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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 5.0 Example

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

198 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 5.0

The chart represents the number of girls per 100 boys enrolled at various levels of school education with the target of 100 girls. On the x-axis, two types of development countries are displayed, while the y-axis indicates the quantity ranging from 0 to 120. To begin with, primary and secondary education have very similar characteristics. However, the figures are not equally close to the target in every category. In developing countries, the number is below 100 at all three levels, falling from 83 in primary education to 72 in secondary and 66 in tertiary education in 1990. The corresponding figures in 1998 were higher, at 87, 82 and 75. In developed countries, the ratios were higher overall: primary and secondary levels were close to the target, at 95 and 98 in 1990, rising slightly to 96 and 99 in 1998. Tertiary education was the only level above the target, increasing from 105 to 112. Overall, the figures increased between 1990 and 1998 in all six groups. The gap between developing and developed countries was largest at tertiary level, while it was smaller in primary education. Thus, access in developing countries remained furthest from parity, especially in higher education.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Replace the axis-description opening with a concise paraphrase that states what is measured and names the two country groups.
2
Add a clear overview before the details: mention that all figures rose from 1990 to 1998, and that developed-country values were higher, especially at tertiary level.
3
Check every figure against the chart and use a consistent comparison pattern, such as reporting 1990 first and 1998 second for each group.

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