The table below shows the percentage of adults in urban and rural areas who took part in four free time activities 1990 and 2010.

Adults Urban Rural Free Time Activities 1990 2010 Table - IELTS Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 7 · 184 words.

The table compares the proportion of adults in urban and rural areas who took part in four free-time activities—reading, animated plays, playing, and photography—in 1990 and 2010.

Overall, these free-time activities were more popular among adults in rural areas than in urban areas. However, in 2010, the proportion of adults who participated in reading was the same in both areas. Moreover, in 1990, the most popular free-time activity was reading, while the least popular was photography. In 2010, reading was also the most popular activity, whereas animated plays were the least popular.

Regarding urban areas, the shares of reading and photography stood at 61% and 7%, before rising to 78% and 17%, respectively, in 2010. Meanwhile, the figure of playing declined from 21% to 14% in 2010, while the share of animated plays remained unchanged at 10%.

Turning to rural areas, reading and photography accounted for 71% and 14% in 1990, respectively, before increasing to 78% and 24% in 2010. By contrast, the share of playing remained unchanged at 26%, while the figure for animated plays declined slightly from 18% to 14% in 2010.

Examiner feedback

The response effectively covers all requirements of the task with a clear overview and well-selected data points. The writing is logically organized with a good range of vocabulary and grammatical structures.

Task Achievement - 7

- All parts of the task are appropriately and accurately covered, highlighting key features and data points. - A clear overview is provided, identifying general trends and main differences between urban and rural areas. - Data is accurately selected and supported with appropriate figures from the prompt.

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Paragraph organization is logical, featuring a clear introduction, overview, and two detailed body paragraphs. - Cohesive devices are used appropriately to transition between ideas and categories (e.g., "Regarding urban areas", "Turning to rural areas"). - Overall progression is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource - 7

- Vocabulary is sufficient to allow flexibility and precision, using synonyms like proportion, shares, and figures. - Collocations are generally appropriate for describing data trends and percentages. - Minor awkwardness appears in activity names, but overall lexical control is strong.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 7

- A variety of complex sentence structures is used with good flexibility and accuracy. - Grammar and punctuation are generally well controlled throughout the text. - Error-free sentences are frequent, with precise introductory and comparative clauses.

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