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 the number of students enrolled in five language courses at a university in 2005, 2015 and 2023.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Language | 2005 | 2015 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | 320 | 410 | 520 |
| French | 450 | 380 | 260 |
| Mandarin | 40 | 190 | 410 |
| German | 280 | 250 | 190 |
| Korean | 5 | 60 | 240 |
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
Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.
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 shows the number of students enrolled in five language courses at a university in 2005, 2015 and 2023.
Overall, Spanish, Mandarin and Korean attracted more students over time, while French and German lost them. By 2023 Spanish had replaced French as the most popular course.
In 2005 French was the leading course, with 450 students, followed by Spanish with 320 and German with 280. Mandarin and Korean were tiny, at 40 and 5 students. French then fell steadily to 380 in 2015 and 260 in 2023, while German declined from 280 to 250 and then 190.
Spanish grew consistently, from 320 students to 410 and then 520. Mandarin and Korean showed the most dramatic growth. Mandarin enrolments rose from 40 in 2005 to 190 in 2015 and 410 in 2023, ten times the original number, which placed it second in 2023. Korean increased from only 5 students to 60 in 2015 and then 240 in 2023, overtaking German to become the fourth most popular course. Taken together, enrolments across the five courses rose from 1,095 in 2005 to 1,620 in 2023.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| course enrolment | number of students registered |
| tenfold increase | growth to ten times |
| decline steadily | fall gradually |
| become the most popular | reach first place |
| boom | grow quickly |
| traditional | long established |
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