Question: The bar chart above shows the percentage of Australian men and women in different age groups who did regular physical activity in 2010. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Band 8+ Sample Answer:
(Intro & Overview) The table illustrates the proportions of men and women across six different age categories who did regular physical activity in Australia in 2010. Overall, the table shows that a higher proportion of females did physical activity in the given period, compared to males, with the exception of the youngest group. Australian males were less active as they went from being young to middle aged, but then became more active again later in life. In contrast women became more active as they aged, but this trend slowed and was eventually reversed by the oldest group.
(Detail 1) Women in the youngest age group (15 to 24) were relatively inactive with 47.7%, whereas in the next age group (25-34) they were more active with 48.9%. This pattern continued for the next two age groups (35 to 44, 45-54), with 52.5% and 53.5% respectively, before slowing for women aged 55 to 64 with 53%. Bucking this trend, women in the oldest group (65 and over) produced a figure of only 47.1%
(Detail 2) The proportion of active males showed an opposite pattern. The figure for the youngest group was significantly higher than their female counterparts with 52.8%. This percentage then fell considerably for the next two age groups (25 to 34, 35 to 44), with 42.2.% and 39.5% respectively. Furthermore, as men became older, the figures produced a steady upward trend with 43.1%, 45.1%, and 46.7% for the three oldest age groups respectively. It is interesting to note that the smallest difference between the men and women was produced in the oldest group (0.4%), whereas the biggest difference arose in Australians aged 35 to 44 (3%). (281 words)
Words: Nick Kemp, former IELTS examiner.
Image: Cambridge