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.

205 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 chart compares the reasons why students choose particular university in UK in 1997 and 2007.5 reasons for the same are provided. It is clear that suitability of courses is the main reason throughout the period where as for other reasons there is a notable change. In 1997, good sports and social activities was the most popular reason at 19%. The chart on the left, however, is labelled 1987, not 1997, so the figures in the comparison should be read as 1987 and 2007.

In 1987, suitable degree courses was the largest category, at 35%, followed by quality of resources at 21%. Sports and social activities accounted for 19%, while quality of teaching represented 15%. The smallest reason was living close to parents, with 10%.

In 2007, suitable degree courses remained the top reason, increasing slightly to 37%. Living close to parents rose markedly from 10% to 22%, becoming the third-largest category. Quality of teaching also increased from 15% to 18%, whereas resources fell from 21% to 17%. The biggest fall was in sports and social activities, which dropped to just 6%.

Overall, courses remained the leading reason, while the importance of sports and social activities fell and living near parents became more important.

Targeted Improvement Tips

Before writing, check both chart headings; resolve the 1987-versus-1997 discrepancy explicitly and use the chart’s displayed year consistently.

Group the five categories by their main trends: courses stayed highest, parental-home proximity increased, and sports/social activities declined.

Proofread specifically for missing articles and subject–verb agreement, especially with plural category names such as “activities” and “courses.”

AI Feedback

Overall Band

4.0

Modest

Words

205

Type

Pie Chart

Criteria Breakdown

Task Achievement

5.0 Band

The overview identifies that “suitability of courses is the main reason” and the answer covers all five categories with figures for both years. The key limitation is the conflict between “In 1997” and the left chart’s 1987 label; the continuation flags this, but the opening still creates uncertainty. Next time, check chart headings first and clearly state which year you are using before comparing the data.

Coherence & Cohesion

5.0 Band

The answer moves from an overview to figures for the first chart, then the second, and ends with an overall comparison. Phrases such as “In 2007” make the sequence easy to follow. However, “2007.5 reasons” runs two sentences together, and the year clarification interrupts the description. Separate the opening sentences and place any chart-label clarification before the overview.

Lexical Resource

4.0 Band

The answer uses relevant chart language, including “accounted for,” “rose markedly” and “the biggest fall,” which helps describe proportions and change. Some wording is awkward or imprecise, especially “5 reasons for the same are provided” and “good sports and social activities.” Use the chart’s category labels consistently—for example, “good sports and social activities”—and choose concise comparison phrases.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

4.0 Band

There are some clear sentence patterns, including “which dropped to just 6%,” but errors affect accuracy. In “choose particular university in UK,” articles are missing; “where as” is incorrectly separated; and “activities was” has subject–verb disagreement. The continuation also has “suitable degree courses was.” Edit by checking articles and matching plural subjects with plural verbs before submitting.

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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