The bar chart below shows the percentage of government spending on roads and transport in 4 countries in the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005.
Sample Response
The given bar chart shows the proportion of government expenditure on roadsroad and transport in four countries (Italy, Portugal, the UK and the USA)(Italy, Portugal, UK, USA) every five years between 1990 and 2005.
Overall, it can be seen that governments in mainland Europe spent a much higher proportion of their budgetsfar more money on roads and transport than those in the UK and USA. It is also clear that the UK spent the least amount of money on roads and transport in all measured years.
In 1990, Portugal allocated the highest proportionspent the most amount of money on roads and transport at approximately 27%, followed by Italy at about 22%, while the USA and UK both spent only around 10% of their government budget. In 1995, howeverIn 1995 however, all countries reduced their road and transport spending by between 1-3%.
By 2000, whileBy 2000 while Portugal continued to reduce its road and transport spending tospending down to around 22%, Italy had increased its spending to approximately 23%, overtaking Portugal as the leading spender on transport infrastructure in 2000. The UK and USA had both increased spending in 2000 by about 3%. In 2005, all countries except USA further reduced their spending with Portugal, Italy, UK and the USA at 20%, 19%, 8% and 15% respectively.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response presents a clear overview and selects the chart's main comparisons very effectively, with figures and changes reported accurately across all four years. Its organization is logical and its vocabulary is appropriately varied, while only occasional awkward phrasing and punctuation lapses limit polish. The main improvement is to refine sentence boundaries and collocations so that the otherwise precise analysis reads more naturally and fluently.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response fully addresses the task with an accurate overview, well-selected comparisons, and precise figures for the principal changes in all four countries.
For maximum precision, distinguish the close but not identical 1990 figures for the UK and USA rather than grouping them both simply as around 10%.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overview through 1990 and 1995 to the later years, with cohesive devices used clearly and appropriately.
Improve the flow of the final paragraph by punctuating the opening time clauses more clearly and avoiding an overly dense closing sentence.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and precise, with effective use of terms such as 'government expenditure,' 'overtaking,' and 'transport infrastructure,' despite a few awkward collocations.
Replace expressions such as 'the most amount of money' with the more natural 'the largest proportion of spending' and vary repeated references to roads and transport.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of simple and complex structures is used accurately, though occasional missing commas and minor article or phrasing errors remain.
Add commas after introductory elements such as 'In 1995, however,' and carefully punctuate clauses beginning with 'while' to sharpen grammatical control.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The bar chart below shows the percentage of government spending on roads and transport in 4 countries in the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.