Cambridge IELTS 11 Test 4 Writing Task 1: Museum Table and Pies
Cambridge IELTS 11 · Test 4 · Academic Writing Task 1Mixed charts
The table shows the total number of visitors to Ashdown Museum in the year before and the year after it was refurbished. Two pie charts show the results of visitor satisfaction surveys in the same two years, divided into very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied, very dissatisfied and no response, with figures given as percentages.
The question
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The table below shows the numbers of visitors to Ashdown Museum during the year before and the year after it was refurbished. The charts show the result of surveys asking visitors who satisfied they were with their visit, during the same two periods. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparison where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
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Key features to report
- Visitor numbers rose from 74,000 in the year before refurbishment to 92,000 in the year after, an increase of 18,000, or almost a quarter.
- Before refurbishment, the largest group was dissatisfied visitors at 40%, and a further 10% were very dissatisfied, so half of all respondents were unhappy with their visit.
- In the same year, only 30% were satisfied and 15% very satisfied.
- After refurbishment the picture was largely reversed: satisfied visitors became the largest group at 40% and the very satisfied share more than doubled to 35%, so three quarters of visitors were happy.
- Dissatisfaction fell sharply after the work, to 15% dissatisfied and only 5% very dissatisfied.
- The proportion giving no response was the same in both surveys at 5%.
Model overview
Overall, the refurbishment was followed by both a rise in visitor numbers and a marked improvement in satisfaction. Whereas half of the visitors surveyed were dissatisfied before the work, three quarters were satisfied or very satisfied afterwards.
Paragraph plan
- 1
Introduction
Paraphrase the task in one sentence: the table gives visitor numbers for Ashdown Museum in the years before and after its refurbishment, and the pie charts show how satisfied visitors were in each of those years.
- 2
Overview
Give the main points without figures: more people visited after the refurbishment, and satisfaction improved dramatically, with most visitors unhappy before and most happy afterwards.
- 3
Body paragraph 1: visitor numbers and the survey before refurbishment
Report the rise from 74,000 to 92,000 visitors. Then describe the first survey: 40% dissatisfied and 10% very dissatisfied, compared with 30% satisfied and 15% very satisfied.
- 4
Body paragraph 2: the survey after refurbishment
Describe how satisfied visitors rose to 40% and very satisfied to 35%, while dissatisfied fell to 15% and very dissatisfied to 5%. Note that the no response share stayed at 5%.
Useful comparisons
- Link the two visuals: higher visitor numbers coincided with much higher satisfaction.
- Combine categories to show the big picture: 45% satisfied or very satisfied before, compared with 75% after.
- Contrast the largest group in each survey: dissatisfied (40%) before and satisfied (40%) after.
- Highlight the biggest single change: very satisfied visitors more than doubled from 15% to 35%.
- Mention the stable figure: no response stayed at 5% in both years.
Band 8+ model answer
194 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.
The table shows how many people visited Ashdown Museum in the year before and the year after it was refurbished, while the pie charts show how satisfied visitors were with their visit in each of those two years.
Overall, the refurbishment was followed by both a rise in attendance and a marked improvement in visitor satisfaction. Whereas half of the respondents were unhappy with their visit before the work, three quarters were pleased afterwards.
In the year before the refurbishment, the museum attracted 74,000 visitors, and this figure increased to 92,000 in the following year, a rise of almost a quarter. In the first survey, the largest group of respondents, 40%, said they were dissatisfied, and a further 10% were very dissatisfied. By contrast, only 30% described themselves as satisfied and just 15% as very satisfied.
After the refurbishment, this picture was largely reversed. Satisfied visitors became the largest group at 40%, and the proportion who were very satisfied more than doubled to 35%. Meanwhile, the share of dissatisfied visitors fell to 15%, and only 5% were very dissatisfied. The percentage of people who gave no response remained constant at 5% in both surveys.
Why this answer scores highly
- Task Achievement
- The answer covers both the table and the pie charts, gives an overview linking higher attendance to greater satisfaction, and reports every key change accurately, including the combined satisfied and dissatisfied totals.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- The answer moves logically from visitor numbers to the first survey and then to the second, and contrast markers such as by contrast and meanwhile make the before and after comparison easy to follow.
- Lexical Resource
- Vocabulary such as refurbishment, attendance, respondents, more than doubled and largely reversed is precise and varied, and percentages are paraphrased with half and three quarters.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- The answer uses past tenses accurately and includes passive forms, relative clauses and comparative structures with no errors.
Useful vocabulary
- refurbishment
- the process of repairing and improving a building
- renovation
- a useful synonym for refurbishment
- visitor numbers
- the number of people who visited a place
- attendance
- the number of people who go to a place or event
- respondents
- people who answer a survey
- visitor satisfaction
- how pleased visitors are with their experience
- more than double
- increase to over twice the original figure
- largely reversed
- changed so that the situation became almost the opposite
- a marked improvement
- a clear and noticeable improvement
- remain constant
- stay at the same level
- three quarters
- 75%, a useful way to vary percentages
- the overwhelming majority
- almost all of a group
Common mistakes
- Describing the table and the pie charts in isolation without any comparison or link between visitor numbers and satisfaction.
- Claiming that the refurbishment caused the rise in visitors, when the data only shows that both changes happened; it is safer to say the rise followed or coincided with the work.
- Saying that 40% of visitors equals a particular number of people, which assumes that everyone who visited was surveyed.
- Writing that the majority were dissatisfied before refurbishment, when dissatisfied and very dissatisfied together make exactly half.
- Ignoring the very dissatisfied and no response categories completely, or misreading the small 5% and 10% segments.
- Leaving out an overview that sums up both visuals.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Cambridge book is this question from?
- This table and pair of pie charts about Ashdown Museum before and after refurbishment are Writing Task 1 of Test 4 in Cambridge IELTS 11 Academic, published in 2016.
- How do I write about a table and pie charts together?
- Write one overview that covers both visuals, then describe the table briefly and spend most of the body on comparing the two surveys. Link the visuals where possible, for example by noting that higher attendance came with higher satisfaction.
- Can I say the refurbishment caused more people to visit?
- It is safer to say the increase followed or coincided with the refurbishment, because the data does not prove the cause. Task 1 should report the information without speculation.
- How many words should I write for this Task 1?
- Write at least 150 words; about 170-200 words is enough to cover the overview and the key changes in around 20 minutes.
Free and timed, with a live word count, just like the computer-delivered test. Then get an instant AI band score.
The exam simulator runs on a computer. Open this page on a laptop or desktop to practise.