These tables show data about the amount of television watched by children in different countries (hours per day) and also the average academic achievement of people in these countries (% of people completing each level).

 WRITING TASK 1 – ACADEMIC

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

These tables show data about the amount of television watched by children in different countries (hours per day) and also the average academic achievement of people in these countries (% of people completing each level).

The two tables compare data on the average number of hours children spend watching television per day in nine countries and the percentage of the population who have completed three levels of education in these countries.

Overall, children in the USA, Canada, and the UK devote the greatest amount of time to watching TV daily, whereas in Malta and the UAE this figure is the lowest. In terms of educational attainment, the proportions of school leavers are universally high, while Italy, Canada, and Malta reach the maximum figure. Malta also records the highest percentage of high school graduates, whereas the UK has the highest percentage of people having a tertiary education. India has the lowest proportion of graduates in all three educational levels.

As for television viewing habits, children in both the United States and in the United Kingdom spend four hours watching TV every day – the highest number among the nine countries compared. This is followed by China and Italy where the daily average constitutes one hour less, while those from Brazil and India dedicate a more moderate two hours of their average daily time to this activity. Lowest are the levels of viewing recorded in the UAE and Malta – a modest one hour per day in both cases.

With regards to the levels of education, although all the countries consistently show a relatively high proportion of school leavers, Italy, Canada and Malta achieve a perfect completion rate of 100%. In contrast, in India, only four-fifths of the population have finished school, which is the lowest figure in this category. The remaining countries show similar results, recording between 95 and 99% of school leavers. A similar pattern is evident at high school level, where Malta is an absolute leader at 100%, while India lags behind at just 60%. Elsewhere, the figures fall within a relatively narrow band of 68% to 97%. When it comes to university education, the figures are markedly lower in every country. Nonetheless, the UK stands out with the highest proportion of university graduates, at just under two-fifths, whereas India registers the lowest level, at a modest 12%. The remaining countries report intermediate figures, ranging from 18% to 29%.