The charts below show the differences in how people in 3 countries learned English in 2010 and 2015.

Sample Response

1

The pie charts illustrate the proportions of people learning English in the three countriesdifferent countries in 2010 and 2015.

2

In general, the percentage of people learning English online increased in all countries while the opposite was true for those attending evening classes, with the largest fall in country Bespecially in country B. In addition, no one went abroad to learn English in country C in 2010 while this choice was fairly popular in the other two countries.

3

In 2010, 94% of English learners in country C attended evening English classes, compared to 70% in country A and 72% in country B. In contrast, no English learners in country C chose to study abroad while the figures in countriescountry A and B were 25% and 20%, respectively. The proportions of people learning English online were under 10% in all countries (5% in country A, 8% in country B and 6% in country C).

4

After five5 years, there were significant changes in the percentage of people learning online, with the most notable change beingmost noticeable being a fourfold increase to 32% in country B. The figures for countriescountry A and C also rose to 10% and 15%, respectively. Conversely, the percentage of people going to evening classes saw a downward trend, with a drop of 3% in country A, 24% in country B and 12% in country C. The figures for people learning English abroad did not change much as they remained at around 20% and higher in country A and B while country C saw a small increase of just 3%.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 8.0

The response provides a clear overview and accurately compares the major shifts across all three countries, supported by a comprehensive and well-selected range of figures. Its main limitation is occasional imprecision in phrasing, particularly the broad description of overseas study in Countries A and B. The highest-priority improvement is to state the smaller changes in overseas study more exactly while maintaining the concise comparative structure.

Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

TA

Task Achievement

8.0
Scoring rule

A clear overview and accurate, comprehensive comparisons identify the important changes and support them with relevant figures.

Next step

Describe the modest changes in studying abroad for Countries A and B with the same numerical precision used elsewhere.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

8.0
Scoring rule

Information is logically sequenced into an overview and two well-focused detail paragraphs, with cohesive devices used naturally.

Next step

Vary the repeated figure-based referencing slightly to make the progression even smoother.

LR

Lexical Resource

8.0
Scoring rule

Vocabulary is varied and precise, including effective language for proportions, contrasts, and changing trends.

Next step

Use more exact wording than the broad phrase around 20% and higher when values differ only slightly.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

8.0
Scoring rule

A wide range of complex structures is handled accurately, with only very minor lapses that do not affect clarity.

Next step

Maintain plural agreement in references to multiple countries, such as Countries A and B.

Put the feedback to work

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 charts below show the differences in how people in 3 countries learned English in 2010 and 2015.

Your response

Words0
20:00

Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.