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.

194 words AcademicTask 1Pie Chart

Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

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Ideas to explore

Compare the leading reason across both years: suitable degree courses ranked first, rising slightly from 35% to 37%.
Highlight the largest increase: choosing a university close to the parental home went from 10% to 22%.
Contrast the sharpest decline with the smaller fall: sports and social activities dropped from 19% to 6%, while quality of resources moved from 21% to 17%.

Suggested structure

Paraphrase the chart topic and identify both years.
Give an overview of the top reason and the most notable increases and decreases.
Describe the 1987 figures, grouping the largest and smallest categories.
Compare the 2007 figures with 1987, using exact percentages and clear change language.

Useful vocabulary & examples

accounted for: made up a particular percentage or share
Suitable degree courses accounted for 35% of responses in 1987.
rose slightly: increased by a small amount
The share choosing suitable degree courses rose slightly to 37%.
increased considerably: grew by a noticeable amount
The proportion choosing a university close to home increased considerably, from 10% to 22%.
fell substantially: decreased by a large amount
Good sports and social activities fell substantially, from 19% to 6%.

Task Prompt

The charts below show the main reasons why students chose a particular university in the UK, in 1997 and 2007.

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 4.0

The pie charts illustrates that key factors influencing students’ choice of UK universities in 1987 and 2007. Overall, Close to parental home rose during time-frame, while a fall could be observed in the share of Quality of resources. Furthermore, Suitable degree courses was the most dominant category over others, but only a small fraction of students selected good sports and social activities in 2007, at 6%. In 1987, suitable degree courses were the leading reason, at 35%, followed by quality of resources at 21% and good sports and social activities at 19%. Quality of teaching accounted for 15%, while living close to parents was the least common reason, at 10%.

By 2007, courses remained the top choice and increased slightly to 37%. The proportion choosing to be close to their parental home rose markedly to 22%, becoming the second-largest category. Quality of teaching also edged up, from 15% to 18%. In contrast, quality of resources declined modestly, from 21% to 17%, while sports and social activities experienced the biggest fall, dropping from 19% to just 6%. Overall, course suitability stayed dominant, while proximity to home gained importance and extracurricular activities became much less influential.

Targeted Improvement Tips

Write the overview using measured proportions as subjects: state which reasons increased and decreased, then identify the largest category.

Check each chart label against both years before drafting; include all five categories and retain the exact figures shown.

Proofread the opening for plural agreement and sentence subjects, especially “charts illustrate” and “the proportion rose.”

AI Feedback

Overall Band

4.0

Modest

Words

194

Type

Pie Chart

Criteria Breakdown

Task Achievement

6.5 Band

The completed response covers all five reasons and reports the key figures accurately, including the rise in courses from 35% to 37% and the fall in sports and social activities from 19% to 6%. The overview identifies the main changes, although “Close to parental home rose” is not expressed precisely as a share or proportion. The task wording says 1997, while the chart itself is labelled 1987; your year matches the visual. Next, make the overview’s comparisons explicit.

Coherence & Cohesion

6.0 Band

The answer moves from an overview to details for 1987 and then 2007, making comparisons easy to follow. Phrases such as “In contrast” and “while” help signal changes between categories. However, the overview’s capitalised category labels and the transition into the first-year details make the opening feel less polished. Keep the overview concise, then group the figures by year or by rising and falling categories consistently.

Lexical Resource

5.5 Band

There is useful task-specific vocabulary in phrases such as “second-largest category,” “declined modestly,” and “the biggest fall.” The response also varies how it describes changes. Some wording is unnatural or imprecise, particularly “rose during time-frame” and “the most dominant category over others.” Use standard chart language such as “the proportion choosing…” and “the largest reason,” and avoid unnecessary capitals in category names.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

5.0 Band

The answer uses a mix of simple and more extended sentences, including comparisons with “while” and “in contrast.” However, the opening contains clear agreement errors: “The pie charts illustrates” and “Suitable degree courses was.” “Close to parental home rose during time-frame” also lacks a clear grammatical subject and natural phrasing. Check subject–verb agreement, especially with plural nouns, and make the measured item—the percentage or proportion—the subject of change statements.

Topic Band Distribution

Band 9.03 examples

Band 8.03 examples

Band 7.03 examples

Band 6.03 examples

Band 5.03 examples

Band 4.03 examples

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