SAMPLE TASK 1 BAND 9 ESSAYS

Task 1- Sample 1
The graph below shows the amount of money spent on books in Germany, France, Italy and
Austria between 1995 and 2005. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the
main features, and make comparisons where relevant

The line graph shows how much was spent in US dollars on books in four European countries
between 1995 and 2005. Overall, people in Germany spent the most on reading materials
during the entire period. It is also clear that despite some fluctuations, spending on books
increased in all four places over the 10 years.

German expenditure fluctuated between around $80 million and about $90 million between
1995 and 2003 before increasing to just under $100 million in 2005. France was the only
country that experienced a steady rise, with around $55 million worth of books sold in 1995,
about $70 million in 2001, and finally just under $80 million in 2005.

The figure for Italy hovered at around $50 million dollars until 1999, when it steadily rose to
just over $60 million in 2005. Austrians spent approximately $30 million in 1995, and this went
up by around $10 million over the next four years and remained stable for two years, before it
climbed dramatically to just above $70 million in 2005.

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 Task 1- Sample 2
The line graph below shows the percentage of tourists to England who visited four different
attractions in Brighton. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main
features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph shows the proportion of visitors to England who visited certain Brighton tourist
spots between 1980 and 2010. Overall, it can be seen that the percentage of people visiting the
pier and pavilion, despite fluctuations, increased over the 30-year period. The figure for those
deciding to go to the art gallery dropped significantly over the time span, whilst the proportion
of festivalgoers stayed relatively stable.

During the 1980s and 1990s, there was a sharp increase in visitors to the pavilion from around
23% to about 48%, and then the percentage declined significantly to approximately 31% in
2010. The trend for the art gallery was similar to the pavilion. Visitor numbers increased rapidly
from about 22% to around 37% from 1980 to 1985 and then decreased to just below 10% over
the next 25 years.

The number of tourists who visited Brighton’s festival experienced only slight fluctuations,
never falling below 25% or rising above 30%. Visitors to the pier fluctuated from 1980 to 2000
between roughly 4% and almost 15% and then rose significantly from around 12% to
approximately 22% between 2000 and 2010.

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 Task 1- Sample 3
The first chart below shows how energy is used in an average Australian household. The
second chart shows the greenhouse gas emissions which result from this energy use.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant

There are two charts; one represents how energy is utilized in the average home in Australia
and the other illustrates greenhouse gases emitted from this use of electricity. Overall, we can
see that heating the home and water make up the vast majority of power consumption, while
the highest greenhouse gas emissions come from ‘other devices’ and water heating.

For power utilization, warming the home comprises nearly half of the total and heating water
makes up nearly a third. The next significant category is ‘other appliances’ with 15%, and
refrigeration, cooling and lighting make up just over a tenth of the combined total.

In contrast, heating only produces 15% or the total greenhouse gases, while water heating
remains at around a third. Another significant difference between the two pie charts is ‘other
appliances’, which causes over a quarter of emissions. The remaining three categories make up
exactly a quarter of all greenhouse emissions combined.

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 Task 1- Sample 4
The three pie charts below show the changes in annual spending by a particular UK school in
1981, 1991 and 2001. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main
features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The pie charts illustrate the variations in yearly expenditure in one school in the UK across three
separate years. The biggest cost for the school in all three years was paying teachers’ wages.
The other significant trends were that the amount spent on insuring the school went up
steadily, while the money spent on other workers’ salaries gradually went down.

In 1981, the school spent 40% of its budget on paying teachers, and this went up to half of the
total annual budget in 1991 before falling slightly to 45% 10 years later. Wages for people other
than teachers accounted for around a quarter of total outgoings in 1981 and 1991, but this
decreased significantly to just 15% in 2001.

Insurance costs made up a tiny proportion of yearly outgoings in the first 20 years, but this rose
to nearly one-tenth of the total budget in 2001. Resources fluctuated between 9% and 20%
over the three years, while costs for furniture and equipment varied more widely, between 5%
and 23%.

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 Task 1- Sample 5
The graph below shows the contribution of three sectors- agriculture, manufacturing, and
business and financial services- to the UK economy in the twentieth century. Summarise the
information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.

The graph illustrates how the contributions of agriculture, manufacturing, and business and
financial services to the UK economy changed over the 20th century. Overall, the financial and
business sector saw a remarkable rise, the manufacturing sector witnessed a steady decrease,
and agriculture had undergone a dramatic decline by the end of the century.

Manufacturing accounted for around 45% of the economy in 1900 and decreased steadily to
approximately 15% by the end of the century. By contrast, the contribution of business and
financial services increased remarkably during the century. To be exact, it began the century at
less than 5% of the economy and then kept climbing rapidly and reached approximately 35% in
2000.

Agriculture, on the other hand, made up the greatest portion of the economy in both 1900 and
1950, at around 50% of the total. By 1975 this had shrunk to just over 10% in 1975 and
continued to drop steeply, ending the century at around 2% of the total contributions to the UK
economy.

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 Task 1- Sample 6
The graph below shows the quantities of goods transported in the UK between 1974 and
2002 by four different modes of transport. Summarise the information by selecting and
reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph illustrates how products were transported in the UK over a 28-year period.
Overall, the primary means of transportation throughout the period was that of road. Although
all four categories showed an increase over the whole period, rail saw its numbers fluctuate.

