example essay for bar graph

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IELTS Bar Chart Sample Essay

Static or Dynamic?

Before writing an IELTS task 1 bar chart or line graph answer it is important that we analyse the question correctly. Taking a few minutes to do this will help us write a clear answer that fully responds to the question. Just what the examiner wants us to do.

The first thing we need to do is decide if the bar chart is static or dynamic. Static means that the data comes from one point in time. Dynamic means the data comes from more than one point in time.

Whether a chart is static or dynamic will affect the information we choose to include in our answer and the kind of language (tense, grammar etc.) we use.

If it is dynamic we will have to compare the different times and comment on the general trends over the time period.

If it is static we will have to compare the different variables, in this case countries, car price, GDP and time it takes for one person to buy a car.

Main Features

Every IELTS academic task 1 question asks us to ‘select and report the main features’.

This means that we have to not only pick the most significant information from the graph and include it in our essay, but also decide which information is not important and should therefore not be included in our essay. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in task 1 is including all the information you see.

So which information should you choose?

You should look for:

• highest/lowest values
• biggest differences
• similarities
• significant exceptions
• anything else that really stands out

There are 3 main features in this graph

1) It takes over 26 years for a Vietnamese person to buy a car.

2) Vietnam has the second highest average costs but the second lowest wages.

3) Cost of a car in Singapore is nearly 3 times the next most expensive.

I advise my students to follow a basic four paragraph structure for these kinds of questions.

Paragraph 1 

Paraphrase the question using synonyms.

Paragraph 2 

Provide an overview of the main features. No need to include any data in this paragraph, just tell the examiner what is happening in general terms. If you had to describe the main features in two sentences, what would you say?

Paragraph 3

This is where we get more specific and use data. Take 2 of the main features (from your overview) and describe them in detail using data from the chart.

Paragraph 4 

Simply do the same thing as you did in paragraph 3, but with two other main features (from your overview).

Sample Answer 

The graph compares the GDP per capita, cost of a Toyota Camry and approximate length of time it takes for 1 citizen to purchase that mode of transport in eight Asian countries.

Despite having the second lowest average yearly income, it costs more to buy this car in Vietnam than in all but one other Asian nation. It also takes significantly longer for a standard person to buy an automobile in Vietnam than in any other state in Asia. On the other end of the scale, Singaporeans have to pay nearly three times more for their cars than the Vietnamese and it takes them the least amount of time to afford a motor vehicle.

It costs $49,944 to buy a Toyota Camry in Vietnam, but this dwarfs the average yearly income per person at just $1,910. It would therefore take a normal man or woman 26.1 years to save up for that particular car.

This is in contrast to Singapore where it costs $126,245 for that model of motorcar, however the average salary is much greater at $55,182. This means that it generally takes just over 2 years for a typical individual from Singapore to acquire this vehicle.

(200 words) Band 9.

It should be noted that this is not a real IELTS task 1 question. This is just a chart that I saw on the internet, but it allowed me to make a very important point- you don’t have to mention everything on the graph. I only talked about 2 out of the 8 countries and I still wrote 200 words and answer the question fully. The key is finding the most significant data and not talking about anything else. Don’t worry, you won’t lose marks for not talking about everything, quite the opposite.

This graph is also good for demonstrating how important it is to vary your vocabulary. There were four words that could have been overused in this essay- car, average, country and people. Instead of repeating them over and over again I used synonyms to show the examiner I have a wide vocabulary and gain extra marks. Here are the synonyms:

Car- Toyota Camry- automobile- vehicle- motor vehicle- motorcar

Average- approximate- normal- typical- standard

Country- countries- nation- state

People- citizen- man or woman- individual

Next time you see a chart or graph in a newspaper, in a textbook or on the internet, think about what the main features are and what common words would you have to vary with synonyms.

I hope you have found these tips useful. If you have any questions, let me know below.

For more band 9 sample essays check out our task 1 sample essay page.

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IELTS Bar Chart/Graph – Samples, Tips to Describe Bar Graphs

Updated On Mar 07, 2022

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Table of Contents

Types of ielts bar graphs, a comprehensive guide to write ielts bar chart essay, describing a bar chart, choosing the information from the bar graph, tips to write ielts bar chart essay.

