
Sample Response
The pie charts give details about the different types of courses that students studied in 1984, 1994, and 2004.
Overall, it can be seen that the most common mode of studying was via face to face courses, while online courses were the least common way to study. It is also noted that in 1984 online courses were not available.
In 1984, 67% of all students studied via face to face courses, while 20% studied via correspondence, and 13% mixed media courses. Online courses were not available at the time. 10 years later, studying face to face courses was slightly less popular, at 54%, while the percentage of students studying by correspondence remained at 20%.15% of students studied mixed media courses and 11% of students were now studying via the internet.
Studying face to face continued to become less popular by 2004, with 40% of students choosing that mode of study, while mixed media courses were becoming far more popular, at 35%. Studying online and by correspondence had both decreased in popularity also, reaching 10% and 15% respectively.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural phrase Original: studying Suggested revision: study Why it matters: ‘Mode of study’ is the standard noun phrase for a way of taking a course.
- 2. Hyphenate compound adjective Original: was via face to face courses, while Suggested revision: was via face-to-face courses, while Why it matters: The compound adjective before ‘courses’ should be hyphenated.
- 3. Add missing verb Original: 13% mixed media courses Suggested revision: 13% studied via mixed-media courses Why it matters: The third coordinated percentage needs its own verb to form a complete clause.
- 4. Spell sentence-start number Original: 10 Suggested revision: Ten Why it matters: A number beginning a sentence should be written as a word in formal prose.
- 5. Keep simple past Original: were now studying Suggested revision: studied Why it matters: The simple past is sufficient for reporting the 1994 snapshot.
- 6. Improve noun phrase Original: Studying face to face continued Suggested revision: Face-to-face study continued Why it matters: The revised noun phrase is more concise and natural.
- 7. Use completed change Original: were becoming far more popular Suggested revision: had become far more popular Why it matters: The past perfect presents the change as complete by the 2004 observation point.
- 8. Fix adverb placement Original: had both decreased in popularity also Suggested revision: had also decreased in popularity Why it matters: ‘Also’ is misplaced, and ‘both’ is unnecessary because the two subjects are already named.
- 9. Highlight contrasting trends Suggested revision: Add that face-to-face study fell markedly while mixed-media study rose substantially across the period. Why it matters: This contrast is the clearest overall change shown by the three charts.
Suggested Rewrites
- studying study
- was via face to face courses, while was via face-to-face courses, while
- 13% mixed media courses 13% studied via mixed-media courses
- 10 Ten
- were now studying studied
- Studying face to face continued Face-to-face study continued
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response gives a clear overview and accurately covers every course type across all three years, with well-selected figures and useful comparisons. Organisation is strong and meaning is consistently clear, though some repetitive phrasing, minor omissions, and awkward constructions limit linguistic polish; the best improvement would be to vary comparison structures and refine sentence-level accuracy while preserving the concise coverage.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The overview and detailed figures accurately identify the dominant modes and the principal changes across all three years.
Refine the overview by explicitly highlighting the sharp rise in mixed-media study alongside the decline in face-to-face courses.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses logically from the overview through the three years, with clear paragraphing and generally effective linking.
Reduce repeated use of while and maintain clean spacing between figures and subsequent sentences.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is accurate and sufficiently varied for the task, although course and study phrasing is repeated several times.
Use a wider but natural range of references such as mode, proportion, enrolment, and method without sacrificing precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex comparisons are mostly well controlled, with only occasional omissions, awkward phrasing, and punctuation lapses.
Check elliptical clauses for missing verbs and remove redundant combinations such as both together with also.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The pie charts below show the different types of courses, which were followed by the students during the years of 1984, 1994 and 2004.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.