The charts below give information about USA marriage and divorce rates between 1970 and 2000, and the marital status of adult Americans in two of the years.
Sample Response
The bar graphs show information about marriage and divorce rate of USA from 1970 to 2000 and also illustrate marital status in two years 1970 and 2000. According to the first bar graph, as it can be seen clearly, initially marriage rate of USA was 2.5 million in the year 1970 which remained constant after one decade and started receding slightly afterwards. The total marriage rate in the USA remained exactly 2 million in the year 2000 respectively. On contrary, as is observed from the bar chart, in 1970 divorce rate was one million which magnified to 1.4 million after a decade but again dropping trend can be seen. And finally, divorce rate slumped to one million which was its initial state. On the other hand, as is presented in another bar graph, in 1970 total adult people were married by 70% while 15 % never got married. Widowed and divorced status remained just under 10% in 1970 which dropped to 3% approximately in the year 2000. Divorce status increased but remained under 10% but very close to 10%.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use plural rates Original: rate Suggested revision: rates Why it matters: Two separate measures require the plural noun “rates.”
- 2. Add article and preposition Original: of USA from 1970 to 2000 Suggested revision: in the USA from 1970 to 2000 Why it matters: Country references require “the USA,” and the figures are rates in that country.
- 3. Name the distribution Original: illustrate marital status Suggested revision: illustrate the marital-status distribution Why it matters: The second chart compares the percentages in four marital-status categories.
- 4. Simplify the time phrase Original: in two years 1970 and 2000 Suggested revision: in 1970 and 2000 Why it matters: The years can follow the preposition directly.
- 5. Remove redundant framing Original: According to the first bar graph, as it can be seen clearly, initially Suggested revision: In the first chart, Why it matters: The original combines several unnecessary introductory signals before the data.
- 6. Report a number Original: marriage rate of USA Suggested revision: number of marriages in the USA Why it matters: The chart measures annual totals in millions rather than a population rate.
- 7. State the year clearly Original: which remained constant after one decade Suggested revision: and remained unchanged in 1980 Why it matters: The chart shows the same 2.5 million total in 1970 and 1980.
- 8. Specify the next value Original: started receding slightly afterwards Suggested revision: then declined slightly to about 2.4 million in 1990 Why it matters: Naming the 1990 value makes the trend precise.
- 9. Use the measured unit Original: total marriage rate Suggested revision: number of marriages Why it matters: The bar represents a count in millions, not a rate.
- 10. Describe the decline Original: remained exactly Suggested revision: fell to Why it matters: The number decreased from the earlier values to 2 million in 2000.
- 11. Delete incorrect linker Original: respectively Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: “Respectively” is unnecessary because only one year and one value are paired.
- 12. Fix contrast phrase Original: On contrary Suggested revision: By contrast Why it matters: “By contrast” is the correct transition between the marriage and divorce trends.
Suggested Rewrites
- rate rates
- of USA from 1970 to 2000 in the USA from 1970 to 2000
- illustrate marital status illustrate the marital-status distribution
- in two years 1970 and 2000 in 1970 and 2000
- According to the first bar graph, as it can be seen clearly, initially In the first chart,
- marriage rate of USA number of marriages in the USA
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response communicates the broad marriage and divorce trends and uses some relevant figures, with an understandable progression between the two charts. Its main limitation is incomplete and partly inaccurate coverage of marital status, compounded by the absence of a clear overall summary. The highest priority is to state the major trends across both charts first, then verify every category and comparison against the visuals.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The main time-series trends are partly described, but the response lacks a clear overview and misreports or omits important marital-status data.
Add an explicit overview of both charts and check every marital-status change against the visual before selecting details.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a broadly understandable chart-by-chart sequence, although progression is weakened by awkward linking and dense presentation.
Organise the report into an overview and separate detail paragraphs, using simple logical transitions between comparisons.
Lexical Resource
There is enough vocabulary to describe trends and proportions, but several collocations are unnatural or imprecise.
Use conventional data-reporting verbs and accurate noun phrases instead of exaggerated or nonstandard trend language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of sentence structures conveys the main meaning, though recurring article, preposition, agreement, and clause-control errors reduce accuracy.
Prioritise complete, well-punctuated sentences and check articles and prepositions in statistical descriptions.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The charts below give information about USA marriage and divorce rates between 1970 and 2000, and the marital status of adult Americans in two of the years.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.