The charts below give information on the ages of the populations of Yemen and Italy in 2000 and projections for 2050.
Sample Response
The pie charts illustrate the proportions of the populationsproportion of populations in Yemen and Italy according to three age groups3 different age groups in 2000, with projections for 2050with the future forecast for 2050. It can be seen that in both countries the general trend is for a predicted increase in the proportionpopulation of people aged 60+ and a decrease in those aged 0-14 by 2050. Looking at Yemen in 2000, around half of the population was aged 0-14 but this is predicted to fall by 13.1 percentage pointsdecline by 13% by 2050. By contrastOn the contrary, the 60+ age group will increase by 2.1 percentage pointsincrease by 2% by 2050 to a figure of 5.7%. Likewise, those aged 15–59 are forecastLikewise, those aged 15-59 years is forecast to increase from 46.3% to 57.3%. Turning now to Italy in 2000, there is a similar rise predicted for the 60+ age groupfor 60 plus age group,; from around 24% in 2000 to 42.3% by 2050. The 0–14 age groupThe -0-14 age-groups, aslike in Yemen, is predicted to decrease by around 3% by 2050 to a figure of 11.5%. Those aged 15–59 are forecast to plummetThose aged 15-59 years is forecast to plummet by about 15% to a figure of 46.2%. To conclude, in Yemen and Italy we are projected to seewould expect to observe an increase in the proportion aged 60+increase in elderly in 60+ by 2050. By contrast, it is predicted that the 0-14 age group would plummet by 2050.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response accurately reports the principal changes in both countries, supports them with nearly all the relevant figures, and provides a clear overview of the shared ageing trend. Its main limitation is presentation: the single-block structure, some awkward linking, and recurring agreement errors reduce fluency. The highest priority is to organise the overview and country details into distinct paragraphs while checking subject-verb agreement.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response gives a clear overview and accurately covers the main changes and relevant figures for all age groups in both countries.
Make the contrast between the countries' different working-age trends explicit and describe changes as percentage-point shifts where appropriate.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overview to Yemen and then Italy, but the single-block presentation and a few imprecise links weaken cohesion.
Separate the introduction, overview, and country details into purposeful paragraphs and use linking phrases only where the relationship is exact.
Lexical Resource
A good range of task-appropriate vocabulary conveys trends clearly, although a few choices such as repeated use of "plummet" are imprecise or overstated.
Choose trend verbs that match the scale of each change and replace awkward phrases with concise demographic language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied sentence structures successfully, but recurring subject-verb agreement and article errors remain noticeable.
Check agreement in structures such as "those aged 15-59 are forecast" and add articles consistently before named age groups.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The charts below give information on the ages of the populations of Yemen and Italy in 2000 and projections for 2050.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.