IELTS Academic Writing Practice Test 13

Write your own response before opening this example. This is a sample from the book, not a score or assessment of your writing.

The graphs compare the average rainfall and temperature in two cities, A and B, in each month of the year.

Overall, the two cities have almost opposite climates. City A is hot all year round and receives most of its rain in the middle of the year, while City B is warm and dry in the middle of the year and cooler and wetter at the start and end of the year. City A is also far wetter in total, with roughly three times as much rain as City B.

In City A, very little rain falls from November to April, when monthly totals are 30 mm or less. Rainfall then rises sharply from May, peaking at 420 mm in July, before falling back to 90 mm in October. Temperatures range only from 24°C to 33°C. Interestingly, the hottest month is May, just before the rains arrive; from June onwards, the temperature drops slightly and stays at around 28°C until October.

City B shows a much wider temperature range, from 11°C in January to 28°C in July and August. Its rainfall follows the opposite pattern to its temperature: the wettest months are December and January, with about 100 mm each, while there is almost no rain at all in June, July and August. In other words, City B is driest when it is hottest, whereas in City A the heaviest rain falls when temperatures are still high.

Commentary

• TA: A clear overview identifies the opposite patterns, the difference in temperature range and the difference in total rainfall. Key figures are selected (420 mm in July, the 24–33°C range, the 11–28°C range) rather than every value being listed, and the feature that City A's hottest month comes before the rains is noticed.
• CC: One paragraph per city, with a final sentence that links them back together ("In other words..."). Referencing is clear ("Its rainfall", "the opposite pattern").
• LR: Precise language for trends and comparison ("rises sharply", "peaking at", "falling back", "a much wider temperature range", "monthly totals").
• GRA: A range of structures, including comparatives ("far wetter", "three times as much rain as"), contrast clauses with "while" and "whereas", and a time clause ("just before the rains arrive"), with no errors.

Write your own response before opening this example. This is a sample from the book, not a score or assessment of your writing.

Anyone who watches the evening news could be forgiven for thinking that the world is a frightening place. Crime, accidents and conflict fill most of the headlines, while good news, if it appears at all, is saved for the final minute. In my view, this imbalance has understandable causes, but the media should make a deliberate effort to correct it.

The main reason for the focus on bad news is human nature. Psychologists have found that people pay more attention to threats than to pleasant information, probably because in the past, noticing danger helped our ancestors to survive. News organisations depend on attracting viewers and readers, so they naturally choose the stories that grab attention most effectively. In addition, bad news is often sudden and dramatic, whereas good news tends to happen slowly. A plane crash happens in a moment, but a steady fall in child mortality over thirty years does not fit easily into a headline.

Nevertheless, I believe that the media should report more positive stories, for two reasons. First, a constant diet of bad news gives people a distorted picture of reality. Surveys in many countries show that people believe crime is rising even when it is falling, and this fear can affect how they vote and even whether they let their children play outside. Second, endless negative reporting can leave people feeling helpless. If audiences never hear about problems that have been solved, such as a disease that has been controlled or a polluted river that has been cleaned, they may conclude that nothing can be done.

This does not mean that journalists should hide serious problems, which would be a failure of their duty to inform the public. Instead, they could give more space to "solutions journalism": stories that explain not only what has gone wrong, but also how people are trying to put it right.

In conclusion, bad news dominates because it attracts attention, but a more balanced approach would give audiences a more accurate and more hopeful view of the world.

Commentary

• TR: Both questions are answered fully: causes (human attention to threats, commercial pressure, the nature of events) and a clear position on whether more good news should be reported, with a qualification that serious news must not be hidden.
• CC: Each body paragraph has one clear purpose, and the two reasons are signposted ("First", "Second"). The short fourth paragraph anticipates an objection before the conclusion.
• LR: Natural, precise collocations ("grab attention", "a distorted picture of reality", "a constant diet of bad news", "a failure of their duty"), with topic vocabulary used appropriately.
• GRA: Complex sentences are controlled throughout: conditionals ("If audiences never hear..."), relative clauses, a participle phrase, and a cleft-like emphasis ("does not fit easily into a headline").