The table below shows the number of medals won by the top ten countries in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Sample Response
The table shows the medal totals for the ten leading nationslist of top ten medal-winning nations in the 2012 London Olympic GamesLondon Olympic Games, 2012. OverallGenerally speaking, the United States won the highest number of medals while Hungary ranked ninthstood at the 9th position at these Olympic Gamesin this Olympic Games with the least number of medals. In detaildetails, the United States won 104 medals in totalthe US athletes won 104 medals in total, the highest, and they also achieved the greatest number of gold (46) and silver (29) medals. The highest number of bronzeBronze medals (32) was won by RussiaRussian participants. Two Asian countries that were in the top tentop-ten-list were China and South Korea. China won 88 medals in total, including 38 gold medalsof which 29 were gold medals. South Korea was in 5th position with a total of 28 medalswith their 28 total medals. The UK and RussiaUK and Russia were in 3rd and 4th positions respectively with 65 and 82 medals. Although Russia won more medals than the UK, they were in 4th position because the UK participants won more gold medals which seems to carry greater weightwhich seem to have better points than silver and bronze medals to be in the top position. Other countries thatwho were in the top-ten-list were Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Australia with less than 50 medals each. The country with the fewest gold medalsThe least gold medal-winning country was Australia and they were in the 10th position of the list.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The report selects several useful extremes and comparisons, including the United States’ dominance, Russia’s bronze total and the relationship between medal totals and gold-based ranking. However, China’s gold figure is incorrect, some phrasing confuses medals with countries, and the one-paragraph presentation limits clarity. Improve by checking every number against the table and grouping comparisons more systematically.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A relevant overview and major comparisons are provided, but China's gold count is wrong and coverage is somewhat selective.
Verify all figures and compare the leading, middle and lower-ranked countries in organised groups.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas follow a broadly logical sequence, but the report is one dense paragraph and some long sentences weaken progression.
Separate the overview and organise detail by ranking group or medal pattern.
Lexical Resource
There is adequate table vocabulary, though several forms such as in details and top-ten-list are awkward.
Use standard academic collocations such as in detail, ranked, total medal tally, and bronze medals.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning remains clear despite recurring article, agreement, capitalisation and reference errors.
Check plural reference and subject-verb agreement, especially when countries are the grammatical subject.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The table below shows the number of medals won by the top ten countries in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.