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Amidst all the other types of questions, you will also come across a question that will showcase a bar graph. Also known as a bar chart, the bar graph is evaluated similar to a line graph . Such a bar chart also comes with two axes, showing changes and diversifications over a given period of time. Furthermore, the bar graph has rectangular bars that could be either displayed vertically or horizontally, representing two or more values of data.

When preparing for the IELTS exam , you would have to prepare for two different types of bar graphs: vertical and horizontal.

Vertical Bar Graph

Here is how a vertical bar graph looks like:

Horizontal Bar Graph

Here is how a horizontal bar graph looks like:

If you wish to learn more about writing a high-scoring IELTS bar essay, here is a comprehensive process that will help you out.

Evaluating the Question

The first and foremost step is to evaluate and analyze the question. In the question, you will get a brief description of the bar chart along with instructions. Your job here will be to discover the central idea.

Assessing the Given Data

The next step is to assess the data that you have in the question. Find out whether it is dynamic or static. If it is dynamic data, it will show two or more time periods. If it is static data, it will show only one time period. For both these data types, you will have to use different languages to write the description.

Discovering Primary Features

Majorly, bar graph questions are meant to test your mathematical as well as language skills. Hence, you must know how to derive the primary features from the given data and write about it.

Here is the complete format that should be used when describing a bar chart or a bar graph.

The Introduction

In the introduction paragraph, you would have to paraphrase the asked question. This can be done by using synonyms and paraphrased words and sentences. Also, ensure that this section is sounding natural.

The Overview

Usually, an overview forms the second paragraph of the essay. In this one, you would have to write down the main features. Also, you must discover available comparisons and talk about general trends occurring in the given data.

The First Body Paragraph

In the first body paragraph, you will have to give detailed information and explain the given data. Here, you must focus more on language instead of facts. Making relevant comparisons is always useful.

The Second Body Paragraph

This second body paragraph will have your explanation of the remaining features. It will be the same as the first body paragraph, but with different information.

As you would already know, a bar graph question requires a report of 150 words to be written. To help you out with an easier way, you can follow (but not stick to) the below-mentioned guidelines.

Jotted down below are some tips that will help you write a relevant, on-point IELTS bar chart essay

1. Is it difficult for you to match the word count?

Most of the time, people find it difficult to match the word count. Hence, they start using complicated words to unnecessarily extend the sentences. While using high-end vocabulary is a pro, writing sentences that are difficult to be understood is a con.

2. Be straightforward in your writing

When describing the bar graph, try not to complicate the description. Be straightforward and on-point.

3. Do you only practise with one type?

While practising, do you only try working on one type of chart or graph, or do you expand your horizons as well?

4. Practise as much as possible

While practising, work on varying bar charts or graphs so as to enhance your ability to explain whatever comes in the examination.

5. Are you always in a hurry for submission?

One of the common mistakes that people commit is not reviewing their answers before submission. This could lead to you missing out on errors and issues that can impact your marking.

6. Review your writings before submitting

Once written, double-check for grammatical errors . Review important details and superlatives to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

Here are 10 bar graph IELTS practice test examples:

Also check :

• IELTS Writing tips
• IELTS Writing recent actual test
• IELTS Writing Answer sheet
• IELTS map vocabulary
• IELTS Writing Task 1 Connectors

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a bar chart?

What is the structure of a bar graph?

What is the difference between introduction and overview? Can I skip the overview because I feel introduction is enough?

Can I have just one body paragraph where I give almost all the information?

What is the expected word count for describing a bar chart?

Practice IELTS Writing Task 1 based on report types

Start Preparing for IELTS: Get Your 10-Day Study Plan Today!

Janet had been an IELTS Trainer before she dived into the field of Content Writing. During her days of being a Trainer, Janet had written essays and sample answers which got her students an 8+ band in the IELTS Test. Her contributions to our articles have been engaging and simple to help the students understand and grasp the information with ease. Janet, born and brought up in California, had no idea about the IELTS until she moved to study in Canada. Her peers leaned to her for help as her first language was English.

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How to Describe a Bar Chart [IELTS Writing Task 1]

Posted by David S. Wills | Apr 13, 2020 | IELTS Tips , Writing | 5

There are various kinds of diagrams and charts that you may be asked to describe in the IELTS writing test, and one of those is the bar chart . In today’s lesson, I want to share some important advice that can help you improve your writing performance in your next IELTS test.

