The charts below show the main reasons for study among students of different age groups and the amount of support they received from employers.
Sample Response
The charts depict why students at different ages study and also give information about the support (time off or financial aid) they received from their employers. Overall, it is evident that students under 40young people (under 40 years) study mainly for career reasonsstudy because of their career prospects while the majority of older people study out of interestbecause of their interest. With regard to motivations, most students under 40the majority of people under 40 years study in order to advance their careerspromote their career, although this proportion declinesthis attitude varies depending on the respondents' agesage of polled people. To start with, 80% of students80% students aged under 26 reportedunder 26 years express that they study for career reasonsbecause of career preparation while just 10% study out of intereststudy for interest in subjects. In older cohorts, 70% of students aged 26–2926-29 years old students and 58% of students aged 30–39 say30-39 years old students, say that career plays an important role, while among those aged 40–49in the group of 40-49, career and interest are equallysimilarly important. People over 49 mainly study because of interest (70%). Regarding support they received from offices, approximately 62% of interviewees under 26 years said that they got support from their employers whereas the majority of students being older than 25 did not receive much help from their companies.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response presents the age-related shift from career motivation to personal interest clearly and supports it with several accurate percentages. Its main limitation is the employer-support chart, which receives only one figure and an overgeneralised description, leaving its fall and later recovery unexplained. The highest-priority improvement is to add a balanced overview and key comparisons for that second dataset.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The motivation chart is summarised accurately with a clear main trend, but the employer-support chart is substantially underdeveloped and its changing pattern is not captured.
Add the decline from the youngest group to ages 30–39 and the subsequent recovery among the two oldest groups, using selected figures.
Coherence and Cohesion
The report follows a clear introduction-overview-detail sequence with appropriate transitions, although placing everything in one paragraph weakens the visual grouping of the two charts.
Use separate detail paragraphs for study motivations and employer support so each dataset has a distinct, balanced progression.
Lexical Resource
There is enough range to describe age groups, motives, and proportions, but expressions such as ‘polled people’ and ‘support from offices’ are imprecise.
Prefer accurate chart language such as ‘respondents’, ‘employer support’, ‘career-related study’, and ‘study for interest’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied complex sentences successfully, while recurring article, plural, age-label, and punctuation errors remain noticeable but rarely obscure meaning.
Edit quantified noun phrases and age groups carefully, for example ‘80% of students’ and ‘students aged 26–29’.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The charts below show the main reasons for study among students of different age groups and the amount of support they received from employers.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.