The table below shows types of YouTube ads, their average lengths and how long people watch them.
Sample Response
The table lists down different types of YouTube advertisements and shows the average length of those ads, as well as the duration viewers watch these adverts. As can be seen, public service adverts have the highest average length and people’s preference to view YouTube ads greatly varies. Analysing the table data reveals that there are mainly ten different types of adverts on YouTube and among them, public service advertisements have the maximum length which is approximately a minute and 7 seconds long. Business & finance, entertainment and lifestyle related adverts have average half a minute duration while technology ads have slightly more length – roughly 40 seconds. On the contrary, travel, retail, consumer electronics, clothing and pharmaceuticals adverts have somewhat 20 to 30 seconds duration. The average duration of all types of ads shown on YouTube is exactly 38.1 seconds. YouTube users watch slightly over 20 seconds of these ads which is approximately half the length of the average duration of all ads. Though people watch more than 28 seconds of public service ads, which is higher than that of other types of ads, the ratio between the actual length of ads and the duration people watch them is lower. In terms of this ratio, people watch more portion of entertainment & news, travel, retail and consumer electronics YouTube ads while they skip clothing, technology and business & finance adverts.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove phrasal verb error Original: lists down Suggested revision: lists Why it matters: List does not require down in this context.
- 2. Correct duration structure Original: duration viewers watch these adverts Suggested revision: average time viewers spend watching them Why it matters: The replacement uses the correct spend time doing structure.
- 3. Remove redundant word Original: table data Suggested revision: table Why it matters: Table already refers to the displayed data.
- 4. State the exact count Original: there are mainly ten Suggested revision: there are ten Why it matters: The table shows exactly ten advertising categories, so mainly is inaccurate.
- 5. Use comparative measure Original: maximum length Suggested revision: greatest average length Why it matters: The table compares average lengths rather than a single maximum advertisement.
- 6. State duration concisely Original: approximately a minute and 7 seconds long Suggested revision: approximately 67 seconds Why it matters: The concise numerical form avoids the redundant use of length and long.
- 7. Hyphenate compound modifier Original: lifestyle related Suggested revision: lifestyle-related Why it matters: A compound modifier before a noun should be hyphenated.
- 8. Correct duration phrase Original: have average half a minute duration Suggested revision: average about half a minute Why it matters: The replacement forms a grammatical verb phrase with average.
- 9. Use natural comparison Original: slightly more length Suggested revision: a slightly greater average length Why it matters: Greater average length is the natural quantitative comparison.
- 10. Use comparison linker Original: On the contrary Suggested revision: By comparison Why it matters: The next figures contrast in size but do not contradict the preceding statement.
- 11. Use adjective form Original: pharmaceuticals Suggested revision: pharmaceutical Why it matters: Pharmaceutical is the correct attributive form before adverts.
- 12. Correct range expression Original: have somewhat 20 to 30 seconds duration Suggested revision: last for approximately 20 to 30 seconds Why it matters: The replacement gives the range in a complete grammatical phrase.
Suggested Rewrites
- lists down lists
- duration viewers watch these adverts average time viewers spend watching them
- table data table
- there are mainly ten there are ten
- maximum length greatest average length
- approximately a minute and 7 seconds long approximately 67 seconds
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response’s strongest feature is its detailed, mostly accurate comparison of ad lengths, including the overall averages and the public-service maximum. Its main limitation is the final interpretation of viewing proportions: clothing and business-and-finance ads are wrongly grouped among those viewers largely skip, while the especially low proportions for public service and lifestyle are overlooked. Prioritise calculating and comparing viewed-time percentages consistently before drawing conclusions.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The response accurately covers the main length and viewing-time patterns with several well-selected figures, but its concluding ratio comparison contains important inaccuracies.
Identify entertainment and news as having the highest viewed proportion and public service and lifestyle as having the lowest, based on consistent calculations.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from ad lengths to viewing times and ratios, but the single-paragraph format and a few faulty connectors weaken cohesion.
Separate the overview, length comparisons, and viewing-ratio comparisons into distinct paragraphs and replace ‘On the contrary’ with a comparison connector.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient range for discussing advertisements and proportions, though recurring phrases such as ‘lists down’, ‘slightly more length’, and ‘watch more portion’ are unnatural.
Use precise combinations such as ‘lists’, ‘is slightly longer’, and ‘watch a larger proportion’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a variety of sentence forms, but article, noun-phrase, modifier, and comparative errors recur without seriously obscuring meaning.
Review countable noun phrases and construct comparisons with ‘longer than’, ‘a duration of’, and ‘a larger proportion of’.
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 table below shows types of YouTube ads, their average lengths and how long people watch them.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.