Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The table shows changes in average income by household type in New Zealand from 1998 to 2003.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
The table shows data about the median income received by 6 different compositions of household in New Zealand, as well as a total average. The range given is from 1998 to 2003.
In 1998, homes with only one person or with a couple and a single child were significantly below the average of $927. In contrast, the other four household types all exceeded the average, with couples with three or more children receiving the highest income. The same trend can also be observed in 1999.
In 2000, there were a number of changes. One parent households with one or more children received the highest income of $1115, while couples with two or three children actually received less than the previous year. Couples without children remained static. Couples with three or more children received the most again in 2001, a trend that continued until 2003 when single parents with children once again rose to the top with an income of $1411.
Overall, it can be seen that for the most part, all households increased the amount received.
(170 words)
Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Some people believe that passports are essential as a way of regulating the population of countries. Others believe they should be abolished and we should be able to travel where we like.
Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
There are different points of view about the value of passports, with some maintaining that they are a requirement, while others see them only as a hindrance to being able to travel freely. Both opinions will now be presented.
The use of passports can be said to have value in that it allows for governments to monitor the number of citizens and visitors in a country at any one time, thus being better able to calculate requirements for spending on public services such as education and healthcare. Statistics that can be gathered from the use of passports can also be valuable with regards estimating tourism revenue.
On the other hand, the ability to travel between countries can be seriously impacted by the requirement for passports and in some cases for visas. Travel around the European Union, for example, is now extremely easy for citizens of member states, but from people outside the Union, it can still be a costly and time consuming exercise to get the relevant paperwork.
Considering both points, it seems that the better solution would be the maintaining of a travel document but a relaxation of the requirement for visas and other peripheral paperwork. If people could travel and simply show their travel document, then statistics could be maintained but time consuming applications and costly administration could be reduced, allowing people to travel with far greater ease.
In sum, it seems that there is a valid purpose for some form of documentation, but if this can be minimised it would encourage wider mobility for people from certain countries that can at the present time be difficult to travel from.
(272 words)