Approximately 70 million tonnes of goods were hauled on the roads in 1974 and apart from a
slight dip around 1982, these numbers increased steadily to reach nearly 100 million tonnes in
2002. The amount of merchandise shipped by pipeline was negligible in 1974, but this figure
had risen to just over 20 million tonnes in 1995 before levelling off.

The number of tonnes of goods transported by water started at just under 40 million, and this
rose by nearly 50% from 1978 to 1982, and remained relatively constant until it jumped again in
1998, from around 50 to just over 60 million tonnes. The figure for transport by rail fell from
approximately 40 million tonnes in 1974 to about 30 million in 1995 and then rose back up to
its original number by 2002.

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 Task 1- Sample 7
The map below shows the changes in an American town between 1954 and 2014.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

The map illustrates how a town in America developed between 1954 and 2014. Over the
period, the town went from having mainly residential and industrial areas to having mostly
commercial units north-west of the canal and housing south-east of the canal. It also added
some public amenities.

In the north-east of the town, all of the factories were flattened to make way for a new airport
and some buildings dedicated to commerce. The park next to these new commercial outlets
made way for a new supermarket. In the centre of town, some houses were demolished and
commercial buildings were erected in their place, and this also occurred in the west, where a
local supermarket was also knocked down in order to make way for yet more commercial
buildings. The petrol station did not undergo any changes.

The area south-east of the canal remained relatively unchanged, where all of the residential
areas remained the same, with the exception of the church being replaced by a sports arena.

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 Task 1- Sample 8

The chart shows the results of a report from 2008 about the amounts of various energy sources
used in the United States since 1980, and includes predictions until 2030. Overall, since 1980
the consumption of all sources, except hydropower, has increased, and the projections show
that petrol and oil and coal will continue to grow, while the others are to remain relatively
stable.

From the start, petrol and oil have been the most used sources of energy, starting at 35
quadrillion units and currently resting at roughly 42 quadrillion units. Natural gas began with 20
quadrillion units and coal at about 16, but both have increased to the same figure of around 25
quadrillion units in the present day. Nuclear power, solar and wind power, and hydropower
each started at approximately 4 quadrillion units, but while the first two rose to around 7 and 5
quadrillion units, respectively, hydropower has remained at relatively the same level.

Looking to the future, petrol and oil and coal are forecast to continue increasing by roughly 5
and 6 quadrillion units, respectively. The other four power sources are predicted to remain
stable until 2030, with the exception of an additional one quadrillion units for both nuclear
power and solar power over the final few years of the period.

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 Task 1- Sample 9

The graphs display information relating to the owners of debt belonging to Greece. The vast
majority of holders of Greek debt are member states of the Eurozone, with Germany, France,
Italy, and Spain holding the largest portions.

Eurozone states have a combined exposure of 193 billion euros. ‘Other holders’ of this debt
have the second-highest with 48 billion euros. The IMF is exposed to 32 billion euros of this
debt, while the ECB and other banks are owed 20 billion and 17 billion, respectively. The Greek
government also has a liability of 10 billion euros to its own banks.

The Germans have by far the biggest position in this market with just over 56 billion euros,
followed in second place by the French with nearly 42.5 billion euros. The Italian and Spanish
states are owed just over 37 and nearly 25 billion euros, respectively. Poland and Portugal both
have minimal risk to Greek indebtedness with just 1 billion euros each.

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 Task 1- Sample 10

The illustration provided displays the various steps of the process by which bricks are produced,
packaged, and ultimately distributed. Overall, this is a multi-stage man-made process that
begins with the extraction of natural resources and ends with the packaging and distribution of
bricks.

To begin, large machines called diggers are used to extract clay from the earth. The clay is then
placed by diggers onto a metal grid, which sifts out larger particles and then rolls the remaining
fine clay into a mixture of sand and water. At this point, the mixture is either placed into
moulds or into a machine which uses a wire cutter to produce bricks of a standard size.
Following this, they are placed into a drying oven for as many as two days.

Once dry, the unbaked bricks are placed into a kiln, baked initially at lower temperatures, then
higher temperatures, and then allowed to cool in a chamber for two to three days. Once
adequately cooled, they are packaged on pallets, which are then loaded onto delivery trucks for
distribution.

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 Task 1- Sample 11

The data below shows information relating to companies holding bank accounts in the British
Virgin Islands. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.

The data demonstrates various facts pertaining to businesses that hold money in banks located
in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Overall, most of the countries with a high number of
companies with offshore banking on these islands are located in the Western Hemisphere.
Switzerland has the highest number of corporate entities and assets on account. Most
significantly, Venezuela is third by total value despite there being no other data on this country.

Considering the number of companies by country, all North American countries and the
majority of Western European states have at least 1000 corporations with accounts in the BVI.
All other regions have mostly countries with less than 1000. Significantly, South America has

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two disproportionately large values with Argentina having more than 2,500 companies and
Brazil possessing the third-highest number in the world at 8,667.

Switzerland has the highest number of corporate bodies with accounts in the BVI, with 11,253,
and France and the U.K. are in second and third place, with 9,187 and 8,844, respectively.
Predictably, Switzerland has the highest asset allocation with $31.2 billion, but significantly,
Venezuela has $14.8 billion, the third-highest overall, with no data on the number of companies
with banking interests in the BVI.

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