Describing data for task 1 of the IELTS writing exam is quite difficult and it will vary according to what you actually see. In other words, it is hard to simply teach some language for describing bar charts… Instead, your language will vary according to what the bar chart shows.

However, in this article I am going to break the process down and show you some examples so that you can understand it fully. At the end, I will give you a sample band 9 answer for a really difficult bar chart about people’s weight.

What are Bar Charts?

First of all, let’s start with the most basic question. You can feel free to skip this if you are already totally familiar with it. 😁 What is a bar chart? Basically, it is a visual representation of data using bars, like these:

Bar charts are used to show the difference between volumes or quantities of things because it is easy for the human eye to interpret. Let’s take a look at this example bar chart. I just found it on Google and will use it because it is simple. This is not a real IELTS chart. 🤪

You can easily see what this means. The most common excuse is “I forgot to set my alarm” and the least common is “It was still too dark; I thought it was still night-time.”

That is the purpose of a bar chart. It shows data in a way that is really easy for people to understand. As such, you may encounter it in your IELTS test. In that case, you will have to pick out the most important data and describe it.

Bar Charts for IELTS Writing

As we have seen, a bar chart is just another way of expressing data. For task 1 of the IELTS writing test, you may be asked to write about a bar chart. You will have to write more than 150 words and it is recommended that you do this in 20 minutes or less. (You will have a total of 1 hour for 2 tasks.)

It is important to note that you do not have to describe everything in the chart . Part of the task is picking out and describing only the relevant details. That usually means:

• The highest
• Major differences
• Anything interesting

What does that mean? This is very subjective, and so it is certainly open to debate. Let’s look at an example in order to understand it better:

In this bar chart, our eyes are naturally drawn towards the highest and lowest figures. The highest was in Sweden in 2012 and the lowest was in Finland in 2012. Therefore, both the highest and lowest figures occurred in the same year. That’s interesting!😅

Another interesting factor is that, in every year except one, Sweden had a higher divorce rate than Finland. It was only in 2015 that Finland’s divorce rate was higher than Sweden’s.

The Process

When you need to describe a bar chart for IELTS, you should take the same basic process as for describing anything else:

• Take time to read the question carefully.
• Look at the data and make sure you understand it.
• Find important data to describe.
• Plan your essay structure.
• Write your essay carefully.
• Check your answer for mistakes.

If you follow this basic routine, you will have a good chance of providing a strong answer to the question.

Language for Describing Bar Charts

In the past, I have talked about the language required to describe the following IELTS writing task 1 assignments:

• Process diagram

Bar charts are a little different because the language you would use depends on what is being described and there is no common set language that you would use just to talk about bar charts in general.

In the previous example, we can see that the bar chart features changing data over time. In such cases, we can use relatively similar language to that which we used for line graphs. You could say, for example:

Divorce rates in Sweden peaked in 2012 at a little under 50%, but fell in each of the subsequent years.

However, you can see that in the first bar chart there was no progression of time, so you cannot use language that shows changes in data. This brings us to the next stage…

Common Problems in Describing Bar Charts for IELTS

I used to teach writing skills at a university in China, and one of the most common problems I would have was teaching my students to write about bar charts. They could describe line graphs really easily, but the problem was that they would use the same expressions and structures for bar charts, when in fact something different was needed. Let’s look at two example charts. These contain similar data but there is an essential difference:

You can see that the line graph talks about changing phone prices over time, whereas the bar chart shows the different prices of phones. These prices are all taken from the same point in time .

Therefore, in order to adequately describe these, you must show that you understand the data.

For the line graph, you can say:

The price of Phone A rose from £380 to £410 between December and January.

However, you cannot use this language for the bar chart:

INCORRECT: The price rose from £380 for Phone B to £410 for Phone C. CORRECT: Phone C cost £30 more than Phone B, which cost £380.

This may seem easy to some people, but it is an important distinction and a common mistake. You should practice often to make sure that you know the difference.

Task 1 Essay Structure

There is no single perfect essay structure for IELTS, but there are some that are better than others. For task 1, I generally recommend writing an essay like this:

Let me explain what I mean by that.

It is really important to group your data appropriately. This can be quite difficult, so you should read this article first.

