Buổi 3: Writing Task 1 – Hai biểu đồ cột + đường: tìm câu chuyện chính trong 3 phút (A) & thư nêu lo ngại một cách tế nhị (GT)

The bar chart compares the proportion of consumers in Country R who claim that ethical considerations shape their purchases with the proportion who actually bought a certified product, while the line graph tracks the share of sales accounted for by certified goods in three categories over the same decade.

Overall, although both stated concern and actual purchasing rose, a gap of well over thirty percentage points persisted between them. The growth in certified sales, meanwhile, was concentrated in coffee and, increasingly, clothing, with electronics barely affected.

The share of consumers saying that ethics influenced their choices climbed from 52% in 2016 to 68% in 2026. The proportion who had bought a certified product in the previous month also increased, from 18% to 31%, but because both figures grew at a similar pace, the difference between them widened slightly, from 34 to 37 points, rather than narrowing.

This rise in actual purchasing was far from evenly spread. Certified coffee tripled its share of sales to 24%, the highest of the three categories throughout. Clothing started from a much lower base but accelerated after 2020, ending the period at 14%, more than four times its initial level. Electronics, by contrast, never exceeded 3%.

Dear Mr Hale,

I have volunteered at the shop on Saturdays for almost two years, and I am writing about a matter that I feel I should bring to your attention, although I hesitated before doing so.

On several occasions over the past month, I have noticed that some of the higher-value donations – a leather jacket and a set of good-quality kitchen knives, for example – were set aside in the back room and later bought by members of staff for a few pounds, before they had been priced or displayed. I may not be aware of the full picture, and there may well be an agreed arrangement that I do not know about.

My concern is that, if customers or donors became aware of this, it could give the impression that the best items never reach the shop floor, which might discourage people from giving. It also means the charity may be receiving considerably less than these items are worth.

It might help if all donations were priced by two volunteers before any sales took place, or if staff purchases were recorded in a simple log. I raise this only because I value the work the shop does, and I would be happy to discuss it at a convenient time.

Yours sincerely, Thu Nguyen