IELTS WRITING TASK # 2016 Rio Olympic

February 27, 2020 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

IELTS WRITING TASK 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The table below shows the number of medals won by the top ten countries in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

2016 Rio Olympic Games Medal Table

Rank	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United states	46	37	38	121
2	Great Britain	27	23	17	67
3	China	26	18	26	70
4	Russian Federation	19	18	19	56
5	Germany	17	10	15	42
6	Japan	12	8	21	41
7	France	10	18	14	42
8	Republic of Korea	9	3	9	21
9	Italy	8	12	8	28
10	Australia	8	11	10	29

Source: Rio Olympics website

Sample Answer:

The table provides information about the medal standings of the top ten nations in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Looking at the details, the USA topped the list with a total of 121 medals. This comprised of 46 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze medals. Notably, these figures were the highest as compared to any other country for all the three categories of medals. The medal haul of the second place holder, Great Britain, was significantly smaller than that of America, only 67.
China, on the other hand, won total 70 medals, three more than the GB. However, it slipped to the third place since it had fewer gold medals in comparison to the GB. The fourth position was grabbed by the Russian Federation with 19 gold, 18 silver and 19 bronze medals. Interestingly, no other country had the privilege of winning almost equal number of medals in each category.
But, there are nations whose total medal tallies were almost equal. The fifth, sixth and seventh place holders, Germany, Japan and France had roughly the same total, 42, 41 and 42 respectively. Whilst, the summative figures were quite different for the eighth, ninth and tenth rankers (21, 28 and 29 in the order).
Overall, it is clear that the USA was the highest achiever in the 2016 Olympics, followed by the Great Britain and China. The differences in the type of medals won by the listed countries changed their rankings.

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