The bar chart shows the distribution of employment among agriculture, services, industries in three countries in 1990 and projected distribution in 2030.

Employment Distribution Agriculture Services Industries 1990 and 2030 - 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 6.5 · 307 words.

The column graph compares three countries in terms of their employment distribution across three sectors, namely agriculture, industry, and services, with all figures expressed in percentages, in two periods, 1980 and 2020.

In general, countries A and C had by far the largest proportion of services, while the agricultural sector recorded the lowest figures in most countries, except for country B. Of particular note is country B, which stands out as the frontrunner in agricultural employment across the countries in question, whereas employment in industry occupies the intermediate level.

In detail, employment in agriculture represented the lowest share, with a notable exception for country B, which stood at about 60-65% in 1980, and then slightly decreased to just under 60% in the final year. The figure for country A started at around 20% in the initial phase, with the figure remaining broadly stable until 2020. Similarly, as for country C, it also stayed comparatively unchanged at almost 4% throughout the observed period.

Turning to employment in industry, countries A and C similarly declined moderately, while the reverse was true for country B. With regard to country A, it commenced at roughly 30% at the beginning of the period, then fell below 25% by the end of the timeframe. Meanwhile, the value for country C also represented an almost identical shift, falling back from 35% in 1980 to 30% in 2020. The figure for country B almost doubled, increasing from around 20% to approximately 39% by the close of the period.

In contrast, all countries exhibited moderate growth in services, albeit at varying rates. Starting with country A, it rose by ten percentage points, escalating from around 40-45% in 1980 to 55% in 2020. Country C edged up from 65% to 80% in a 40-year period, whereas Country B saw a marginal rise from 35% to approximately 42%.

Examiner feedback

The response is well-organized and uses a good range of vocabulary and grammatical structures. However, the misinterpretation of the dates (using 1980/2020 instead of the prompt's 1990/2030) and some minor data inaccuracies prevent it from reaching a higher band in Task Achievement.

Task Achievement - 6

- The candidate misread the dates provided in the task description (1980/2020 instead of 1980/2050 or 1990/2030 depending on the specific prompt version), which impacts accuracy. - Key features are identified and a clear overview is provided identifying the dominance of services in A/C and agriculture in B. - All sectors for all three countries are covered with data support, though some data interpretations are slightly loose.

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Information is logically organized by sector, which allows for clear comparison within each category. - Cohesive devices such as 'Turning to', 'In contrast', and 'Meanwhile' are used effectively to signal transitions. - There is a clear progression from the introduction/overview to specific data details.

Lexical Resource - 7

- There is a good range of vocabulary used to describe trends, such as 'frontrunner', 'intermediate level', and 'escalating'. - Collocations are mostly appropriate, although 'initial phase' and 'final year' are slightly inaccurate as the task uses specific dates. - Spelling is accurate.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 7

- A variety of complex structures are used, including relative clauses and subordinate clauses. - Most sentences are error-free, though some phrasing is slightly awkward ('it also stayed comparatively unchanged'). - Punctuation is generally well-controlled throughout the response.

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