The　tables　show　averaged　percentage　scores　achieved　in　the　school　subjects　of　Maths,　Science,　Geography,　Languages　and　Sport　by　children　aged　7,　10,　13,　and　15　according　to　sex.　　The　subjects　for　which　the　highest　average　scores　were　recorded　were　Sport,　at　78%　(boys),　and　Languages,　at　75%　(girls).　The　strongest　subject　for　each　sex　was　revealed　to　be　the　weakest　for　the　opposite　sex,　with　these　two　subjects　also　comprising　the　lowest　recorded　scores,　at　60%　and　70%　respectively.　　Apart　from　these　two　subjects　the　performance　of　boys　and　girls　was　comparatively　similar.　Boys　tended　to　score　higher　in　Geography,　with　scores　ranging　from　63%　to　70%,　while　scores　for　girls　ranged　between　62%　and　64%.　However,　it　is　significant　that　at　the　age　of　15　both　boys　and　girls　alike　averaged　a　score　of　64%　for　this　subject.　The　differences　between　the　sexes　for　scores　for　Maths　and　Science　were　negligible.　　It　is　more　interesting　to　observe　the　patterns　that　emerge　when　the　data　is　examined　in　terms　of　age　groups.　In　general,　for　both　boys　and　girls,　children　tended　to　improve　as　they　got　older.　For　boys,　between　the　ages　of　7　and　15,　improvement　can　be　observed　in　these　ranges　of　scores:　Maths　(63-67%),　Science　(70-73%),　Geography　(63-64%),　and　Sport　(71-78%).　For　girls,　it　can　be　observed　in　these　score　ranges:　Maths　(64-68%),　Science　(69-72%),　Geography　(62-64%),　and　Languages　(62-75%).　The　increase　in　scores　for　girls　for　this　last　subject,　Languages,　was　the　greatest　overall　improvement　across　the　different　age　groups,　and　its　rise　from　65%　to　75%　also　constituted　the　greatest　margin　between　scores　for　any　two　particular　age　groups.　　The　exceptions　to　the　general　trend　were　Languages,　in　which　scores　for　boys　steadily　declined　from　62%　at　7　years　to　58%　at　15　years,　and　Sport,　in　which　scores　for　girls　steadily　declined　from　65%　to　60%.　The　other　significant　exceptions　that　emerged　were　that　both　boys　and　girls　recorded　a　slump　between　particular　ages.　For　girls　this　happened　between　the　ages　of　10　and　13,　when　scores　in　Maths　fell　by　1%,　Science　2%,　and　Geography,　Languages　and　Sport　by　2%.　For　boys　the　ages　at　which　this　occurred　were　13　to　15,　when　Maths　and　Languages　both　fell　by　2%,　Science　1%　and　Geography　by　6%.　Boys'　scores　for　sport　actually　increased　by　3%　during　this　period.　　To　sum　up,　these　tables　show　that　in　this　study,　on　average,　males　in　this　age　range　performed　better　in　Sport　and　females　performed　better　in　Languages.　The　other　significant　pattern　that　emerged　from　the　data　was　that　boys　and　girls　both　went　through　a　slump　in　performance,　but　that　this　slump　happened　at　different　ages　for　the　different　sexes.　　　

Task　1:　You　should　spend　about　20　minutes　on　this　task.　　The　tables　below　are　the　results　of　research,　which　examined　the　average　percentage　marks　scored　by　boys　and　girls　of　different　ages　in　several　school　subjects.　Write　report　for　a　university　lecturer　describing　the　information　below.　You　should　write　a　minimum　of　150　words.　

Boys:　

Subject

　Age　 Maths Science Geography Languages Sports

7 63% 70% 63% 62% 71%

10 65% 72% 68% 60% 74%

13 69% 74% 70% 60% 75%

15 67% 73% 64% 58% 78%

Girls:　

Subject

　Age　 Maths Science Geography Languages Sports

7 64% 69% 62% 62% 65%

10 65% 73% 64% 67% 64%

13 64% 70% 62% 65% 62%

15 68% 72% 64% 75% 60%

作者建议:　This　IELTS　task　1　example　is　quite　difficult　because　it　presents　the　student　with　a　lot　of　data,　and　because　the　significant　trends　in　the　data　are　not　overly　obvious.　Let's　have　a　look　at　how　we　might　go　about　organising　the　information　in　the　tables　into　a　task　1　answer.