Essentially, you need to choose how to put groups of data together. Let’s take another example:

The chart below shows the total number of minutes (in billions) of telephone call in the UK, divided into three categories, from 1995-2002. Summarise the information by selecting a reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

For this sort of bar chart, you might choose to write two or three body paragraphs. Perhaps you would describe local fixed line phones first, then start a new paragraph for national and international ones, with another paragraph for mobiles.

Another way would be to break the data in half – one paragraph for 1995 to 1998 and another paragraph for 1999 to 2002.

There are lots of different ways. The only really important thing is that you make it clear to your reader why you have chosen to group the data this way. In other words, it must be logical .

Sample Answer

My answer to this question would look something like this:

The bar chart shows the time spent on three different kinds of phone calls in the United Kingdom over a period of eight years, starting in 1995 and ending in 2002. Local calls were the most common type of phone call made during the entire period, although both national/international and mobile calls grew in popularity to narrow the gap between these three types of call by 2002. In 1995, local calls were by far the most common type of phone call in the UK, with more than 70 billion minutes recorded on this chart. This is about double the amount of time spent on national and international calls, and more than ten times as much as was spent on mobile phone calls. All three types of phone calls grew in popularity until 1999, after which local calls decreased year-on-year until they ended the period at around the same figure as they began it – 70 billion minutes. National and international calls grew steadily over the recorded eight years, from about half the popularity of local calls to only slightly less in 2002. Mobile phone calls, however, grew ten-fold from about four billion minutes to more than forty billion.

A Really Difficult Bar Chart

Finally, let’s look at a difficult bar chart in order to show how we can tackle challenging problems.

As you can see, the first problem is that there are two charts! Already, that will prove more difficult than describing just one chart.

Another issue is that these bars look strange. They are all the same size… Why? Well, these represent the population. Each one is 100%, with the colours making up the different weight categories. The total can never be more than 100% because that it is the full population.

Now, you should try to interpret the data. What are the main changes?

• In 1955, there are lots of people at an ideal weight and very few people are obese.
• In 2015, many older people are obese. Fewer people are at an ideal weight.
• The weight distribution was similar regardless of age in 1955, but in 2015 it is very different.

Once you have picked out the important data, you should figure out how to structure your answer. I will use this structure:

However, I will make sure that there are clear comparisons between the 1955 and 2015 data. It is not enough to describe them in isolation.

Language for Talking about Age and Weight

To be honest, the hardest part of this bar chart is not that data but the terminology around age and weight. You can see from the chart that were are looking at age groups and weight groups. Many native speakers find this really difficult to talk about.

When we talk about age and weight, we usually say some form of “to be” rather than “to have.” For example:

• INCORRECT: In 2015, a higher percentage of people had overweight or obesity than in any other group.
• CORRECT: In 2015, a higher percentage of people were overweight or obese than in any other group.
• INCORRECT: In both years, the people who were most likely to be an ideal weight had 20 to 29 years.
• CORRECT: In both years, the people who were most likely to be an ideal weight were aged 20 to 29 years.

You can see how I explained this to one of the students on my writing correction service :

There are also problems with grouping people according to age. We can just say “people in the ___ age group/category” but this becomes repetitive after a while, so we need to use different language.

Talking about age is difficult, especially when describing groups of people who fall into different age categories. One thing to know is that, when you say use numbers, it is a sort of adjective and thus you need a noun to follow it or else it is meaningless:

• The criminals arrested were all 16 to 25 years old.
• I saw a 15-year-old boy running away.

You can turn the “old” into a noun by adding an “-s”:

• There was an increase of 25% in the unemployment rate for 20-29-year olds.

You can also put “aged” before the numbers:

• Most of the recipients were aged 18-22.

Sample Band 9 Answer

Here is my description of the bar chart above:

There are two bar charts showing the distribution of weight categories for people living in Charlestown. The first one is from 1955 and the second is from 2015. It is clear that vast changes have occurred in people’s health during this sixty year period. In 1955, very few people were overweight or obese, and most were healthy or even underweight. In each of the age groups, at least half of people were classified as in the ideal weight range, but towards the ends of the spectrum – the youngest and the oldest people – there were more people who fell into the underweight bracket. Being overweight or obese was a problem primarily affecting middle aged people, but not the most elderly ones. However, this distribution had completely changed by 2015. Although some young adults and elderly people remained underweight, a very slim number in the middle of the age groups did. Being overweight had become increasingly common, and obesity had become a huge issue, affecting people more and more as they got older. For people aged fifty and older, more than half suffered from obesity, and very few fell into a healthy weight range.

