Book 5 Academic Writing Test 1 · Task 1
Original planning guidance for the supplied practice prompt. The example is illustrative; it is not a full model answer or a rated response.
Plan a report on the proportion of people aged 65 and over in Japan, Sweden and the USA between 1940 and 2040. The practice test uses an approximate redraw from the supplied draft. Use the original graph whenever exact turning points or figures matter.
Practice target: 150+ words, about 20 minutes.
How to approach this task
- Introduce the measure, three countries and date range without copying every word of the prompt. Describe percentages of each country's population, rather than absolute numbers of elderly people.
- Write an overview of the broad changes. Separate the initial ranking from the projected later pattern, and identify any notable divergence before the lines rise.
- Group the details to make comparisons: one paragraph can cover the earlier period and another the later projections. Use past tense for historical figures and language such as is projected to for future data.
- Check every numerical claim against the graph you are actually using. Approximate data cannot support exact crossover years, precise intermediate values or a claim that two series are identical.
Planning example
A useful opening is: The line graph compares the percentages of residents aged at least 65 in Japan, Sweden and the United States over a century. Follow it with your own overview of the visible trends, rather than a list of every data point.
Common mistake to avoid
Do not confuse a rise of ten percentage points with a ten-percent increase. Do not add causes for ageing unless the task provides them.
Complete the full test
Put this topic into context with the complete adapted test, timer and saved draft.
Online submission on the canonical website asks for your name, email and storage consent. Writing receives no automatic band score.
Study this test by topic
Read focused guidance, then return to the complete test.