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IELTS Writing Samples

IELTS essay samples (writing task 2), report and letter samples (writing task 1) with Band Scores, marked by IELTS teachers, including comments and suggestions on how to increase your score

IELTS essay, topic: Dieting can change a person’s life for better or worse (from Target Band 7 book)

This essay was written on a topic from “Target Band 7” book (page 54, reprinted with permission).

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task

Dieting can change a person’s life for the better or ruin one’s health completely. What is your opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include examples from your experience.

Write at least 250 words

Some argue that dieting has an extraordinary impact on one’s life, whereas others are of a view that it absolutely adversely affects a person’s health. It cannot be denied that dieting taken to extremes may cause more harm than good, however, in my opinion effective dieting is pivotal for maintaining good health and keeping a more attractive body shape.

First of all, the possibility of increasing level of physical health lies with incorporating proper dieting in our lives. It is reasonable to suggest that dieting is effective for controlling our body weight within an ideal range in order to achieve the normal score of body mass index (BMI), which is essential for preventing us from overweight or obese. As a result, the risk of suffering an illness will be reduced. A recent research concluded that dieting is one of the most effective measures to cut down one’s body weight among the obese group, and it helps to improve their medical condition indirectly.

Moreover, dieting is crucial for keeping ideal body features regardless of gender and age. A fit and presentable body outlook absolutely boosts up one’s level in his or her social life, not to mention professions that require keeping one’s body in an attractive physical shape. For example, dieting is adopted as a popular way for reducing weight among actors and actresses. A recent article reported that an actress who successfully regained her slim body after a period of dieting was offered an excellent job opportunity in the Hollywood film industry.

In conclusion, in my opinion dieting has a positive influence on one’s life in terms of maintaining a profound level of health and keeping a more attractive body outlook.

The writer’s opinion is very clear from the start and throughout the entire essay. Paragraphing is used effectively to organise ideas and information. The use of advanced vocabulary enables accuracy of expression and highlights flexibility. Overall, the control of grammar and punctuation is good, with only a few errors made. The essay is a good example of an IELTS Band 8 work.

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‘becoming’ is a better word choice
obesity-related
‘confidence’ is the right word

IELTS Report, topic: Pie chart and bar graph describing employment percentages (from Target Band 7 book)

This report was written on a topic from “Target Band 7” book (page 43, reprinted with permission).

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task

The diagrams below contain information regarding percentages of people occupied in various types of position in 1998 and 2001.

Write a report for a university tutor describing the information shown.

Write at least 150 words

Pie chart describing percentages of workers in different positions from Target Band 7 book
Bar graph describing percentages of workers in different positions from Target Band 7 book

The two charts describe the number of people in various types of employment (casual, unemployed, full time job, part-time job, self-employed and contract) in 1998 and 2001. It is clear that the majority of people held a full time position in both 1998 and 2001.

In 1998 full time workers were the largest group (at 37%), followed by people working part-time jobs (27%), self-employed (19%) and contract workers (12%). Casual labourers and the unemployed made up only 3% and 2% of the workforce, respectively.

In 2001, although full time position holders were still the majority, their proportion dropped to 28% and that of part-time workers – to 20%. The proportion of self-employed remained at 19%, but the number of contract workers’ noticeably increased to 18%. Another significant increase was in the proportion of unemployed, which grew more than threefold to 7% in 2001. Casual workers’ share seemed to stay unchanged at 3%, making them the smallest group in the workforce.

Overall, the charts demonstrate a trend of people leaving full-time employment and the growing unemployment.

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