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Writing Task 1 You are advised to spend a maximum of 20 minutes on this task.
You should write at least 150 words. |
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Writing Task 2 You are advised to spend a maximum of 40 minutes on this task. Write an essay for a university lecturer on the following topic:
You should write at least 250 words. You are
required to support your arguments with relevant information and examples based |
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Some more practice: model answers Note: the answers provided present a number of words far higher than required. In the real exam you should not write much more than the mimimum. Quantity does not pay as much as quality. |
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Writing Task 1
The graphs show the average grades achieved in each year of a four-year modern languages degree programme by students at a British university together with their average final results. In both graphs, values refer to the decade from 1991 to 2000.
Figure 1 compares examination scores in French, German and Spanish for each of the four years of the degree programme. Although the scores were quite dissimilar in year one, with a difference of over 25% between the highest and the lowest marks, these had more or less converged by year three with only a 15% difference reappearing between the highest and lowest grades in year four.
The highest mark in year one was for French at around 75% and the lowest was for Spanish at approximately 50%. However, while the average grade for Spanish improved steadily over the four year period to reach just under 80% by the final year of the course, the opposite was true of French, where the initially high score dropped to around 60% over the same period. In contrast, the marks awarded for German showed very little variation, rising from 55% in the first year to about 63% in the second year before declining slightly to around 60% in the final year.
Figure 2 shows that nearly 60% of modern language students obtained either an upper second or a lower second class degree, while a further 20% were awarded a pass degree. Only 14% gaining a first class degree and 9% actually failed the course. No comparisons can be made in this case between individual languages.
In conclusion, there was a dramatic rise in marks for Spanish throughout the four year course, a less dramatic fall in marks for French, which were nevertheless the best for the period taken as a whole, whereas those for German showed very little change. Most students obtained second class degrees. 312 words
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Writing Task 2 Notice that this is a "problem - solution" type essay(INTRODUCTION) For many years it has been recognised that stress at the work place not only increases the risk of employees developing heart disease and other circulatory problems but also reduces their efficiency and their ability to respond flexibly to the demands of their jobs (= Background). Traditionally this problem was thought to affect mostly men in managerial positions. However, there is growing evidence that the number of stress-related illnesses in women has been rising in recent years as women have achieved more equality with men at work and have begun to occupy more and more positions of responsibility (= Importance of subject now). This essay will argue that the solution to this problem is better training (= Main argument). (BODY: Problem) In order to reduce the amount of stress at work or at least to help people cope better with stress, we need first to understand what causes stress. A recent survey in the United States of Corporate Executive Officers' and their partners' perceptions of the causes of stress in the CEO's lifestyle found that the factor most frequently mentioned by CEO's was time pressure and deadlines whereas those most often reported by their spouses were long working hours and the demands of work on family relationships. This would seem to suggest three things: firstly, that many people are not aware of the true causes of stress; secondly, that work-related stress may lead to more stress at home through conflicts with partners and children, thus creating a vicious circle from which it becomes increasingly difficult to break free; and thirdly, that stress is very often the result of bad decisions rather than lack of material or human resources. (BODY: Solution) One solution to this problem might be to train people, especially men, to get in closer touch with their feelings and to become more aware of the real causes of conflicts both at work and in the home. This could be done by providing a weekly confidential counselling service for employees who were perceived to be under too much pressure. This would provide people with a safe place in which to express their feelings and to reflect upon what they could do to improve everything from personal relationships to eating habits and sleeping patterns. It seems obvious that an unhappy boss will make life more difficult for his or her subordinates; but so far very few companies have taken this idea on board by doing something practical to improve relationships at the work place. Another solution would be for companies to provide mangers with more training courses in basic skills such as time management and knowing when to delegate responsibilities. One of the reasons why many managers at present find it so difficult to take advantage of company training courses is that they are already overloaded with work and are unable to assimilate any more information. (CONCLUSION) In conclusion, it would seem that companies are not doing enough to address the problem of stress-related illnesses. However, even if profits are a company's only real concern, it makes sense to look after employees' physical and psychological well-being - if only because most experts now agree that this is the best way to increase productivity and remain competitive. Successful companies are run by healthy employees. 531 words |