Writing Task 1 (Academic Test)
WRITING
Model Answer:
The table contains data regarding the changes in consumer expenditure in four European countries from 2018 to 2020. In general, there was an increase in consumer spending in every country in 2018 and 2019, while this spending decreased in 2020. The biggest increases in expenditures occurred in the majority of countries in 2018, whereas in 2020 there were large drops in consumer spending in all countries.
The biggest jump in consumer spending across the four countries took place in Ireland. In both 2018 and 2019 the increase in expenditure in Ireland was significantly larger than the other countries. In 2019 spending increased by 3.2 percent, which was more than double the increases in Spain and Germany, at 1.5% and 1.4% respectively.
The greatest percentage decrease in spending was in Spain in 2020 at -15.8%. This was a far larger decrease than in the other three countries. The next biggest fall was in Ireland, where spending fell by 9.9%. Consumer expenditures in Germany and Norway did not plummet to the same extent, at -2.2% in the case of Norway, and -4.8% in Germany.
Useful Vocabulary:
expenditure (noun [c]): money spent on something
extent (noun [s/u]): amount or degree
fall (noun [c]): to decrease [numbers/ amounts]
jump (noun [c]): to increase a large amount quickly [numbers/ amounts]
occur (verb): to happen
plummet (verb): to decrease a very large amount quickly [numbers/ amounts]
respectively (adverb): relating to each of the separate things/ people you just mentioned
spending (noun [u]): money used for a particular reason, especially by an organisation or government
2. Table
The table below shows the percentage changes in consumer spending in four European countries over a 3 year period.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.