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IELTS Writing Samples

IELTS essay samples (writing task 2), report and letter samples (writing task 1) with Band Scores, marked by IELTS teachers, including comments and suggestions on how to increase your score

IELTS Report, topic: Two bar graphs showing how often people exercised in Europe in 2016

This is a model answer for an Academic Writing Task 1 from the IELTS exam in Taiwan, shared yesterday. This response is likely to get Band 8 or 8.5 in IELTS.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task

The graphs below show how often people exercised in Europe in 2016, by age group and gender. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words

IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar Graph Men

IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar Graph Women

Band 8.5 Model Answer

The bar graphs describe the frequency with which men and women in Europe engaged in physical activity in 2016. The participants are split into 4 age groups (15-24, 25-30, 40-54 and 55+ years old) and the data is presented in percentages.

It can be clearly seen that for both men and women regularity of exercise dropped with age, and the percentage of people who never engaged in physical activity increased, peaking in the oldest age group.

Taking a closer look at men, the highest percentage (60%) of the youngest men aged 15-24 exercised semi-regularly and the rest were split into almost equal shares, with 12% exercising regularly, 13% seldom and 15% never. In the other age groups, regular exercise was the least common at roughly 7%. Exercising semi-regularly was the dominant proportion in the 25-39 year old group at 43%, and the shares of people who seldom or never exercised were quite close at 20% and 27% respectively. Most of the 40-54 year olds either exercised semi-regularly (36%) or not at all (39%). In the oldest age group only 21% exercised semi-regularly and the vast majority (nearly 60%) didn’t train at all.

Compared to men, women engaged in physical activity less, with only about 37% of the youngest age group doing semi-regular exercise and 27% avoiding physical activity. It was rare for women of all ages to exercise regularly, as only 2%-4% did it. In the 25-39 year old cohort the proportions of women doing sports semi-regularly and never were very close, at 37% and 45% respectively. Half of the 45-54 year olds never exercised and only 26% trained semi-regularly. The 55+ year old women were most likely to never exercise (63%) and just about 18% being physically active semi-regularly.

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IELTS essay, topic: Who should discipline the children, parents or the government? (discuss + opinion)

This essay topic was seen in a recent IELTS test in Kenya

Discipline is a growing problem in modern schools. Some people think that parents should discipline their own children, while others think it should be the responsibility of the government. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Sample Band 8 Essay

While some people argue that parents should take sole responsibility for disciplining their children, others take the view that the government should be in charge of such matters. In my opinion, the young generation should be primarily guided by their parents where rules of behavior and moral principles are concerned. However, in some instances government intervention is necessary.

On one side of the argument, there are people who hold the opinion that the responsibility of disciplining a child falls squarely on parents’ shoulders, since they are their first educators, and it is their duty to equip their children with good manners and morals even before their first day at school. In addition, every family has a unique understanding of what a suitable form of discipline entails. Therefore, some parents are concerned that any form of punishment meted out at school might be too harsh. To overcome this issue, they believe that parents should be informed by the school of their child’s wrongdoing so that they could decide an appropriate consequence for their behavior at home.

Unfortunately, not all parents are objective enough to make the right decisions when it comes to the upbringing of their children. Some may lack information or sound moral background to discipline their children in a meaningful way. Therefore, the state should shoulder some of the responsibility by implementing a strict set of guidelines and policies on how to discipline children at school. I believe that such policies result in children who flourish and are more likely to become productive citizens that actively contribute to a prosperous nation. Also, this would help both parents and teachers understand which punishments are suitable for minor infractions like missing an assignment or major incidents like bullying or skipping school.

In conclusion, while both views are commonly held in society, I believe that the government must be actively involved in the policies related to discipline at schools as this would ensure the well-being and successful development of the youth.

Teacher’s comment: The writer has addressed all parts of the task in their response. The ideas are relevant and clear, sufficiently developed and supported. Substitution and referencing assist the writer in maintaining coherence throughout the essay. The correct use of paragraphing and sequencing of information help the writer to keep their ideas and arguments organised. The range of vocabulary includes uncommon lexical items. The majority of the sentences are error-free, and the writer has used a variety of sentence structures. This essay is likely to get Band 8 – 8.5 in IELTS.

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