Data Tables
The ultimate challenge you'll face is sheer volume of data to sift through.
Reading the data is usually quite simple.
You will need to:
- Pick out maximum and minimum values.
- Note the trends in the data.
- Report exactly the value as it will be stated clearly in the table.
Data tables can be overwhelming!
Model Essay Example
Self-analysis tip:
Your essay should be so good that when someone else reads it, they are able to draw the graph.
The table displays the performance evaluations of five plays across four different media outlets: The Northern Review, The Weekly, Vision, and The Actor.
Overall, the data reveals two distinct patterns: certain productions achieved strong critical consensus—whether universally favorable or mediocre—while others polarized reviewers. "Stolen Identity" and "Three Sisters" were the most highly acclaimed productions, whereas "Henry V" was the least successful.
Regarding the plays that generated unanimous or near-unanimous agreement, "Hamlet" demonstrated absolute uniformity, receiving an identical rating of "Adequate" from all four publications. Similarly, "Stolen Identity" and "Three Sisters" enjoyed widespread critical acclaim; the former secured a dominant "Very good" rating from three out of four reviewers, dropping only to "Good" in The Actor, while the latter earned "Very good" marks from two publications and "Good" from the remaining two.
In contrast, the remaining two productions split critical opinion. "Henry V" received a predominantly negative reception, marked as "Poor" by three reviewers, yet it managed to polarize critics by capturing a "Good" rating from The Weekly. Lastly, "Electra" maintained a stable presence in the upper-middle tier, collecting a "Good" rating from three separate magazines, with The Northern Review providing the sole lower outlier of "Adequate."
Task Achievement
Data Grouping: The essay categorizes the data by analytical concepts.
Complete & Precise Coverage: Every performance rating for all five plays across all four magazines is accurately translated from the visual key and accounted for.
Coherence and Cohesion
Sophisticated Paragraphing: Body Paragraph 1 handles the plays with high agreement, while Body Paragraph 2 naturally transitions to the plays with split or outlier reviews.
Advanced Signposting: The essay avoids mechanical transitions (like Firstly or In addition) in favor of smooth cohesive devices such as "Regarding the plays that generated unanimous or near-unanimous agreement..." and "In contrast, the remaining two productions split critical opinion."
Lexical Resource
Advanced Academic Collocations: The text includes vocabulary tailored for data analysis, such as "critical consensus," "polarized reviewers," "widespread critical acclaim," and "sole lower outlier."
Variety: It eliminates repetitive language by varying how it discusses the reviews (e.g., evaluations, ratings, marks, critical reception).
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
High-Level Syntactic Variety: The essay balances an array of complex structures, including relative clauses ("...yet it managed to polarize critics by capturing...") and participle clauses ("...dropping only to 'Good' in The Actor...").
Sentence Synthesis: It condenses multiple data points into single, grammatically sophisticated sentences to make comparisons without wasting words.
SCORE
TA - 9
CC - 9
LR - 9
GA - 9
Overall: 9
While minor differences exist between individual examiners, this essay comfortably clears the Band 8.5 threshold due to its complete absence of grammatical errors, precise mathematical reporting, and native-like lexical control.
