IELTS Academic Writing Practice Test 5

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

The table compares the average amount of time that adults in one country spent on eight activities on a weekday in 1995 and 2025.

Overall, the most striking changes were a sharp rise in the time spent online for leisure and a considerable fall in television viewing. Most other activities changed only slightly, and sleeping remained by far the most time-consuming activity in both years.

In 1995, adults spent only five minutes a day using the internet for purposes other than work or study. By 2025, this figure had risen to 140 minutes, making it the fourth most time-consuming activity. Over the same period, time spent watching television fell by more than a third, from 150 to 95 minutes.

Sleep accounted for 490 minutes in 1995, and this fell slightly to 470 minutes in 2025. Paid work and study, which was level with other activities at 250 minutes in 1995, also dropped by ten minutes, to 240, making it the second largest category in 2025. Smaller decreases were seen in housework and childcare (from 150 to 135 minutes), eating and drinking (85 to 70) and other activities (250 to 220). Travelling was the only activity apart from internet use that increased, rising modestly from 60 to 70 minutes a day.

Commentary

• TA: The overview clearly identifies the two key trends (the rise of internet use and the fall in television), without claiming a cause that the table does not show, and notes that sleep remained the largest category. All eight activities are covered with accurate figures, and the data is grouped rather than listed row by row.
• CC: The response moves logically from the biggest changes to the smaller ones. Cohesive devices are varied and accurate ("Over the same period", "this figure", "also", "the only activity apart from").
• LR: The vocabulary of change and comparison is precise ("a sharp rise", "a considerable fall", "fell by more than a third", "rising modestly", "the most time-consuming activity"). The writer reports what the table shows and does not claim that one activity replaced another, which the data cannot prove.
• GRA: A good range of structures is used accurately, including past perfect ("had risen"), participle clauses ("making it the fourth…", "rising modestly…") and comparative forms.
• Possible improvements: "the fourth most time-consuming activity" is correct, but the response could make the same point more simply. One or two of the smaller changes could be summarised in a single phrase to leave room for a sharper comparison of internet use and television in 2025.

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

In recent years, a number of cities have restricted the use of private cars in their central areas, and some people now argue that cars should be banned from these areas completely. I largely agree with this view, although I believe that a ban needs to be introduced carefully, with some exceptions.

The strongest argument for removing cars from city centres concerns public health. Traffic is a major source of air pollution, which contributes to breathing problems and heart disease, and city centres, where people live, work and shop in large numbers, are where the effects are most serious. Traffic is also noisy and dangerous, particularly for children and elderly people. When cars are removed, streets can be given back to pedestrians and cyclists, and the space once used for parking can be turned into trees, seating and outdoor cafés. Cities such as Oslo and Pontevedra in Spain have shown that this can make central areas more pleasant and attract more visitors, not fewer.

On the other hand, a complete ban would create real difficulties for some groups. People with disabilities may depend on cars to reach shops and services, and businesses need deliveries. In addition, if public transport is slow, expensive or unreliable, a ban could simply make it harder for people from outlying areas to reach the centre, and shops there might lose customers to out-of-town shopping centres.

For these reasons, I believe a ban should be accompanied by other measures. Public transport must be frequent and affordable before private cars are excluded, and there should be exemptions for disabled drivers, emergency vehicles and deliveries at certain times of day. Park-and-ride schemes on the edge of the city can also help visitors who have no alternative to driving.

In conclusion, I agree that private cars should be banned from large city centres, as the benefits for health and quality of life are considerable. However, such a policy will only succeed if people are given good alternatives.

Commentary

• TR: The writer's position (largely agree, with conditions) is clear from the introduction and is maintained throughout. Both sides are considered, and the conditions in the fourth paragraph respond directly to the problems raised in the third. Examples (Oslo, Pontevedra, park-and-ride) are relevant.
• CC: Each paragraph has a clear central idea. Linking is accurate and unobtrusive ("On the other hand", "In addition", "For these reasons"), and reference ("this view", "such a policy") avoids repetition.
• LR: The vocabulary is precise and natural, with accurate collocations such as "a major source of air pollution", "outlying areas", "accompanied by other measures" and "exemptions for disabled drivers".
• GRA: A wide range of structures is used accurately, including relative clauses, conditionals ("if public transport is slow… a ban could…"), passives ("can be given back", "can be turned into") and "only… if" structures.
• Possible improvements: The claim about Oslo and Pontevedra is stated without explanation; a sentence on what those cities actually did would make it more convincing. The conclusion repeats the introduction quite closely.