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Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the postgraduate course fees that international students paid in three countries in 2007.

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

You should write at least 150 words.

Table describing postgraduate course fees in 3 countries

Sample Band 8 Report

The table provides information about the fees paid by foreign postgraduate students in three countries for different subjects, as well as meals and accommodation.

It is clear from the table that Country A had the lowest fees for all fields of study and meals and accommodation, while Country B and Country C had noticeably similar, higher fees. Of all the countries, Country B had the highest fees overall.

To begin, the Arts and Commerce courses not only had the exact same fees, but they were also the lowest in the table, with $8,000 for Country A, $18,000 for Country B and $19,000 for Country C. The course fees for Computing and Science were close in all the countries. In Country A they were identical at $11,000, whereas in Country B the Computing course was $27,000 and Science cost $2,000 more. The figures for Country C were slightly lower at $24,000 for Computing and $25,000 for Science.

The fees for meals and accommodation varied significantly across the 3 countries. The most affordable cost of $8,000 belonged to Country A, followed by $11,000 in country C and the most expensive meals and housing costs ($17,000) were recorded in Country B.

IELTS Tip

Describing a table is different from other types of charts, and that affects the content and structure of your report.

Look at how this report ⬆️ is structured: it has 4 paragraphs. Did you know that each paragraph has its own job?

The intro tells the reader what table your report is describing. The overview highlights the main trends without going into detail. Did you notice how the body paragraphs group the data by similarities, and compare or contrast it when appropriate? Do that in YOUR report and get a higher score!

To check your own writing submit it for correction, get feedback from our IELTS Experts and learn how to raise your score.

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