Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows the proportion of the population aged 65 and over in four countries between 1980 and 2020, with projections for 2030 and 2040.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | 2030* | 2040* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 9 | 12 | 17 | 23 | 29 | 31 | 35 |
| Italy | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 28 | 33 |
| Brazil | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 19 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Write at least 150 words.
Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Some people think that museums and art galleries should be free for everyone to enter. Others believe that visitors should pay an admission fee, with the money used to improve the collections and facilities.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
What a Band 8–9 response must demonstrate
Measured against the four official assessment criteria — specific to this test's two tasks.
Task Achievement
- Gives a clear overview: the share of over-65s rose in three of the four countries and is projected to keep rising, Japan overtook Italy to become the oldest population, Brazil's rise started late but accelerates, while Nigeria's figure barely moves across the sixty years.
- Distinguishes actual data (1980–2020) from projected figures (2030 and 2040) in both the overview and the detail, and signals this with appropriate language ("is expected to", "is forecast to reach").
- Supports the main features with accurate figures and comparisons (Japan 9% → 29% by 2020; Italy ahead of Japan until the 1990s; Brazil doubling between 2020 and 2040; Nigeria flat at 3%).
- Stays descriptive — no speculation about birth rates, healthcare or pensions.
Coherence & Cohesion
- A logical plan: introduction, overview, one paragraph on the two already-aged countries (Japan and Italy, including the crossover), one on the two younger populations (Brazil's late surge and Nigeria's flat line).
- Handles the shift from past to future cleanly, often with a sentence that marks the boundary ("Looking ahead to the projected figures…").
- Uses referencing ("the former", "both European and East Asian countries", "this gap") so the four country names are not repeated in every sentence.
Lexical Resource
- Uses precise language for gradual versus rapid change: rose steadily, climbed sharply, remained negligible, is set to double, plateaued at 3%.
- Varies expressions of proportion: share, percentage, proportion, one in three, almost a third, roughly a tenth.
- Uses the vocabulary of projection accurately: forecast, projected, anticipated, is expected to — never presenting 2040 as fact.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
- Controls tense across three time frames: past simple for 1980–2020, present perfect or present for the current situation, and future or passive projection forms for 2030–2040.
- Uses comparative structures with precision ("nearly ten times the share recorded in Nigeria", "having trailed Italy in 1980, Japan…").
- Writes figures and dates correctly and keeps the majority of sentences error-free.
Task Response
- Addresses both views fully: the case for free entry (public ownership of heritage, access regardless of income, education, tourism spill-over) and the case for charging (funding acquisitions, conservation and facilities; valuing what is paid for; reducing reliance on taxpayers).
- Gives a clear personal position from the introduction onwards and sustains it; "both sides have merit" without a verdict limits Task Response.
- Engages with the specific condition in the prompt — that fees would be used to improve the collections and facilities — rather than arguing against charging in general.
- Develops ideas with concrete, realistic examples (national museums in London are free while the Louvre charges; free entry for residents but fees for tourists; free permanent collection with paid special exhibitions).
Coherence & Cohesion
- A four- or five-paragraph structure where each body paragraph handles one view with a topic sentence and a developed example, followed by a conclusion that states and justifies the writer's own view.
- Ideas build towards the opinion rather than sitting side by side; the writer may use a hybrid position (free core access, paid extras) as long as it is argued, not just announced.
- Cohesion comes from referencing and logical progression; linkers are used sparingly and accurately.
Lexical Resource
- Uses topic-specific vocabulary: admission fee, cultural heritage, public funding, conservation, curation, footfall, subsidy, accessibility, revenue stream.
- Paraphrases the prompt ("free for everyone to enter" → "open to the public at no charge"; "improve the collections" → "expand and maintain their holdings").
- Deploys natural collocations: "a barrier to entry", "shoulder the cost", "taken for granted", "ring-fenced for".
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
- Uses a range of complex structures: concessive clauses ("While free entry widens access, it…"), conditionals ("If fees were ring-fenced for conservation…"), and cleft sentences for emphasis.
- Controls modals and hedging for balanced argument ("would arguably", "is unlikely to", "could reasonably").
- Punctuation and article use are accurate; errors are rare and do not impede meaning.
Common traps for this specific test
The mistakes most likely to cost marks on these two questions.
The 2030 and 2040 figures are marked as projected. Writing "Japan's proportion reached 35% in 2040" is a factual error. Use "is projected to reach" or "is forecast to rise to" and, ideally, say explicitly that the last two points are estimates.
Italy had the older population in 1980 (13% against Japan's 9%) and Japan overtook it during the 1990s, pulling well clear by 2020. An answer that simply says "both rose" misses the one genuine reversal in the graph.
The flat line is a main feature. A strong answer contrasts Nigeria's unchanging 3% with the steep rises elsewhere and notes that even the 2040 projection barely moves. Leaving it out makes the overview incomplete.
The graph shows the percentage of each population aged over 65, not the number of elderly people. Nigeria, with a far larger total population, may well have more over-65s than Italy; the graph cannot tell you. Stick to proportions.
Four countries across seven dates is 28 figures. Choose start, end, crossover and acceleration points; summarise the rest in phrases like "rose at a broadly similar pace through the 1990s and 2000s".
Many candidates write a one-sided plea for free entry and give the paid-admission view a single sentence. The prompt specifies that fees would fund improvements; that argument must be developed seriously before it is weighed.
Proposing free entry for locals and fees for tourists is a legitimate position, but only if it is presented as your view and defended. Offering it as a vague middle way to avoid deciding reads as no opinion at all.
The question is about entry fees to museums and galleries, not about whether governments should fund culture. Keep examples tied to admission charges and what they pay for.