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Unemployment Rates in Nine Countries in 1994 and 2004

The graph below shows the percentage of people unemployed in the total labour work force across 9 countries in 1994 and 2004.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

1 sample answer, estimated Band 8.0. Your turn?

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Sample answer (1) Key features (10) Vocabulary (2) Sentence patterns (3)

From essays on this question

Key features: Unemployment Rates in Nine Countries in 1994 and 2004

WhyThis is aTable — it asks you to group and compare the key figures.

SoWe split the points intoOverview(the main patterns in the table)andKey features(figures and comparisons worth reporting).

Overview

3 points

Key features

7 points

Same question · Different responses

Sample responses and feedback

Response 01

Must fixSuggested

Answer · 226 words · 4 paragraphs · 9 comments

Score details

Response 01
Estimated band8.0/ 9

Overall assessment

The response covers all nine countries and both years, with a clear overview and logically organised comparisons. The reported endpoint figures are accurate, but Poland’s increase is expressed in percent rather than percentage points, and grouping Japan’s rise with Australia’s as marginal weakens the comparison. Vocabulary and sentence structures are varied, though a few broad or awkward expressions reduce precision. “Bucked this trend” accurately describes the four countries whose rates increased.

TA

Task Achievement

All nine countries and both years are covered with accurate endpoint figures and a clear overview. However, Poland’s change needs percentage-point units, and Japan’s increase should be distinguished from Australia’s much smaller rise.

8.0
CC

Coherence and Cohesion

The response progresses logically from overview to 1994 to 2004, with cohesive devices and referencing used flexibly and naturally throughout.

8.0
LR

Lexical Resource

Vocabulary is varied, with effective comparisons such as “occupied a middle tier” and “bucked this trend”. Precision is occasionally weakened by awkward collocation such as “surged to possess” and broad wording such as “economic landscape”.

8.0
GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

A wide range of complex structures, participial phrases, and comparison forms is used with strong control and only rare minor slips.

8.0

What to work on next

Use percentage points for differences between rates, distinguish Japan’s 2-point rise from Australia’s 0.4-point increase, and make the unemployment rate the grammatical subject when describing a fall.

From essays on this question

Useful vocabulary: Unemployment Rates in Nine Countries in 1994 and 2004

From essays on this question

Sentence patterns: Unemployment Rates in Nine Countries in 1994 and 2004

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Part 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write at least 150 words.

Words: 020:00 starts on first word