The charts below show the qualifications of staff in an advertising company in 1990 and 2010.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 1 question on IELTSX. The charts below show the qualifications of staff in an advertising company in 1990 and 2010.

Qualifications Staff Advertising Company 1990 and 2010 - 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.

IELTS Writing Task 1 chart for Qualifications Staff Advertising Company 1990 and 2010
Chart supplied with the IELTS Writing Task 1 question: Qualifications Staff Advertising Company 1990 and 2010

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 · 202 words.

The pie charts illustrate the qualifications of staff in an advertising company in 1990 and 2010.

Overall, the Master – Science category accounted for the greatest proportion in 1990, whereas the Ph.D – Art represented the smallest share. Furthermore, the Master – Art experienced the most notable decline, while the Ph.D – Science showed relatively little change.

Looking first at 1990, Master – Science constituted the largest proportion, at 29%. This was followed by Master – Art, which accounted for 21%. By comparison, the figures for First Degree – Science and First Degree – Art were lower, standing at 20% and 15%, respectively. Ph.D – Science accounted for 12%, while Ph.D – Art represented only 2%, making the latter the smallest category.

Turning to 2010, the Master -Science rose slightly from 29% to 30%, representing an increase of 1 percentage point. Meanwhile, the share of the Master – Art fell sharply from 21% to 5%. Although First Degree – Science rose, from 20% to 29%, the First Degree – Art recorded a rise from 15% to 23%. The Ph.D – Science recorded a slight decline from 12% to 11%. The proportion of staff with a Ph.D in Art remained unchanged at 2%.

Examiner feedback

The response is exceptionally well-written, meeting all IELTS Task 1 criteria to a high standard. It features a clear overview, precise data selection, strong cohesion, and an impressive range of grammatical structures and vocabulary.

Task Achievement - 8

- All requirements of the task are fully satisfied, presenting a comprehensive account of the charts. - A clear, relevant overview is provided, highlighting key trends and significant differences between the two years. - Data is accurately selected, appropriately categorised, and fully supported with specific figures from the charts.

Coherence & Cohesion - 8

- The response is well-structured with a clear introduction, overview paragraph, and separate body paragraphs for each year. - Cohesive devices such as "Looking first at", "By comparison", and "Turning to" are used effectively to guide the reader through the data. - Information progresses logically from general trends to specific details without noticeable abruptness.

Lexical Resource - 8

- A flexible and precise vocabulary is employed to describe statistical changes and proportions (e.g., "accounted for the greatest proportion", "fell sharply", "relatively little change"). - Collocations are natural and appropriate for academic task 1 writing. - Minor issues with article usage or hyphenation do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 8

- A wide range of sentence structures, including complex clauses and participial phrases, is used accurately. - Grammar and punctuation are tightly controlled throughout, with frequent error-free sentences. - Control over tense consistency (past simple for 1990 and 2010 comparisons) is well maintained.

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