Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The charts show the distribution of money spent on music in three different years in Northern Ireland.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
The pie charts illustrate the changes in spending patterns in Northern Ireland with regards to music.
The first set of data is for 2005, where it can be seen that the majority of expenditure was for CDs, accounting for well over half. Just under one third of the money was spent attending concerts, standing at 31%. Downloaded music was only 6%, and the smallest category was that labeled ‘other’.
Three years later, the order of the four categories was the same, but there was a marked increase in the sale of digital music and an inverse correlation to the sale of CDs, which fell by 20% to 41%.
By 2011, digital purchases had overtaken both concerts and CDs and accounted for nearly half of all sales. The difference between CDs and concert sales narrowed to only 2%, and the ‘other’ category rose slightly to 3%.
Overall, it is clear that while concert sales remained relatively stable at around one third, digital music sales became more common than CD sales.
(170 words)
Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal.
To what extent do you agree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
There are clear arguments for banning smoking, based largely on health, but there is perhaps a stronger case to be made for maintaining the current situation, as will now be explained.
The most important factor for keeping smoking legal is that the decision to smoke is not something that should be controlled by the government, but by the individual. If a person decides to smoke, they do so of their own free will and this should be respected, as it is the government’s role to advise against harmful practices, but ultimately not to make decisions for its citizens.
The other reason for allowing smoking is that by making laws against it is more likely to result in the sale of tobacco moving to the black market, and consequently increasing the level of associated crime. There will still be people who cannot overcome their addiction, and will search for any means available to access cigarettes. A clear example of this reaction can be seen in the illegal sale of other drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.
Of course, there is the fact that smoking is known to have adverse health effects on both the smoker and those around them who are affected by passive smoking. Yet there are other lifestyle choices that also have a negative impact, such as fast food and alcohol, and banning these items would restrict the choice available to the consumer.
In conclusion, the decision to ban smoking, although having some advantages, would be more likely to have an overall negative effect. It would therefore be better for the government to continue campaigns that educate people about the potential dangers of the habit.
(276 words)