Task Achievement (TA) is the mark you get for how well you answer the question. There are a number of common mistakes that prevent candidates from getting a high score in TA. These are:
- not including an overview statement
- misreporting data
- not highlighting key information or trends
- not including enough or any data
- speculating or giving an opinion about why changes have occurred
- using an inappropriate tone
- writing fewer than 150 words
- not including a final summary or concluding paragraph, or producing one which doesn't summarise the main features.
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As you look at a graph/table/chart for the first time, ask yourself:
- Are there any common trends in the graphical information?
- Does any of the information differ from the rest in an obvious and significant way? If so, how?
- Is there anything that two or more categories have in common?
- Is there anything that only happens once?
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03. With a partner, make notes on the main features in this Task 1 line graph.
The line graph below shows the main reasons people gave for moving away from a particular capital city to the countryside.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant
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04. Look at this description of the line graph above. It would not get a good score for Task Achievement. Why not?
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The line graph illustrates the main reasons people gave for moving away from a capital city to the countryside.
The main reason was traffic. In 1990, 66,000 people left the city because of this, followed by 85,000 in 2000. 70,000 left in 2010, so it actually went down in those last ten years. It was different for the other two reasons, which both started a lot lower than rising cost of living and both kept going up between 1990 and 2010. Subsequently, both categories saw large increases, with traffic first going up a lot between 1990 and 2000 and then even more clearly after that. Lifestyle went up to 30,000 initially, then up again until 2010.
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05. The description from exercise 4 has been rewritten, but there is still room for improvement. Read it and think about how it could be improved. Then match the teacher's comments (A-D) to the numbered sections (1-4).
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The line graph sets out the main motivations people expressed for relocating to the countryside from the city in the years 1990, 2000 and 2010. The overall trend for the period is of an increase in the numbers moving away from the city.
According to the graph, the main reason for relocation was the rising cost of living. In 1990, 65,000 people left the city because of this, then 85,000 left in 2000, then 80,000 people moved away in 2010, so it actually increased by 20,000initially (between 1990 and 2000), before going down by 5,000 in those last ten years between 2000 and 2010 .
This drop of 5,000 could have been because people generally had less money in 2010 than they did in 2000, so they couldn't afford to move.
It was a different story for traffic and lifestyle. Both had the same number of city leavers at the start of the period. Subsequently, both categories saw increases, with traffic first going up by a large number between 1990 and 2000 and then even more steeply after that. Lifestyle leavers rose consistently over the whole period, going up to 30,000 initially, then up again to 2010.
So, what does it all mean? For me, the answer is crystal clear. Overall, the graph shows that a huge number of people moved away from the city to the countryside in a twenty-year period.
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A. Don't speculate - you shouldn't suggest reasons for any change. All you need to do is report what you can see on the graph.
B. This section is too mechanical - avoid simply listing the changes to a single category like this. Focus more on highlighting the key figures and trends.
C. Better - you have included a conclusion this time, but it doesn't really summarise the key features. Your tone here is inappropriate - it sounds like you're writing a magazine article. Remember to keep the tone more formal and scientific.
D. This section makes its points more clearly but fails to include key data to demonstrate the points.
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| Don't include data in your conclusion - it is a summary of the trends shown in the whole graph, and you do not need to repeat specific information. |
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06. With a partner, discuss which option works best as a summary/conclusion for this task. Give reasons.
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A. To sum up, people left the city for three main reasons, all of which rose significantly between 1990 and 2000. Traffic changed the most rapidly, lifestyle changed the least, and rising cost of living was the only reason that went down.
B. Overall, the graph suggests the number of people relocating to the countryside rose across the period. Cost of living was the main reason for relocation by some distance, despite a fall in numbers in the second half of the period. Traffic saw the greatest overall increase, with lifestyle seeing a relatively slow but steady rise.
C. All in all, the rising cost of living rose from 65,000 to 85,000 and then 80,000, and was the highest of all three reasons. Traffic had the biggest increase from 20,000 up to 60,000, while lifestyle changed the least (20,000 / 30,000 / 40,000).
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