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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 8.0 Example

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

202 words AcademicTask 1Pie 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 the largest category in each direction: aircraft parts are $72 million from the US to Vietnam, while coffee is $23 million from Vietnam to the US.
  • Highlight the gap between the leading and smaller categories: US exports include other goods at $35 million and machinery at $30.5 million, while Vietnam’s garments and other exports are both $2 million.
  • Point out close values where they help summarise the data: Vietnam’s seafood ($4.4 million) and rice ($4.3 million) are almost equal.

Suggested structure

  1. Paraphrase what the charts compare and state that values are in millions of dollars.
  2. Give an overview naming the leading category in each direction and any notable tie or overall contrast.
  3. Describe US-to-Vietnam exports from the largest value to the smallest.
  4. Describe Vietnam-to-US exports in descending order, grouping the close seafood and rice figures and the tied lowest figures.
Useful vocabulary & examples
account for
to make up or represent a stated amount or share

Aircraft parts account for $72 million of exports to Vietnam.

be valued at
to have a stated monetary value

Machinery is valued at $30.5 million.

be tied at
to have the same value as another category

Garments and other exports are tied at $2 million.

followed by
used to introduce the next item in a ranking

Coffee leads at $23 million, followed by fruit and vegetables at $16 million.

Task Prompt

The pie charts below shows exports between the US and Vietnam
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 8.0

The pie charts illustrate the monetary value of exports between Vietnam and the US in millions of dollars. Overall, coffee represents the largest export from Vietnam to the US, while aircraft parts make up the majority of US exports to Vietnam. In detail, Vietnam exported $23 million worth of coffee to the US, followed by fruit and vegetables at $16 million. Much smaller amounts were recorded for seafood ($4.4 million) and rice ($4.3 million), while garments and other goods each accounted for $2 million.

By contrast, aircraft parts were the most valuable US export to Vietnam, at $72 million. This was followed by other goods, worth $35 million, and machinery, at $30.5 million. Fertiliser exports amounted to $16.5 million, while cotton and cars were lower, at $12 million and $6 million respectively.

Overall, the two directions show different leading products: coffee was Vietnam's largest listed export, whereas aircraft parts led US exports. However, although aircraft parts were the largest single category among US exports, $72 million does not represent a majority of the total shown. Vietnam's exports were also more concentrated in coffee and fruit and vegetables, while the US chart shows several sizeable categories after aircraft parts.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Check the meaning of “majority” against the whole chart: distinguish a largest single category from more than half of all exports.
2
Write one overview that names the leading category in each direction, then avoid restating it with different or conflicting claims later.
3
After reporting each group of figures, add a brief comparison, such as noting that Vietnam's next-largest category is fruit and vegetables at $16 million, compared with coffee at $23 million.

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