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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 8.0 Example

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

203 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 each country group with the parity benchmark of 100, noting that developed countries reached or exceeded it only in tertiary education.
  • Identify the largest increase: developing countries’ secondary ratio rose by 10 points, from 72 to 82.
  • Highlight the widest gap: tertiary education in 1998 had figures of 75 in developing countries and 112 in developed countries.

Suggested structure

  1. Paraphrase what the chart measures and state the years and education levels.
  2. Give an overview of the overall group difference and identify the most notable level.
  3. Describe the three developing-country ratios, including their changes over time and position relative to 100.
  4. Compare the developed-country figures and finish with the largest gap.
Useful vocabulary & examples
gender parity
Equal representation of females and males, shown here by a ratio of 100 girls per 100 boys.

The developed-country primary ratio was close to gender parity in both years.

edge up
Increase by a small amount.

The developed-country primary ratio edged up from 95 to 96.

remain below the target
Stay under a stated benchmark or goal.

All three developing-country ratios remained below the target of 100 in 1998.

the gap between the groups
The difference between the figures for two categories.

The gap between the groups was largest in tertiary education in 1998.

Task Prompt

The chart below shows the number of girls per 100 boys enrolled in different levels of school education.
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 8.0

The bar chart compares the number of females per 100 males enrolled in primary, secondary, and tertiary education in both developing and developed countries in 1990 and 1998. A target enrollment ratio of 100, representing gender parity, is also indicated. Overall, developed countries consistently recorded higher female-to-male ratios than developing countries across all education levels, with the difference especially pronounced at tertiary level. In developing countries, female enrolment rose from 83 to 87 per 100 boys in primary education, from 72 to 82 in secondary education, and from 66 to 75 in tertiary education between 1990 and 1998. Thus, although all three ratios improved, none reached the target of 100. By contrast, developed countries were close to parity in primary and secondary schooling: primary ratios edged up from 95 to 96, while secondary figures increased slightly from 98 to 99. At tertiary level, the ratio was already above the target, rising from 105 to 112. The largest gap between the two country groups occurred in tertiary education in 1998, when the figures were 75 and 112, a difference of 37 girls per 100 boys. Overall changes were modest in developed countries, whereas gains were more noticeable in developing countries, particularly in secondary education.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Make the overview contrast the developed-country figures near 100 in primary and secondary education with the above-target tertiary figures.
2
When presenting the three developing-country values, add a brief comparison of their gains: the increase was largest in secondary education, at 10 points.
3
Use a concise concluding comparison to highlight the 37-point tertiary gap in 1998, rather than restating a general trend already covered in the overview.

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