Useful Language

I will excerpt some of the useful phrases that appeared in this answer so that you can see how I have managed to describe ages and weights:

• very few people were overweight or obese
• most were healthy or even underweight
• at least half of people were classified as in the ideal weight range
• people who fell into the underweight bracket
• Being overweight or obese was a problem
• elderly people remained underweight
• Being overweight had become increasingly common
• obesity had become a huge issue
• more than half suffered from obesity
• very few fell into a healthy weight range

This was a really difficult bar chart to describe, but using this language I have managed to do it accurately and comprehensively.

Improve your Writing

If you want to get better at IELTS writing, the only way to ensure constant progress is by having an expert give you feedback. Most of the writing correction services that you find online are rubbish. They are run by people do not speak much English or do not understand IELTS. My writing correction service is one of the few that is truly worthwhile. I can tell you all your problems and help you to fix them.

Here is my feedback to someone who wrote an essay about the Charlestown weight distribution bar charts:

Let me know in the comment section if you have any questions. 🙂

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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Hi, David. I noticed that you didn’t include any figures at all in your sample answer for the weight assessment. Is that acceptable? This is because I have seen some IETLS teacher who taught us to include most of important figures. Thank you.

The important thing about IELTS is that it is an English test, so you should use your language to describe the data. Most candidates attempt to cram lots of numbers in so that they can use fewer words. The fewer numbers you use, the better. Sure, you can have one or two, but if you are able to use words to describe trends, reflect important data, or make comparisons, then it is much better. If you read my essay carefully, you will notice that I said things like “at least half of people” rather than just repeating numbers. This is a good strategy, although you can certainly put in a few numbers if you want.

Hi David. Thank you for your explanation. I have a question! for describing a chart what verb tens we should use? It depends on something or it has a rule! Thank you.

It depends on the situation. Pay attention to any time frame that is given or the origin of the data. If none is given, then present simple is fine.

Asalam O Alakum David

Can we explain only things in overview except figures, percentage and time trend? I mean only what they have mentioned in the picture.

Secondly, in last 2 paragraphs only should we write those things which they have showed in the graph, chart or map in a simple way.\

Please, confirm me.

With regards

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How To Write an IELTS Bar Chart Essay

There are 5 steps to writing   a good IELTS bar chart essay:

1)  Analyse the question

2)  Identify the main features

3)  Write an introduction

4)  Write an overview

5)  Write the details paragraphs

Use this simple planning process as you practice writing IELTS bar chart essays and you’ll have no problem remembering it in the exam.

Steps 1 and 2 of the planning process should take around 5 minutes. It is essential that you don’t miss these out as they are the key to writing a high-scoring essay.

On this page, I’m going to take you through the whole planning process step-by-step as we work on a practice question.

Before we begin, here’s a model essay structure that you can use as a guideline for all IELTS Academic Task 1 questions.

Ideally, your essay should have 4 paragraphs:

Paragraph 1  – Introduction

Paragraph 2  – Overview

Paragraph 3  – 1 st  main feature

Paragraph 4  – 2 nd  main feature

Now that we have all these tools we need, we’re ready to begin planning and writing our IELTS bar chart essay.

Here’s our practice question:

The bar chart below shows the sector contributions to India’s gross domestic product from 1960 to 2000.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Contribution as % of India's GDP

Source: EPW Research Foundation

Step 1 –  Analyse the question

The format of every Academic Task 1 question is the same. Here is our practice question again with the words that will be included in all questions highlighted .

The  bar chart  below shows  the sector contributions to India’s gross domestic product from 1960 to 2000.

Every question consists of:

• Sentence 1 – A brief description of the graphic
• Sentence 2 – The instructions
• The graphic – chart, graph, table, etc.

Sentence 2 tells you what you have to do.

You must do 3 things:

1.     Select the main features.

2.     Write about the main features.

3.     Compare the main features.

All three tasks refer to the ‘ main features ’ of the graphic. You  do not  have to write about everything. Just pick out 2 or 3 key features and you’ll have plenty to write about.

Our practice graphic is a dynamic bar chart. That is, it includes a timeline giving data from several different points in time.

