Pick out the main features of this table for your overview, write your report on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model answer.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The table below shows waiting times and the number of beds in hospitals in five regions of one country.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Region | Beds per 1,000 people | Average wait (days) | Patients treated (000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 3.1 | 41 | 520 |
| South | 2.4 | 58 | 610 |
| East | 2.9 | 35 | 340 |
| West | 3.6 | 27 | 415 |
| Capital | 4.2 | 19 | 880 |
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
An overview names the main trends or differences in one or two sentences, without numbers. These are the features a strong answer picks out:
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 150 minimum
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Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
The table compares hospital beds, waiting times and the number of patients treated in five regions of one country.
Overall, the Capital had the best provision and performance on every measure, whereas the South had the fewest beds and the longest waits. In general, regions with more beds had shorter waiting times.
The Capital had 4.2 beds per 1,000 people, the highest rate, and the shortest average wait, at 19 days. It also treated the most patients, at 880,000. The West came second on beds, with 3.6 per 1,000, and had the next shortest wait of 27 days, though it treated only 415,000 patients.
The North and East were in the middle. The North had 3.1 beds per 1,000 and a wait of 41 days, with 520,000 patients, while the East had 2.9 beds, a shorter wait of 35 days and the lowest number of patients, at 340,000.
The South was the weakest region. It had only 2.4 beds per 1,000 people and patients waited 58 days on average, more than three times as long as in the Capital, even though it treated 610,000 patients, the second-highest figure.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| waiting time | time before treatment |
| beds per 1,000 people | measure of capacity |
| treat patients | provide medical care |
| the shortest wait | the lowest time |
| the longest wait | the greatest time |
| inversely related | when one rises the other falls |
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