Practice test Writing (2)

Academic Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The graph below shows the consumption of music in different media formats in New Zealand over a 20-year period. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Consumption of music in New Zealand by media

20 Average number of songs purchased per person 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Cassette tapes CDs MP3s

Suggested response:

Blue highlighted text - Paraphrasing the question Green highlighted text - Words and phrases to remember for line graphs Yellow highlighted text - General notes

The graph illustrates the consumption of music by media type in New Zealand from 1988 to 2008. Music consumption is displayed in terms of the average number of songs bought and sold per capita. In 1988, cassette tape sales were by far the highest-selling media, with consumption at around 15 songs per person, compared with that of CDs, at around 3 songs per person. Cassettes continued to rise in popularity, reaching a peak in 1990, before going into a rapid decline, then leveling out at almost zero in 1999 and remaining that way until 2008. CD sales stood at around 3 songs per person in 1988 and rapidly grew in popularity as that of cassette tapes was declining. Consumption of CDs peaked in 2002 with the introduction of MP3s, after which they went into a steep decline until 2008. MP3 consumption grew rapidly since 2002, exceeding that of CDs for the first time in 2007, and continuing to rise in 2008. (161 words N.B. graph and information is fictitious!)

Engine Applied Linguistics IELTS master course 7.0 Practice Writing test 2_last updated 10/06/2010

Academic Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic:

Many people argue that advertising directed at young children is unethical and puts pressure on parents to buy unnecessary products for demanding children. To what extent to you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Purple highlighted text - Useful words/phrases for Task 2 Highlighted text various colours - Phrases, patterns and collocations

Suggested response (Argument-led):

In the twenty-first century, media has become an enormous influence in our lives. Hand-in-hand with this comes marketing, as advertisers jostle to sell their products to media consumers. Children are no exception and advertising can sometimes result in young children making unreasonable purchase requests of their parents. In the following paragraphs, I will weigh up the ethics of advertising to children. Thanks to television, movies and the internet, there is no doubt that children have plenty of exposure to media and, in turn, to advertising. It has been argued that companies should not direct advertisements towards children. This argument may hold some merit, as young people often cannot tell the difference between fact and fiction; nor can they tell between the program they are watching and the advertisements in between. Considering this, it is no surprise that children often trouble their parents to buy them the latest toy or sweet. On the other hand, we must recognise that the vast majority of these products are produced by legitimate businesses that provide employment for many people. Just because their target market happens to be children, this does not mean that they should not be allowed to advertise their products. Perhaps legislators need to consider ways to help children distinguish advertising from normal programming. Moreover, parents who find the effects of advertising a problem should give their children more guidance when they are exposed to media. Parents could also try to educate children as to acceptable behaviour. In conclusion, advertising to young children can indeed be a problem, but it cannot be called unethical. It is only when children are not given the right guidance about advertising and behaviour that they make unreasonable demands of their parents. As a society, we should allow legitimate businesses to advertise and trade, but educate our children about advertising at the same time.

Engine Applied Linguistics IELTS master course 7.0 Practice Writing test 2_last updated 10/06/2010