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 percentage of the population using the internet in five countries in 2010 and 2020.”8
Overall
8
Task response
8
Coherence & cohesion
8
Lexical resource
8
Grammar
The bar chart shows the percentage of people using the internet in five countries in 2010 and 2020.
Overall, internet usage increased in all five countries over the decade, with the most dramatic rise occurring in Brazil. In both years, the UK had the highest proportion of internet users, while Brazil consistently recorded the lowest among the group.
In 2010, the UK led at 85%, followed by Germany at 82%, Japan at 78.2%, and France at 77.3%. Brazil lagged considerably at 40.6%, roughly half the UK's figure. By 2020, all five countries had converged somewhat: the UK reached 94.8%, Germany 89.8%, France 84.7%, and Japan 90.2%, which notably overtook France to claim second place.
Brazil's increase was the most substantial in absolute terms, rising by approximately 40.7 percentage points to reach 81.3% in 2020, nearly doubling its 2010 figure. This rapid growth meant that by 2020 Brazil was only around 13 percentage points behind the UK, a considerably smaller gap than the 44 points that had separated them a decade earlier. The chart therefore illustrates both a general rise in connectivity and a notable reduction in the disparity between Brazil and the European and East Asian nations.
- •Overview captures the universal increase and singling out Brazil as the standout case.
- •Correctly identifies Japan overtaking France by 2020, showing close data analysis.
- •Brazil's convergence is quantified precisely using the gap in both years: 44 points vs. 13 points.
- •Strong comparative vocabulary: 'lagged considerably', 'converged somewhat', 'nearly doubling', 'notably overtook'.
- •Could mention the exact rise in Japan's ranking more explicitly to give the Japan-France crossover greater prominence.
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