The bar graph below shows the numbers of male and female research students studying six subjects at a US university in 2011.
Sample Response
The given bar graph shows data on the number of male and female research students who were studying six different subjectswho were studying in six different subjects at a US university in 2011. OverallAs is observed from the given data, more male students were doing research in mathematics, programming and engineering subjects while in Linguisticslinguistic subjects, more females were in research-related studiesresearch related study than their male counterpartscounterpart. According to the graph, 200 males were doing their research in Mathematics in 2011 whereas only about 40 female students were in the same subjectfaculty. The only subject in which the number of female researchers was higher than the male was Linguistics amounting to more than 100 femalesamounting more than 100 females compared with around 80 malescompared to the around 80 males. More students were doing their research in PsychologyPhycology and Natural Science than in Engineering and ProgrammingNatural Science than Engineering and Programming. Interestingly the number of students in Natural Science was the same for males and femaleswas same for male and female and at 200 eachthat was 200. In both Engineering and ProgrammingAgain, both in Engineering and Programming there were 150 male students compared with fewer than 100 female studentsto the less than 100 female students. In conclusion, more males were in research studies in Mathematics, Programming, Engineering and Psychology than women in the given US universityUniversity in 2011 than females. Female research students only outnumberedsuperseded males in linguistic research.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response clearly identifies several central gender patterns and supports them with relevant figures, including the male lead in Mathematics and equal participation in Natural Science. Its main weakness is an imprecise overview, compounded by an unclear comparison and some underdeveloped totals. Prioritise a concise overview that accurately contrasts the four male-dominated subjects with the female lead in Linguistics and the equal numbers in Natural Science.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report identifies the main gender patterns and includes several useful figures, such as the male lead in Mathematics and equality in Natural Science. However, the overview is not fully precise, one comparison is unclear, and some key totals are underdeveloped.
Make the overview state the three main features clearly: males outnumbered females in four subjects, females led only in Linguistics, and Natural Science was equal at 200 each.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is mostly sequenced logically, but the report is a single block and the conclusion repeats the overview with a grammar problem rather than synthesising the chart cleanly.
Use four short paragraphs: introduction, overview, male-dominated subjects, and Linguistics/Natural Science comparisons.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is adequate for describing the chart, but there are several inaccurate or awkward choices, including 'Phycology', 'superseded', and 'same faculty'.
Use precise chart language such as 'subject', 'stood at', 'outnumbered', 'equal numbers', and 'research students'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is generally clear, but grammar errors occur in comparisons, articles, plural agreement, and the final sentence. These errors reduce precision.
Practise comparison structures: 'more males than females', 'the same number of male and female students', and 'fewer than 100 female students'.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The bar graph below shows the numbers of male and female research students studying six subjects at a US university in 2011.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.