Academic Task 1
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Phone use by age (table)
Question type: Academic Task 1: table
The question
The table below shows the percentage of people in three age groups who used their mobile phone for five different purposes in 2023.
| Purpose | 16–24 | 35–44 | 65+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messaging | 98 | 95 | 71 |
| Social media | 92 | 68 | 21 |
| Taking photos | 90 | 82 | 52 |
| Online banking | 61 | 77 | 34 |
| Navigation | 74 | 80 | 29 |
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Write your own answer first. Then get an estimated band and corrections from our AI marker.
Answer this questionHow to approach it
- Read across each row to see how use changes with age, then down each column to find each group's top and bottom use.
- Overview: messaging was the most common use for everyone, and the oldest group was lowest for every purpose.
- Notice the exceptions: the middle group was ahead of the youngest for banking and navigation.
Model answer
181 words (minimum 150). Written to show the features of a Band 8-level answer.
The table shows the percentage of people in three age groups who used their mobile phones for five different purposes in 2023.
Overall, messaging was the most common use in every age group. People aged 65 and over used their phones less than the younger groups for all five purposes, and the gap was widest for social media.
Almost everyone aged 16–24 used their phone for messaging (98%), social media (92%) and taking photos (90%). The figures for the 35–44 group were similar for messaging, at 95%, and photos, at 82%, but considerably lower for social media, at 68%.
However, the middle group was ahead in two areas. They were the most likely to use online banking, at 77%, compared with 61% of the youngest group, and to use navigation, at 80% against 74%.
Among people aged 65 and over, 71% used messaging and 52% took photos, but only about a third used online banking (34%) or navigation (29%). Social media was the least popular purpose for this group, at just 21%, less than a quarter of the figure for 16–24-year-olds.
Useful language from this answer
- the gap was widest for
- pointing to the biggest difference
- considerably lower
- a large difference between two figures
- was ahead in two areas
- noting where one group was higher
- only about a third
- describing a figure close to 33%
- less than a quarter of the figure for
- comparing a small figure with a large one
Common mistakes with this question
- Missing the overview. A report without a clear summary of the main features cannot score above Band 5 for Task Achievement.
- Copying the table into sentences row by row. Select and group the figures.
- Missing the exceptions. Examiners reward noticing that the middle group led for banking and navigation.
Now write your own answer
Reading a model helps, but writing is what improves your band. Answer this question and get an estimated band for all four criteria, with corrections taken from your own sentences.
This model answer was written by TestWise Prep to show the features of a high-scoring answer. It is not official IELTS material. Use it for ideas and language, not to memorise.