Ielts Academic Writing Task Sample 1

Ielts Academic Writing Task Sample 1

You must spend 20 minutes on the task. The pie charts below show the types of music media used from 1990 to 2010.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The given pie charts depict the usage of different music media formats in three specific years: 1990, 2000, and 2010.

First of all, Compact Disk (CD) dominated the music media landscape in the 1990s, while Digital Audio (MP3) emerged as the most popular format by 2010. The usage of CDs accounted for more than half of the market share in 1990, and this figure skyrocketed to a staggering 95% after a decade. On the other hand, MP3 was not present in 1990 and held a relatively small proportion of music storage in 2000. However, significant changes occurred in the following 10 years, as MP3 usage increased twelvefold to reach 60%, while CD usage dropped to approximately one-third, at 35%.

Vinyl records represented 5% of the market share in 2010, having accounted for exactly one-fifth two decades prior, and showed 0% usage in the year 2000. The usage of cassettes is indicated as 25% in 1990 but is not illustrated for the remaining years. Notably, in 2000, there were only two types of music media represented, while the other two years featured three different formats.

Overall, the illustrations highlight the shifting trends in music media usage over the span of 20 years. CDs dominated in 1990, MP3 gained prominence by 2010, and vinyl records maintained a small but steady presence.