The chart below shows the percentage of male and female teachers in six different types of educational setting in the UK in 2010.
Sample Response
The column graph compares the male and female teachers’ ratio in six different levels of educational institutions in the United Kingdom in 2010. As an overall trend, colleges and universities in the UK had more male lecturers while more female teachers were employed in lowers grades. As can be seen from the diagram, the ratio of female instructors in the UK in 2010 was quite higher in the nursery and elementary levels as their percentage was around 90%. The female academics in secondary level was just above the half while an exact ratio of male and female lecturers could be observed in colleges. A contrasting scenario was visible in universities and private training institutes as male teachers dominated these two educational settings. In university level, 3 females were employed against 7 male mentors while this ratio was 4 by 5 in private institutes who provided training courses. In summary, male teachers in the UK was higher in numbers in upper grades while this was completely opposite in primary and pre-school levels.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use chart term Original: column graph Suggested revision: bar chart Why it matters: “Bar chart” is the more conventional term for this visual.
- 2. Report percentages Original: male and female teachers’ ratio Suggested revision: percentages of male and female teachers Why it matters: The chart presents two percentages in each setting rather than one ratio.
- 3. Match task wording Original: levels of educational institutions Suggested revision: types of educational setting Why it matters: The categories include a training institute as well as educational levels.
- 4. Correct overview groups Original: colleges and universities Suggested revision: private training institutes and universities Why it matters: Men exceed women in these two settings, while college is exactly balanced.
- 5. Correct adjective form Original: lowers grades Suggested revision: lower levels Why it matters: “Lower” is the correct comparative adjective, and “levels” is more accurate here.
- 6. Use percentage Original: ratio of female instructors Suggested revision: percentage of female teachers Why it matters: The vertical scale reports percentages, not a female-only ratio.
- 7. Natural comparison Original: quite Suggested revision: much Why it matters: “Much higher” is the natural intensifier for this comparison.
- 8. Use exact categories Original: in the nursery and elementary levels Suggested revision: in nursery/pre-school and primary education Why it matters: These are the category names shown on the horizontal axis.
- 9. Use plural agreement Original: their percentage was Suggested revision: the percentages were Why it matters: Two separate educational settings require a plural subject and verb.
- 10. Describe chart measure Original: The female academics Suggested revision: The percentage of female teachers Why it matters: The chart measures a percentage rather than referring to a group of academics.
- 11. Correct preposition Original: in secondary level Suggested revision: at secondary-school level Why it matters: “At ... level” is the correct construction.
- 12. Natural proportion phrase Original: just above the half Suggested revision: just over half Why it matters: “Just over half” is the standard expression for approximately 55%.
Suggested Rewrites
- column graph bar chart
- male and female teachers’ ratio percentages of male and female teachers
- levels of educational institutions types of educational setting
- colleges and universities private training institutes and universities
- lowers grades lower levels
- ratio of female instructors percentage of female teachers
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response covers all six settings and uses a generally clear lower-level-to-higher-level comparison, with most figures represented accurately. Its main weakness is an inaccurate overview claim that colleges had more men, despite the chart and a later sentence showing an equal split; some ratio wording and grammar are also imprecise. Prioritise making the overview fully accurate and consistent, then state percentages directly and proofread agreement and prepositions.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All six settings are addressed with mostly accurate comparisons, but the overview incorrectly groups colleges with male-dominated universities.
State the central pattern accurately: women predominated in nursery, primary and secondary education, colleges were equal, and men predominated in the final two settings.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a sensible progression across educational levels, but the repeated concluding overview and the contradiction about colleges weaken cohesion.
Present one accurate overview after the introduction, then organise the details into female-dominated, equal and male-dominated groups.
Lexical Resource
There is useful range in terms such as "instructors," "academics" and "dominated," though several ratio and education-level expressions lack precision.
Prefer direct percentage language and standard phrases such as "at university level," "an equal split" and "approximately 57% male."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sentence structures show some variety, but recurring errors in agreement, articles and prepositions reduce grammatical control.
Proofread constructions such as "female academics were," "at university level" and "the number of male teachers was higher."
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The chart below shows the percentage of male and female teachers in six different types of educational setting in the UK in 2010.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.