The chart below shows the percentage of people in a city in the UK using the Internet for different activities in 2007 and 2009.

Percentage of People in UK City Using Internet Different Activities 2007-2009 - 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 7.5 · 294 words.

The column graph provides information on the proportion of people living in a city in the UK using the Internet for different activities, with all values expressed in percentages in 2007 and 2009, at 2-year intervals.

In general, the percentage of people who spend time online for shopping, seeking a job and watching TV experienced an upward trajectory, albeit at varying rates, while the reverse was true for other activities, with a notable exception for games, which remained relatively stagnant throughout. Notably, most of the people used the Internet for shopping, banking and listening to music, whereas playing games, learning and binge-watching TV programs favored the least.

In detail, people taking advantage of the Internet for shopping had by far the largest share at over 40% in 2007, and then it experienced a moderate increase to nearly 50% in 2009. As for individuals who used the internet for seeking a job accounted for about 25% at the outset. From this point onwards, the figure for job seeking rose marginally to 30% in the final year. Turning to TV usage, in the initial phase it stood at a negligible 15%, which edged upwards to 20% in 2009.

In contrast, with regard to individuals using the Internet for banking and for listening to music, they followed an almost identical trend, though at varying levels, with the former decreasing from around 40% in 2007 to roughly 35% in 2009 and the latter declining from approximately 38% in 2007 to nearly 30% in 2009. During the same period, the figure for learning represented 20% at the beginning, following which it underwent a noticeable decline, bottoming out at 15% in 2009.

Lastly, people utilizing the internet for playing games showed little variation, with remaining comparatively unchanged at 20% throughout.

Examiner feedback

This is a strong response that demonstrates a high level of grammatical control and a very logical organization. To reach a higher band, focus on refining the academic tone of the vocabulary and making the data comparisons more analytical rather than just descriptive.

Task Achievement - 7

- The response covers all key features and provides a clear overview of trends and comparisons. - Data is accurately extracted from the chart and used to support descriptions. - The overview is effective, categorizing activities by their growth or decline, though the claim about 'most' people using it for music/banking is slightly imprecise compared to the shopping peak.

Coherence & Cohesion - 8

- Paragraphing is logical and based on the direction of trends (increasing vs. decreasing), which shows good planning. - Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'During the same period', and 'Turning to' are used effectively to guide the reader. - Referencing (e.g., 'the former', 'the latter', 'the figure for') is used accurately to avoid repetition.

Lexical Resource - 7

- A wide range of vocabulary is used to describe data trends: 'upward trajectory', 'remained relatively stagnant', 'negligible', and 'edged upwards'. - Collocations are mostly natural, though 'binge-watching' might be slightly too informal for an academic task. - Good use of synonyms to avoid repeating 'people' and 'percentage'.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 8

- A variety of complex structures are used accurately, including relative clauses and participle phrases (e.g., 'bottoming out at'). - Grammar and punctuation are generally well-controlled with almost no errors. - Minor awkwardness in phrasing ('favored the least') exists but does not affect the score for range.

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