IELTS Tips
- Focus on the most important aspects of any data you are given. Do not quote the data mechanically. Link your ideas together naturally while referring to specific data.
- Think about the most significant changes over time or the key points of comparison between different categories.
- Organise your description of the data around these key points, and include any relevant secondary points.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows female unemployment rates in each country of the United Kingdom in 2013 and 2014.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Students passing high school competency exams, by subject and gender, 2010-2011
Model answer
The bar chart shows the unemployment rates among women in the countries that make up the United Kingdom, both in 2013 and in 2014. There has generally been a small decrease in female unemployment rates from 2013 to 2014, except in Scotland.
In 2013, 5.6% of women in Northern Ireland were unemployed. The only country with a smaller percentage of women unemployed was Wales, with a rate of 5.4%. Both countries saw a decrease in the percentage of unemployed women in 2014. In Northern Ireland, the percentage fell to 4.6% and in Wales it fell to 5%.
England had the greatest percentage of unemployed women in 2013, with 6.8%. However, this decreased by 0.3% in 2014. Lastly, Scotland was the only country which had an increasing percentage of unemployed women. In 2013, it had 6.1% of women out of work. This increased to 6.7% in 2014, making it the country with the highest female unemployment rate of the four countries.
(160 words)