The graph shows the proportions of population aged 65 and over for three

countries from 1940 with projections to 2040.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and

make comparisons where relevant.

Your response

The line graph compares the?percentage of?people?at the?aged of?65 and over in the USA, Sweden and Japan?during a period of 100 years.

Overall, the proportion of the old generation in all?the?three?country?shows an increasing trend. The USA was the?top one?in 1940, while?the?Japan?will is expected to?replace it in?that position in?2040.

In 1940, the proportion of the persons aged 65 and?more?was below 10% in all the three countries with?around?9% in?the?USA,?roughly?7% in Sweden and 5% in Japan,?respectively. Both?the?USA and Sweden saw a rise in the proportion of the elderly people?before?1980s.?Nevertheless?, there was a decline in?this age group in?the first 20 years in Japan, and then the figure remained stable.

The proportion of the old population in Sweden?took?overtook?the USA, becoming the?first one?highest percentage?in the latest?1990s. In 2005, the percentage?of the elderly was over 5% in Japan, which was the?same as the?original figure, and it?is projected to will?reach 10% in 2030. It is predicted that the figure in Japan will surpass the two other?country?in the last 10 years, reaching?approximately?26% in 2040.

Feedback

Task Achievement

The writer does not adequately describe the key features of the graph. There

needed to be further description of the features of the three trends and more

supporting details to describe the percentages and date ranges of some of the

key features (see comment boxes). There is some inaccurate data (see

comment boxes). To get a Band 6, there would need to be a complete

description of the key features, more supporting details, and accurate details.

Coherence and Cohesion

The writer arranges information and ideas coherently, but the overall

progression is unclear due to missing descriptions for large sections of the

trends (see comment boxes). For the candidate to attain a Band 6 in this

criterion, there would need to be a clear overall progression.

Vocabulary

The lexical resource is sufficient for the task with attempts to use less common

vocabulary but with some inaccuracy (The proportion of the old population in

Sweden?took?overtook?the USA, becoming the?first one highest percentage?in

the latest?1990s). To get a Band 7, there would need to be a wider use of

collocation and less common items used more accurately.

Grammar

The writing displays a mix of simple sentences and complex sentence forms

(sentences with a dependent clause) For example, (The USA was the?top one

highest?in 1940, while?the?Japan?will is expected to?replace it in?that position in

2040). In order to achieve a Band 7, there would need to be frequent error free

sentences with more accuracy in the complex sentences.

Sample Answer

The chart illustrates the percentages of people who are aged 65 or older in USA, Sweden and Japan from 1940 and their expected levels until 2040.

Overall, it can be seen that each country has witnessed an increase in that age group since 1940 and they will have risen more by 2040.

In 1940, Japan had the lowest percentage of elderly people at 5% and the level dropped slightly to 3%, which is the lowest level on the graph of any of the countries during the entire period. It then plateaued until around 1990 when it began to rise quite rapidly. In approximately 2030, a very sudden increase is predicted whereby it will have the highest proportion of over 65’s of all the countries by 2040 at 27%.

USA and Sweden have experienced quite similar paths. USA’s elderly population was the highest of all the nations which was at just below 10% in 1940 with Sweden at around 7%. The two countries shared an almost parallel increase approaching the eighties and then took a slight dip over the next 15 years. Sweden’s proportion of over 65s then continued to rise and they are expected to be around 25% of the population by 1940. USA’s level will be the lowest at roughly 22% by that time.