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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 7.0 Example

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

190 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 7.0

The chart illustrates the number of girls per hundred boys attending school at various educational levels over an 8-year period. Overall, developing countries reached their targets in secondary education from 1999 to 1998. However, the least developed countries showed a notable shortfall in tertiary education, with percentages ranging from 66 to 75. Examining the detailed figures, primary ratios rose slightly in both groups: from 83 to 87 in developing countries and from 95 to 96 in developed countries. In secondary education, the developing-country figure increased more substantially, from 72 to 82, while the developed-country figure edged up from 98 to 99. Thus, both groups remained below the target of 100 in these two stages, although developed countries were closer to it. The tertiary results differ. Developing countries recorded the lowest figures, climbing from 66 to 75, whereas developed countries rose from 105 to 112 and exceeded the target in both years. Across all three levels, developed countries had higher ratios than developing countries. The strongest improvement among the six comparisons was in developed-country tertiary education, up seven points; developing-country primary and developed-country primary rose by four and one points, respectively.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Before drafting, list the two years, the three education levels and the target value of 100; use these notes to verify every comparison.
2
Write an overview that identifies the broad pattern: developing-country ratios stay below the target, while developed-country tertiary ratios exceed it.
3
Use “girls per 100 boys” or “ratio” consistently, and check that every group name matches the chart labels.

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