The column graph shows the percentage of males in a particular country who prefer watching sports to males who prefer participating in sports.

Males Watching vs Participating Sports Country Bar Chart - 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 8.5 · 156 words.

The bar chart illustrates the preferences of men in a specific country regarding spectating versus participating in seven different sports.

Overall, football is the most popular sport to watch but the least popular to play. Conversely, fishing is the most participated-in activity despite being the least watched. This highlights a significant disparity between what men enjoy watching and what they actually do.

In terms of viewership, football leads significantly at 40%, followed closely by basketball and horse riding/racing at approximately 37% and 36% respectively. Rugby and badminton attract similar levels of interest, both hovering around the 27-28% mark. In contrast, only about 12% of men prefer watching fishing.

Regarding active participation, the figures show a different trend. Fishing dominates this category with 50% of men taking part. Basketball and badminton follow, with participation rates of approximately 25% each. While horse riding and rugby both see 20% engagement, football records the lowest participation rate at only 11%.

Examiner feedback

This is an exceptionally strong response that demonstrates a clear understanding of the data trends and high-level linguistic control. The overview is particularly effective at highlighting the contrast between spectating and participating.

Task Achievement - 9

- The response fully satisfies all requirements of the task by identifying and comparing all seven sports mentioned. - Presents a clear, high-quality overview that identifies the main inverse relationship between watching and playing. - Key features are skillfully selected and illustrated with accurate data points (40% for football, 50% for fishing).

Coherence & Cohesion - 8

- Information and ideas are logically sequenced with a clear progression from the overview to specific data groups. - Paragraphing is used appropriately and sufficiently, separating viewership from participation analysis. - Cohesive devices such as 'Conversely', 'In terms of', and 'Regarding' are used effectively to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource - 8

- A wide resource is used fluently to convey precise meanings (e.g., 'spectating versus participating', 'significant disparity'). - Skillful use of uncommon items and collocations like 'hovering around the mark' and 'engagement'. - Minor inaccuracies in word choice are absent, showing strong control of style.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 9

- A wide range of structures is used with full flexibility and control. - The majority of sentences are error-free with sophisticated use of complex structures (e.g., 'despite being the least watched'). - Punctuation is used appropriately throughout the entire response.

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