IELTS Cambridge Book 5 Test 2 AC – Task 1

Question – 

WRITING TASK 1

You should spend 20 minutes on this task.

The charts below show the main reasons for study among students of different age groups and the amount of support they received from employers.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Answer – 

The bar charts display the percentages of students of 5 different age groups who studied either to enhance their career or because of their interest and the shares of them who got support from their companies, in terms of finances and holidays.

Overall, it can be seen that, with age, the percentage of students who opted to study for promotions decreased rapidly, while this figure rose for those who studied because they liked to do so. Furthermore, employees under 30 received significantly more support from their bosses than those who were 30 or older and wanted to study.

Looking at the reasons, the highest proportion of students who chose to study for a successful career belonged to the youngest age group, under 26, at 80%, and this figure went down as they age, reaching the lowest for those who were at least 50-years-old, at just less than a fifth. Moreover, 10% of students who were 25 or less opted to study because they were interested, and conversely to the previous trend, this figure grew sharply as they got older to 40% for those in the age bracket 40-49, the same value as those who preferred a career in the same age, and then, this figure touched 70% for the over 49.

Focusing on support, an overwhelming percentage of those under 26 got support from their employers, in terms of time off work and tuition fees, at 60%, and this proportion fell continuously for the next two age categories to 30% for 30-39. However, after that, this trend reversed, and the value kept on increasing, although marginally, by 5% for each of the remaining two age brackets.