You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the primary funding sources of international students in the US during the years 2003/04 and 2013/14.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the data and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

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Model Answer

The table represents the changes with the number of international students who received the funds from four different income sources (personal, US College or university, foreign government or university, current employer and other sources) in the US from 2003/04 to 2013/14.

Overall, there was a clear increase in the number of international students who received the funding from all sources except other sources, which decreased by 14%. The total funding recorded for 2003/04 was $572509 and which rose to $886052 by 2013/14. It is apparent that, foreign government and current employer support had risen drastically in compared to personal and US College’s rising rates.

Looking in details for the income supports from foreign government and current employer, which rose by 383% and 390%, respectively from 2003/04 to 2013/14. In 2003/04, 13699 international students received their main source of income from foreign government, while 10111 international students received their funds from current employers. In a decade, this number increased dramatically to 66147 and 49503 students who received their income from foreign government and current employers respectively.

In contrast, the number of students received from their family and the US College was the highest. Personal and family income sources have increased by 49% from 2003/04 to 2013/14 whereas the US Colleges rose by 28% for the same period. In details, 385543 students received the funding from their family and by themselves in 2003/04 which grew to 574129 students in 2013/14. Meanwhile, 134015 students supported from the US College in 2003/04 and this number rose to 171218 students by 2013/14.