Band 8 model answer
A model answer written to illustrate a Band 8 response to this question, with the rubric breakdown and what carries it. Written by us as a teaching example, not a verified exam script.
“The bar chart shows the adult literacy rate in five countries around 2020.”8
Overall
8.5
Task response
8
Coherence & cohesion
8
Lexical resource
8
Grammar
The bar chart illustrates the proportion of adults aged 15 and over who were literate in five countries around 2020.
Overall, literacy rates varied considerably across the five nations, with Russia and China recording near-universal literacy while Nigeria had by far the lowest rate. A clear divide is visible between the two highest-performing countries and the remaining three.
Russia recorded the highest literacy rate at 99.7%, followed closely by China at 97.2%. Brazil sat in the middle of the range at 93.2%, indicating that roughly one in fourteen adults lacked basic literacy skills. India and Nigeria had considerably lower figures, at 74.4% and 62% respectively, meaning that more than a quarter of Indian adults and over a third of Nigerian adults were unable to read or write.
The gap between the top and bottom of the chart was substantial: Nigeria's literacy rate was nearly 38 percentage points below that of Russia. Furthermore, Nigeria's figure was around 11 percentage points lower than India's, suggesting that sub-Saharan Africa faced particular challenges in this area. Brazil, while more literate than the two South Asian and African nations, still trailed the European and East Asian leaders by a notable margin.
- •Opens with a clear overview that identifies the highest and lowest countries before any detail is given.
- •Accurate specific figures throughout, with varied phrasing: 'roughly one in fourteen', 'nearly 38 percentage points below'.
- •Strong comparison language: 'followed closely by', 'sat in the middle', 'considerably lower', 'respectively'.
- •Well-organised body paragraphs that move logically from top to bottom of the ranking.
- •Could mention the precise gap between Brazil and India more explicitly to sharpen the mid-range comparison.
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