📖 The Question#
The tables below show statistics about the top five countries for international tourism in 2012 and 2013.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
(Source: IELTS Simon Video Course Writing Task 1 Lesson 5 Tables)
🏆 The Essay#
Introduction (引言)#
The table compares the five highest ranking countries in terms of numbers of visits and the money spent by tourists over the period of two years.
Overview (概述)#
It is clear that France was the world’s most popular tourist destination in the years 2012 and 2013. However, the USA earned by far the most revenue from tourism over the same period.
Body Paragraph 1 (細節段落 1：遊客數量)#
In 2012, 83 million tourists visited France, and the USA was the second most visited country, with 66.7 million tourists. Spain and China each received just under 58 million visits, while Italy was ranked fifth with 46.4 million tourists. 2013 saw an rise of between 1 to 4 million tourist visits to each country, with the exception of China, which received 2 million fewer visitors than the previous year.
Body Paragraph 2 (細節段落 2：旅遊收入)#
Spending by tourists visiting the USA increased from $126.2 billion in 2012 to $139.6 billion in 2013, and these figures were well over twice as high as those for other country. Spain received the second highest amounts of tourist revenue, rising from $56.3 billion to $60.4 billion, followed by France, China and Italy. Interestingly, despite falling number of tourists, Chinese revenue from tourism rose by $1.7 billion in 2013.
🔑 Collocations & Vocabulary (亮點單字與片語)#
- Earned by far the most revenue: 賺取了到目前為止最多的收入（冠絕全場的最高值表達法）
- Second most visited country: 第二大最受歡迎的出遊國
- Just under: 略低於… / 剛好在…之下（精準的數據模糊描述）
- Was ranked fifth: 排名第五（非常適合表格排名的被動用法）
- Saw an rise of…: 見證了…的上升（以年份作為主詞的擬人高分句型）
- With the exception of…: …除外（用於點出「反常、不符合總體趨勢」的群體）
- Well over twice as high as those for…: 遠遠高出其他國家的兩倍以上（強大的倍數對比句型）
- Second highest amounts of: 第二高數額的…
- Despite falling number of tourists: 儘管遊客數量在下降（
despite + V-ing/N的高級讓步結構）
💡 The Strategy (表格題解題 4 步曲)#
1. 📝 Paraphrase (改寫題目)#
表格題（Tables）的寫作核心通常是「分類與排行」。Introduction 需要精準概括表格所涵蓋的類別。本題將題目中的 statistics about the top five countries 具體改寫為兩大比較維度：numbers of visits（出遊人數）與 the money spent（旅遊花費），並交代兩年的時間跨度。
- 高分句型：
The table compares the [X] highest ranking countries in terms of [Category A] and [Category B] over the period of [X] years.
2. 🌟 Overview (找出全貌與核心對比)#
觀察表格時，不要迷失在密密麻麻的數字裡。請橫向觀察「誰是流量王（人數最多）」，縱向觀察「誰是吸金王（收入最高）」。本題最核心的矛盾與亮點就在於：法國贏了人數（最熱門），但美國贏了錢包（收入碾壓級第一）。把這個顯著的對比提煉出來，就是完美的 Overview。
- 高分句型：
It is clear that [Country A] was the most popular...,. However, [Country B] earned by far the most...
3. 📊 Details Paragraphs (數據分組與比較)#
表格題最忌諱按照國家一個一個記流水帳（例如：先寫法國人數和錢，再寫美國人數和錢）。Simon 在這裡示範了教科書級別的**「按數據類別分組（Category Grouping）」**：
- Detail 1 (人數組)： 專注寫「國際遊客數（Visits）」。先交代 2012 年的排名高低，再用一句話概括 2013 年的總體增長趨勢，並敏銳地抓出中國這個「不增反降」的例外（
with the exception of）。 - Detail 2 (收入組)： 專注寫「旅遊收入（Spending）」。重點突出美國倍數級的領先優勢（
well over twice as high as），最後結合 Detail 1 的發現，點出中國「人數下降但收入反而上升」的有趣反差（Interestingly...），邏輯完全交織在一起。
4. 🔤 Essential Vocabulary （必備高分字彙）#
寫表格題必須不斷切換「數量」、「收入」與「趨勢」的同義詞，並熟練運用倍數和排序。
- 📈 人數/數據替換：
numbers of visits,tourist visits,visitors,figures - 💰 收入/花費替換：
money spent,revenue,spending,amounts of tourist revenue - 🔀 排序與對比：
highest ranking,second most,ranked fifth,twice as high as,followed by