The bar chart gives information about the life expectancy in Japan, Korea, the United States, and Indonesia, and the table shows the change in life expectancy between 1953 and 2008.

Bar chart gives information life expectancy Japan Korea United States Indonesia table shows change life expectancy 1953 2008 - 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 9 · 265 words.

The line graph illustrates changes in the proportion of Japan's population across three age brackets — children (0–14), working-age adults (25–64), and elderly people (65+) — from 1960, with projections extending to 2040.

Overall, working-age adults remained the largest group throughout the period, despite declining from their 1970s and 1990s peak. Meanwhile, the proportion of elderly people rose continuously and overtook that of children at some point between 2000 and 2010, a trend set to continue through to 2040.

The working-age population consistently made up the majority of the total, rising from 65% in 1960 to a peak of 70% in 1970, before fluctuating between 65% and 70% until the turn of the century. From 2000 onwards, however, this figure entered a steady decline, falling to a low of 55% in 2030, although it is forecast to recover slightly to 57% by 2040. The proportion of children followed a broadly similar pattern in the early decades, oscillating between 28% and 35% from 1960 to 1990. Unlike the adult group, though, it then fell sharply and continuously, dropping to 20% by 2000 and reaching just 10% by 2040 — the smallest of the three groups by the end of the period.

By contrast, the share of elderly people grew without interruption across the entire timeframe. Having remained flat at just 5% in 1960 and 1970, it climbed gradually until 1990 before accelerating markedly, overtaking the child population in the following decade. This upward trajectory is projected to continue, with the elderly reaching 35% of the population by 2040, narrowing the gap with the working-age group considerably.

Examiner feedback

This is a model-level response that demonstrates full mastery of the Academic Task 1 requirements. However, there is a total mismatch between the 'Task Description' (Life Expectancy) and the 'Student Response' (Population Age Brackets); this essay appears to be a well-known model answer for a different task.

Task Achievement - 9

- The response provides a comprehensive and accurate overview of the trends for all three age groups (children, working-age, and elderly). - Key features, such as the peak in the working-age population and the 'crossing point' where the elderly overtook children, are skillfully highlighted. - Note: While the response is of Band 9 quality for a task concerning Japan's age demographics, it does not match the prompt description provided (Life Expectancy in 4 countries). This evaluation assumes the student response was intended for the demographic graph.

Coherence & Cohesion - 9

- Information is logically sequenced with a clear progression from the general overview to specific age-group analyses. - Cohesive devices (e.g., 'Meanwhile,' 'By contrast,' 'Unlike the adult group') are used with such naturalness that they are barely noticeable. - Paragraphing is managed perfectly, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the data.

Lexical Resource - 9

- The vocabulary is sophisticated and varied, using terms like 'oscillating,' 'upward trajectory,' 'markedly,' and 'projections extending' accurately. - Excellent use of collocations such as 'narrowing the gap considerably' and 'steady decline.' - There are no errors in spelling or word formation.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 9

- A wide range of complex structures is used with full flexibility and control (e.g., 'Having remained flat...', '...a trend set to continue...'). - The majority of sentences are error-free, and punctuation is used flawlessly to aid clarity. - Future forms and forecasts ('is projected to continue,' 'is forecast to') are handled with native-level precision.

Related prompts

• Male Female Students Art Related Subjects UK University 2011
• Town Centre Changes 1990 and Today
• Male Female Students High Grades Five Subjects Parston School National Average
• Qualifications Staff Advertising Company 1990 and 2010
• Australian School Leavers Activity 1980 1990 2000
• Layout Town Shopping Centre Present and Future Redevelopment