Writing Academic Task 1 Band 9.0 Example

The bar chart compares the number of girls per 100 boys enrolled in primary, secondary, and tertiary education in both developing and developed countries in 1990 and 1998. A benchmark of gender equality is indicated by the target line at 100. Overall, developed countries consistently had more balanced, and even female-dominant, enrollment across all education levels, with the female advantage occurring only in tertiary education. In developing countries, by contrast, girls' representation fell short of parity at every stage. The figures generally increased between 1990 and 1998, although the size of the change varied by level and country group.

In developing countries, the ratio in primary education rose from 83 to 87 girls per 100 boys. The secondary figure increased more sharply, from 72 to 82, while tertiary enrolment climbed from 66 to 75. Thus, the gap was widest in tertiary education in both years.

The developed-country figures were much closer to equality in primary and secondary schooling. Primary ratios edged up from 95 to 96, and secondary ratios from 98 to 99. At tertiary level, however, girls outnumbered boys: the ratio rose from 105 in 1990 to 112 in 1998, the highest value shown. Overall, progress occurred in both groups, but parity was reached or exceeded only in developed-country tertiary education.