So, for this question, we need to identify the main trends (that is, the general developments or changes in situation) in the three key sectors of the Indian economy – agriculture, industry and service – between 1960 and 2000.

Alternatively, a bar chart may be static with the data coming from one point in time, as in the example below. For this graphic, we would need to compare the different variables, that is, the different leisure activities favoured by Canadian boys and girls.

Step 2 – Identify the Main Features

The graphic in IELTS bar chart questions should not be difficult to interpret. Each question has been created to  test your language skills, not your mathematics ability.

All you are looking for are the main features. These will usually be the easiest things to spot. As we’ve just seen, the type of key features will depend on whether the bar chart is dynamic or static.

There will be lots of information in the graphic to help you identify them. Here are some useful questions to ask?

• What information do the 2 axes give?
• Is it dynamic or static?
• What are the units of measurements?
• What are the time periods?
• What can you learn from the title and any labels?
• What is the most obvious trend?
• Are there any notable similarities?

(I give more detail on how to use these questions, plus downloadable checklists for identifying the main features of all 7 different types of IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 questions, in the lesson on  How To Understand & Analyse Task 1 Questions .)

So, what main features stand out in our practice graphic?

Here's our practice IELTS bar chart again.

There are 3 main features/trends in this IELTS bar chart:

Main feature 1:  The contribution of the agricultural sector dropped steadily.

Main feature 2:  The contribution of the service sector increased each decade.

Main feature 3:  Industry remained static from 1980 to 2000.

The general trends you select will be the starting point for your essay. You will then go on to add more detail.

With just 20 minutes allowed for Task 1, and a requirement of only 150 words, you won't be able to include many details.

We’re now ready to begin writing our essay. Here’s a reminder of the 4 part structure we’re going to use.

Step 3 – Write an Introduction 

In the introduction, you should simply paraphrase the question, that is, say the same thing in a different way. You can do this by using synonyms and changing the sentence structure. For example:

Introduction (Paragraph 1): 

The bar graph illustrates the relative percentage contributions made by the agricultural, industrial and service sectors to the Indian economy between 1960 and 2000.

This is all you need to do for the introduction.

Ideally, key words such as ‘sector’ and ‘contributions’ should be replaced by synonyms but there aren’t any obvious words that could be used instead so it’s fine to repeat them. It’s important that your language sounds natural so never try to force in synonyms that don’t quite fit.

Step 4 – Write an Overview (Paragraph 2)

In the second paragraph, you should report the main features you can see in the graph, giving only general information. The detail comes later in the essay. You should also make any clear comparisons you spot.

This is where we write about the general trends. Here are the ones we picked out above.

Now form these ideas into two or three sentences with a total of around 40 words. State the information simply using synonyms where possible. No elaborate vocabulary or grammar structures are required, just the appropriate words and correct verb tenses.

For example:

Overview  (Paragraph 2) : 

Over the whole time period, the significance of agriculture declined steadily while services grew in importance decade by decade. A different patterned emerged for industry, which initially showed a slowly increasing percentage but then plateaued from 1980 onwards.

Step 5  – Write the 1st Detail Paragraph

Paragraphs 3 and 4 of your IELTS bar chart essay are where you include more detailed information about the data in the graphic. In paragraph 3, you should give evidence to support your first 1 or 2 key features. Don’t forget to make comparisons when relevant.

Here are our first 2 main features again:

And this is an example of what you could write:

Paragraph 3 :

In 1960, agriculture contributed by far the highest percentage of GDP, peaking at 62%, but it then dropped in steady increments to a low of 12% in 2000. The service sector, on the other hand, had a relatively minor impact on the economy in 1960. This situation changed gradually at first, then its percentage contribution jumped from 28% to 43% between 1980 and 1990. By 2000 it matched the high point reached by agriculture in 1960, showing a reversal in the overall trend.

Step 6  – Write the 2nd Detail Paragraph

For the fourth and final paragraph, you do the same thing for your remaining feature/s. We have one main feature left to write about.

Here’s an example of what you could write:

Paragraph 4 :

Industry remained a steady contributor to India’s wealth throughout the period. As a sector, it grew marginally from 16% in 1960 to exactly a quarter in 1980 then remained static for the next two decades, maintaining a constant share of the overall GDP.

Here are the four paragraphs brought together to create our finished essay.

