IELTS Writing Task 1 #125
Comparing and grouping information
Summarising charts always involves making comparisons. Some diagrams also require comparisons, particularly if you have to describe stages or have more than one piece of visual material. Part of the task of organising your answer involves deciding how to categorise or group the information you need to compare.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The table below shows the number of students living in the UK gaining English language teacher training qualifications in 2007/8 and 2008/9, and the proportion of male qualifiers.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Model answer
This report summarises information on the total number of students in the United Kingdom who gained qualifications for English Language Teachers in two academic years, 2007/8 and 2008/9, with specific focus on the number of male qualifiers.
In both years, the total numbers of students remained the same, but there was a great difference between the numbers of male and female students who qualified. In 2007/8, out of a total of 32,930 students, only 24.7% were male. The percentage of males who qualified in 2008/9 was even lower. Out of a total of 32,945 students, only 22.7% of them were male. This is a drop of 2%.
There was also a large difference in the qualifications that students studied for. Most students qualified with a TEFL certificate; this was true for male students. The number of students who qualified with the TEFL was roughly three times the number who qualified with a Cambridge UCLES CELTA or other degrees, although the total number of students qualifying with the TEFL dropped slightly, from 25,446 in 2007/8 to 24,917 a year later. There was a drop of 0.7% in the number of male students who gained this qualification.
In general it can be seen that the number of males qualifying as English language teachers is vastly outnumbered by females and that the proportion of male qualifiers is gradually dropping.
(226 words)