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 line graph shows the percentage of seats held by women in the national parliament of four countries from 2000 to 2020.”8
Overall
8
Task response
8
Coherence & cohesion
8
Lexical resource
8
Grammar
The line graph shows the percentage of parliamentary seats held by women in Rwanda, Sweden, the USA and Japan between 2000 and 2020.
Overall, Rwanda recorded a dramatic rise to become by far the highest of the four by 2005, while Sweden maintained a consistently high share. The USA and Japan remained considerably lower throughout, though the USA showed a notable increase in the final five years.
Rwanda's growth was the most striking feature. From 17% in 2000 the figure surged to 49% in 2005 and climbed to 64% by 2015, before edging down to 61% in 2020. Sweden started at an already high 43% in 2000 and remained broadly stable, ending at 47% in 2020.
The USA and Japan both began well below Sweden. The USA held 14% in 2000 and rose gradually to 19% by 2015, before climbing more sharply to 27% in 2020. Japan started at just 5%, grew to 11% by 2010, then slipped to 9% in 2015 and recovered to 10% in 2020, a broadly flat trend. By 2020 the gap between Rwanda at 61% and Japan at 10% was 51 percentage points.
- •Rwanda's extraordinary surge and its subsequent minor dip are accurately described and correctly identified as the graph's defining feature.
- •Japan's non-linear pattern, including the dip to 9% in 2015, is precisely noted.
- •The 51-percentage-point gap in 2020 between Rwanda and Japan provides a powerful concluding comparison.
- •Varied trend language throughout: 'surged', 'broadly stable', 'fluctuating', 'slipping back', 'exceptional divergence'.
- •Sweden's intermediate values (2005, 2010) are not cited; mentioning one would confirm the stability claim more concretely.
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