TEST 1 WRITING CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH IELTS 4

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH IELTS 4

TEST 1

WRITING

WRITING TASK 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The table below shows the proportion of different categories of families living in poverty in Australia in 1999. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. Family type Proportion of people from each household type living in poverty single aged person aged couple single, no children couple, no children sole parent couple with children all households 6% (54,000) 4% (48,000) 19% (359,000) 7% (211,000) 21% (232,000) 12% (933,000) 11% (1,837,000) WRITING TASK 2 You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic: Compare the advantages and disadvantages of three of the following as media for communicating information. State which you consider to be the most effective. • comics • books • radio • television • film • theatre Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

ANSWER KEY

MODEL ANSWER Writing task 1 The table gives information about poverty rates among six types of household in Australia in the year 1999. It is noticeable that levels of poverty were higher for single people than for couples, and people with children were more likely to be poor than those without. Poverty rates were considerably lower among elderly people. Overall, 11% of Australians, or 1,837,000 people, were living in poverty in 1999. Aged people were the least likely to be poor, with poverty levels of 6% and 4% for single aged people and aged couples respectively. Just over one fifth of single parents were living in poverty, whereas only 12% of parents living with a partner were classed as poor. The same pattern can be seen for people with no children: while 19% of single people in this group were living below the poverty line, the figure for couples was much lower, at only 7%.. Writing task 2 In our daily life, we communicate information through lots of different media like the internet, televisions, radios, books, cell phones, films etc. We are living in such a time when information is one of the most important issues and the information technologies as well as the communication media greatly influence our lives. The rapid-growing websites and TV channels are many of few little examples how media are spreading to make information easily accessible. All the media for information interchange have advantages and disadvantages and not all can attract all types of audiences. Comics, books, radios, televisions, film and theatre are all very powerful media for communicating information. In my opinion books, televisions and film among those aforementioned six media are most effective. Books are the witness of history and the main source from which we gain knowledge. From a very ancient period till now, books have been working as the light-house for our society. In our childhood, we gather most of our knowledge and skills from books. It opens new horizons in front of us. The writer writes down their experiences, imaginations, knowledge, explanation etc. about each and every issue of our lives. Books are the long-lasting protocol to make a bridge among writers and readers. However, all are not happy to read books. They expect something easier and more vivid. Music, radios, films etc. are more appealing to them. Television is another powerful media. Watching television is a part of our daily lives. Most of the people who have a TV set, watch programs, news etc. with apt attention. It is a strong medium for Government and other organisations to send their messages to the mass population. Program representatives also broadcast the people's view and opinions about different controversial issues in TV programs. However, this medium has lots of demerits and bad impacts. Government and politically biased organisations often send negative and misleading news. Again young people watch different satellite channels and try to adopt the alien culture which is really harmful for the culture and tradition of a country. Films are an audio-visual representation and can catch the attention of people from different geographical locations, races and cultures. A good film can shape someone's morality and doctrine and the film-makers with their huge amount of money, are so careful to make their films realistic and eye-absorbing. Every film has a direct or potential message or moral. On the contrary, some films also bring a wrong message to us. For example, protagonists are always smoking in the films and it seems that smoking is a good and smart habit. It causes many younger people imitate them smoking. In conclusion, I would like to state that books, televisions and films are the most powerful and effective medias for communicating information.