Academic Writing Sample Task 1 #40
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
In June 1996, an experimental flu vaccine was trialled in a large
country town on females only.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own
knowledge or experience.
model answer:
The diagrams show data for a flu epidemic which hit a large country town in
1996. Figure 1 gives the number of persons who died; Figure 2 shows the
percentage breakdown of females who received a new flu vaccine; and Figure 3
gives the number of cases of flu before and during the epidemic.
In Figure 1 it can be seen that the flu was responsible for the deaths of 2
females but no males in the period from March to May. However, from June to
August, there were 4 female deaths and 1 male death.
According to the pie chart in Figure 2, only those females most at risk were
given the new flu vaccine; 28% did not take part in the trial. Of those females
who took part, 35% were aged (over 65 years old); 24% were babies or children;
and 13% were either hospitalised or receiving other medical attention.
From Figure 3 it is clear that the new vaccine had a positive effect on the
number of new cases of flu reported in females. There were just over 1000 cases
reported in March, climbing rapidly to a peak of 3500 in June. Thereafter, the
number of cases dropped slowly to about 2800 in August, before levelling off at
2500 for the rest of the year. For males, the figures were lower but showed a
similar trend throughout the epidemic.
(232 words)