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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 4.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

235 words AcademicTask 1Bar Chart
Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Compare the sexes by age band: men have the higher rate only among 15–24-year-olds.
  • Describe the contrasting patterns: the male rate falls to a low among 35–44-year-olds before recovering, while the female rate rises to a plateau above 50% from ages 35 to 64.
  • Highlight the endpoint: the two rates are almost equal among people aged 65 and over.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the chart, population, measure, age groups, and year.
  2. Give an overview of the main gender contrast and the near-equal oldest-group figures.
  3. Describe the male figures across the age groups, noting the low and later recovery.
  4. Describe the female figures, noting the rise and peak, then compare the oldest group.
Useful vocabulary & examples
participation rate
The percentage of a group taking part in an activity.

The male participation rate reached its lowest point among 35–44-year-olds.

reach a low
Fall to the smallest value in the figures being discussed.

The figure for men reached a low of roughly 39% in the 35–44 age group.

peak at
Reach the highest value in a set of figures.

Female participation peaked at approximately 53% in two age groups.

remain almost level
Be very similar, with only a small difference.

The male and female rates remained almost level among those aged 65 and over.

Task Prompt

The bar chart below shows the percentage of Australian men and women in different age groups who did regular physical activity in 2010.
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 4.0

The bar graph depicts the proportion of Australian people who did regular physical activity according to their age groups in the period of 2010. Overall, it is apparent from the provided information that, the proportion of female were more engaged in outdoor activities compared to men in the period fo time. Getting into details portrayed in the bar chart, the figures for men and women are shown in six age groups. In the 15 to 24 group, men had about 53%, while women were about 48%. But in the 25 to 34 group, women were about 49% and men about 42%. For ages 35 to 44, females were around 52%, and males were near 39%. This is a big difference. In the 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 groups, the female percentage was almost the same, at about 53%. The male figure was 43% for ages 45 to 54 and 45% for ages 55 to 64. For people aged 65 and over, the two figures were close, with women at about 47% and men at about 46%. The highest rate for men was in the youngest group, but their lowest rate was for ages 35 to 44. For women, the lowest was in the 15 to 24 group, and their activity was highest in the middle age groups. So women did regular exercise more than men in most age groups, except the youngest group.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Replace the opening’s “outdoor activities” with “regular physical activity,” which is the measure shown in the chart.
2
Write a precise overview: women’s rates are higher in most age groups, men lead among 15–24-year-olds, and the 65-and-over figures are nearly equal.
3
Check each age band against the bars, then proofread for agreement and spelling—for example, “women were” and “period of time.”

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