Topic Events in Sports – Examples of IELTS Writing

IELTS Writing Task 1

Task 1: The chart and graph below give information about participants who have entered the Olympics since it began. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Example

The diagram and chart demonstrate the participation of males and females in the Olympics over an 88-year period from 1924 to 2012.

In general, the total number of participants from both genders showed an upward trend over the period. Moreover, the participation rate of men consistently exceeded that of women, except for the final year when female participation saw a significant increase.

Regarding the bar chart, in 1924, the number of male Olympic participants was 3000, significantly higher than the 1000 female participants. From there, male participation gradually increased, peaking at just under 6000 in 2012. Females also showed a similar but more pronounced trend, steadily increasing from 1924 to 1984 before rising sharply to slightly less than 5000 in 2012, slightly below the male peak in the same year.

As for the line graph, approximately 3000 male and female athletes participated in the Olympics in 1924, with this number steadily increasing throughout the period to reach about 11000 by the end of it.

Analysis

In the first paragraph, we discuss the bar chart.

• 1924: số lượng nam cao hơn rất nhiều số lượng nữ
• Từ năm đó trở về sau, số lượng nam tăng đều, cuối cùng đạt đỉnh 
• Số lượng nữ có khung hướng tương tự, nhưng ở mức độ lớn hơn (tăng đều → vào năm cuối tăng mạnh và thấp hơn một xíu với nam) 

Moving to the second paragraph, we examine the line graph: presenting data from the initial years → showing continuous growth in both genders → concluding with data from the final year.

Summary:

• Số lượng người tham gia của cả 2 giới tính có khuynh hướng gia tăng 
• Tỉ lệ tham gia của nam luôn vượt xa nữ, ngoại trừ năm cuối 

IELTS Writing task 2

Task 2: Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Example

It is thought that sports competitions held on a worldwide scale are safe platforms for the tensions between countries to be mitigated and nationalist sentiments to be safely expressed. In my opinion, although there are certain justifications for such a proposal, I disagree with this school of thought as these two aims cannot always be achieved in a safe way.

There are sound reasons to argue that harmonious relationships between nations can be promoted by means of international sports events. This is predicated on the assumption that through these tournaments, athletes from various countries have the chance to compete against each other in a friendly and constructive manner. Even though their countries of origin might be at war or conflict, the top footballers from each country shake hands and greet each other, which would somewhat ease the current hostile relationships between countries.

However, this line of reasoning can be flawed given the fact that during the match, athletes and supporters might be prone to getting carried away with their emotions, and upon completion of the match, some spectators and sportspeople can blame their country’s defeat on the partiality and unfair treatment of a referee. In extreme cases which once happened, several athletes, together with supporters, had fought against each other and resorted to violent behaviors when their temperaments went beyond control, which ended up worsening the international relationships which used to be relatively close.

In terms of patriotism, global sports occasions are likely to promote nationalism for the whole country. This argument presupposes the fact that when a country participates in a grand sporting event, the whole country, irrespective of its political, religious, economic and social divisions, tends to direct their full attention towards their country’s team and take a great deal of pride when their country’s flags appear at a global stadium. However, when victory cannot be accomplished, the effects can be rather negative.

To illustrate this point, when Vietnamese football team loses a match, more often than not, Vietnamese people try to spot inaccuracies in the results announced and with a view to protecting their national football team, they post online and spread information of their feelings of frustration, or report any opponents’ behaviours and body movements during the match which violate the regulations. Worse than that, they attack social media accounts of footballers of the opposing team and give extremely offensive comments and criticism. Undoubtedly, this is completely an unhealthy and also unsafe way to express patriotic feelings.

In conclusion, while it is understandable why popular events such as the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are likely to alleviate hostility of countries across the globe and encourage patriotism of the whole nation, I am of the opinion that there is not always a guarantee of the safety factor when two goals are aimed for.

Glossary

• Platform (n): nền tảng
• Mitigate (v) = alleviate (v): giảm nhẹ 
• Nationalist sentiment: tinh thần yêu nước 
• Harmonious relationship (n): mối quan hệ hoà thuận 
• Tournament (n): giải đấu 
• Get carried away with emotions: bị cảm xúc chi phối 
• Promote nationalism (n): thúc đẩy lòng yêu nước 
• Irrespective of: không bàn đến 
• Violate the regulations: phá vỡ luật lệ 

Analysis

Quan điểm chung: Mặc dù có một số lời giải thích cho ý kiến ở đề bài, nhưng tác giả thiên về không đồng tình vì 2 mục tiêu đề cập không hoàn toàn lúc nào có thể đạt được một cách an toàn

Thân bài 1: Ban đầu sự kiện thể thao quốc tế giúp kết nối người từ nhiều quốc gia khác nhau, nhưng trong và sau trận đấu, các cầu thủ và fans bị cảm xúc chi phối, điều này có thể dẫn đến xung đột / hành vi bạo lực.