1.　First,　we　need　to　be　aware　of　all　of　the　variables　that　make　up　the　data:　the　scores　(percentage　averages),　the　school　subjects,　the　age　groups　and　the　gender　or　sex.

2.　Now　we　need　to　sort　the　information　into　some　sort　of　sense:　

a.)　The　first　thing　to　do　with　any　table　is　to　find　the　highest　and　lowest　numbers.　Looking　at　these　tables　we　can　see　that　boys　tended　to　score　highly　in　sport　and　lowly　in　languages,　and　that　girls　on　the　other　hand　tended　to　score　highly　in　languages　and　lowly　in　sport.　This　is　the　first　and　most　obvious　significant　feature　of　the　tables　-　the　boys'　strong　subject　is　the　girls'　weak　subject　and　vice　versa.　

b.)　But　a　comparison　of　subject　scores　between　the　two　sexes　reveals　only　limited　significance.　We　can　see　that　for　most　of　the　subjects　the　boys　and　girls　got　similar　scores.　Boys　scored　slightly　higher　in　geography,　but　by　the　age　of　15　the　scores　were　the　same.　So,　all　that　we　can　say　about　the　charts　in　terms　of　the　differences　between　boys　and　girls　by　subject　is　that,　besides　sport　and　languages,　they　were　negligible　(not　important).

c.)　The　next　logical　step　then,　is　to　look　closely　at　the　scores　for　the　different　age　groups.　When　we　do　this　we　find　that　some　interesting　patterns　emerge.　For　all　of　the　subjects,　except　the　weak　subject　for　each　sex　(languages　and　sports),　the　scores,　between　the　ages　of　7　and　15,　increased　overall,　for　both　sexes.　But　if　we　look　at　the　scores　for　the　years　between　these　two　we　see　that　the　improvement　was　not　constant,　and　that　at　a　particular　age　the　scores　for　most　subjects　fell.　Also,　the　age　at　which　this　occurred　was　not　the　same　for　boys　and　girls.　This　pattern　seems　to　reveal　that　both　boys　and　girls　went　through　a　slump　in　academic　performance,　but　at　different　times,　which　is　certainly　an　interesting　feature　of　the　data　in　the　tables,　and　definitely　needs　to　be　mentioned.　The　largest　difference　between　scores　for　two　different　age　groups　(Languages　-　10%;　65-75%　13-15yrs)　should　also　be　noticed.

3.　The　next　thing　to　do　is　to　take　our　analysis　of　the　data　and　make　a　plan　for　our　report.　A　plan　for　these　tables　might　look　like　this:

a.)　Introductory　sentence-　table　shows:　percentage　scores　for　school　subjects　(list),　different　ages　(list),　different　sexes.

b.)　Highest　and　lowest　subjects　for　boys/girls-　sport/languages-　opposites

c.)　Other　subjects　very　similar-　subjects　by　sex　not　too　significant

d.)　More　significant-　age　groups-　all　subjects　increased　(overall)-　except　for　slumps　(list　subject　figures)-　different　ages　for　boys/girls-　13-15/　11-13e.)　Concluding　sentence-　boys　performed　better　in　sport,　girls　languages-　both　sexes　experienced　performance　slump　but　at　different　ages.

4.　After　a　plan　has　been　made,　we　can　write　the　report　incorporating　the　facts　and　figures　from　the　charts.　Look　at　how　this　has　been　done　below.　Keep　in　mind　that　the　answer　below　is　quite　extensive,　and　that　often　because　of　time　answers　will　not　be　as　detailed　as　this.　In　those　cases　the　least　significant　information　should　be　discarded.　In　this　case　the　least　significant　information　is　that　about　boys　being　slightly　higher　in　Geography,　and　the　part　about　the　greatest　difference　between　two　particular　age　groups.　　Notice　the　way　data　has　been　incorporated　below.　The　prepositions　and　other　useful　terms　are　in　italics.　

Task　1　写作示范: