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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.

193 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 4.0

The figure illustartes the count of male and female students who enrolled in various stage of studies such as primary, secondary and tertiary in both developing and developed countries in 1990 and 1998. Overall, it is clear from the graph that, in majority of levels, the number of girl joiners is less than that of boys. The chart gives figures for girls per 100 boys, and the green line marks a target of 100. In every education level, developed countries recorded higher ratios than developing countries. The figures also rose between 1990 and 1998 in all six groups, although most remained below the target.

In primary education, developing countries increased from 83 to 87 girls per 100 boys, while the corresponding figures for developed countries were 95 and 96. At secondary level, the ratio in developing countries climbed from 72 to 82; developed countries were close to the target, at 98 in 1990 and 99 in 1998.

The lowest numbers were in tertiary education in developing countries, at 66 and 75 respectively. By contrast, developed countries were the only group to exceed the target, rising from 105 in 1990 to 112 in 1998.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Replace “count” with “number of girls per 100 boys” in the introduction so the reader immediately understands what the chart measures.
2
Write an overview that states both main patterns: ratios are higher in developed countries and rise over time, while only developed-country tertiary education exceeds 100.
3
Before submitting, check the opening for spelling, articles, plural nouns, and unnatural word combinations; read each phrase aloud while checking the text.

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