encoach_backend/text-samples/c-ielts-2.csv

1	QUESTION	ANSWER	GRADE
2	The table below shows the consumer durables (telephone, refrigerator, etc.) owned in Britain from 1972 to 1983. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below	The chart shows that the percentage of British households with a range of consumer durables steadily in- creased between 1972 and 1983. The greatest increase was in telephone ownership, rising from 42% in 1972 to 77% in 1983. Next came central heating ownership, rising from 37% of households in 1972 to 64% in 1983. The percentage of households with a refrigerator rose 21% over the same period and of those with a washing machine by 14%. Households with vacuum-cleaners, televisions and dishwash- ers increased by 8%, 5% and 2% respectively. In 1983, the year of their introduction, 18% of households had a video recorder. The significant social changes reflected in the statistics are that over the period the proportion of British houses with central heating rose from one to two thirds, and of those with a phone from under a half to over three-quarters. Together with the big increases in the ownership of washing machines and refriger- ators, they are evidence of both rising living standards and the trend to lifestyles based on comfort and convenience.	8
3	Fatherhood ought to be emphasised as much as motherhood. The idea that women are solely responsible for deciding whether or not to have babies leads on to the idea that they are also responsible for bringing the children up. To what extent do you agree or disagree?	I believe that child-rearing should be the responsibility of both parents and that, whilst the roles within that partnership may be different, they are nevertheless equal in importance. In some societies, it has been made easier over the years for single parents to raise children on their own. However, this does not mean that the traditional family, with both parents providing emotional support and role-models for their children, is not the most satisfactory way of bringing up children. Of crucial importance, in my opinion, is how we define 'responsible for bringing the children up'. At its simplest, it could mean giving the financial support necessary to provide a home, food and clothes and making sure the child is safe and receives an adequate education. This would be the basic definition. There is, however, another possible way of defining that part of the quotation. That would say it is not just the father's responsibility to provide the basics for his children, while his wife involves herself in the everyday activity of bringing them up. Rather, he should share those daily duties, spend as much time as his job allows with his children, play with them, read to them, help directly with their educa- tion, participate very fully in their lives and encourage them to share his. It is this second, fuller, concept of 'fatherhood' that I am in favour of, although I also realise how difficult it is to achieve sometimes. The economic and employment situation in many countries means that jobs are getting more, not less, stressful, requiring long hours and perhaps long journeys to work as well. Therefore it may remain for many a desirable ideal rather than an achievable reality.	8
4	The chart below shows the amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women of different employment status. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.	The chart shows the number of hours of leisure enjoyed by men and women in a typical week in 1998-9, according to gender and employment status. Among those employed full-time, men on average had fifty hours of leisure, whereas women had ap- proximately thirty-seven hours. There were no figures given for male part-time workers, but female part-timers had forty hours of leisure time, only slightly more than women in full-time employment. perhaps reflecting their work in the home. In the unemployed and retired categories, leisure time showed an increase for both sexes, as might have been expected. Here too, men enjoyed more leisure time-over eighty hours, compared with seventy hours for women, perhaps once again reflecting the fact that women spend more time working in the home than men. Lastly, housewives enjoyed approximately fifty-four hours of leisure, on average. There were no figures given for househusbands! Overall, the chart demonstrates that in the categories for which statistics on male leisure time were available, men enjoyed at least ten hours of extra leisure time.	6
5	Prevention is better than cure. Out of a country's health budget, a large proportion should be diverted from treatment to spending on health education and preventative measures. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?	Of course it goes without saying that prevention is better than cure. That is why, in recent years, there has been a growing body of opinion in favour of putting more resources into health education and preventive measures. The argument is that ignorance of, for example, basic hygiene or the dangers of an unhealthy diet or lifestyle needs to be combatted by special nationwide publicity campaigns, as well as longer-term health education. Obviously, there is a strong human argument for catching any medical condition as early as possible. There is also an economic argument for doing so. Statistics demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of treat- ing a condition in the early stages, rather than delaying until more expensive and prolonged treatment is necessary. Then there are social or economic costs, perhaps in terms of loss of earnings for the family concerned or unemployed benefit paid by the state. So far so good, but the difficulties start when we try to define what the 'proportion of the budget should be, particularly if the funds will be diverted from treatment. Decisions on exactly how much of the total health budget should be spent in this way are not a matter for the non-specialist, but should be made on the basis of an accepted health service model. This is the point at which real problems occur the formulation of the model. How do we accurately measure which health education campaigns are effective in both medical and financial terms? How do we agree about the medical efficacy of various screening programmes, for example, when the medical establishment itself does not agree? A very rigorous process of evaluation is called for, so that we can make informed decisions.	6.5