Finished IELTS Bar Chart Essay

(188 words)

This sample IELTS bar chart essay is well over the minimum word limit so you can see that you don’t have space to include very much detail at all. That’s why it is essential to select just a couple of main features to write about.

Now use what you’ve learnt in this lesson to practice answering other IELTS bar chart questions. Start slowly at first and keep practicing until you can plan and write a complete essay in around 20 minutes.

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Ielts academic writing task 1 – all lessons.

IELTS Academic Writing  –  A summary of the test including important facts, test format & assessment.

Academic Writing Task 1  – The format, the 7 question types & sample questions, assessment & marking criteria.  All the key information you need to know.

Understanding Task 1 Questions  – How to quickly and easily analyse and understand IELTS Writing Task 2 questions.

How To Plan a Task 1 Essay  –  Discover  3 reasons why you must plan, the 4 simple steps of essay planning and learn a simple 4 part essay structure.

Vocabulary for Task 1 Essays  –  Learn key vocabulary for a high-scoring essay. Word lists & a downloadable PDF.

Grammar for Task 1 Essays   – Essential grammar for Task 1 Academic essays including, verb tenses, key sentence structures, articles & prepositions.

The 7 Question Types:

Click the links below for a step-by-step lesson on each type of Task 1 question.

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How to score high on a bar graph question in writing task 1

The bar graph task 1 essay accounts for a third of your marks in the writing test so we recommend spending around 20 minutes on it, as this is a third of your time. There are a couple of different structures you can follow when describing an IELTS bar chart .

A strategy for bar graph questions

Essay structure, or how you organise your answer, is very important in academic writing. Today we will teach you a new method – a structure where you assign each sentence of your text to a topic – kind of the opposite of what you usually do when writing task 2 . It may look a little confusing, but this method really works! Just follow our lead for IELTS task 1.

Remember that bar chart and bar graph are synonyms and you can use the phrases interchangeably. Although each bar graph will be different, you are not required to be an expert on the information it shows, just to summarise the information, identify trends and make comparisons. Each bar graph IELTS question is different, so look at as many bar graph examples as you can and practice this strategy until you feel really confident.

How to choose information from the bar graph?

Assuming one sentence contains around 10 to 15 words, we can estimate that your description of the bar chart will consist of about 10 to 12 sentences. Now we can assign each sentence a specific task:

• One sentence for the introduction.
• Two sentences using superlatives.
• A sentence with a comparison. Make comparisons where relevant.
• A sentence grouping two data points to show similarity (for example, you might include a brief description showing a gradual decrease in two different areas).
• A sentence noting an exception to an overall trend.
• A sentence describing some data in an advanced manner, using complex sentence structure.
• A sentence describing relevant data using a simple structure.
• Two sentences for summary and conclusion.

Note that this method is quite flexible and these sentences don’t necessarily need to go in this particular order. You must write them in a way that makes your bar chart description flow naturally. Think about which sentences go together in each body paragraph as well as the introduction paragraph and conclusion. You may also have to repeat a few sentences using different data if you find your graphic contains more information or find a way to mention different groups in one sentence. The structure above is a rough guide to get you started. Once you have looked at the example and are comfortable with this structure, you can use this example as a model to describe different bar charts and answer as many bar graph questions as you can. Just remember to get feedback while you are testing your ideas otherwise, it’s quite difficult to improve.

A bar graph sample question and answer

Now that we have figured out what we want to write about in the description of the bar graph, it’s time to put our data selection skills to use and make comparisons where relevant. It is easy to get lost in all of the information provided by a bar chart as there can be so much data. That’s why it’s important to keep in mind what you are looking for when you are analyzing the chart.

The task achievement score for task 1 makes it clear that you need to answer all parts of the question – in other words, describe the main features AND compare them, in order to get a good score. Task achievement is 25% of your total marks so don’t forget to make comparisons! The first thing you should do is identify key features. Once you have decided on the main points, make note of any secondary features that will support the main features.

Ready for a high-level bar chart task 1 answer? Let’s begin with the analysis of this bar chart, and pick out the information that is relevant to our structure. See the model answer of a bar chart below.

Sample Answer Bar Graph Essay

The bar chart shows the caloric intake of UK males in three distinct age groups of 0-24, 25-49, and over 50 years old. The data is shown as percentages. Dairy for the 0-24 age group was the highest source of calories, whilst the other categories each represented about 20% each. In the next age group dairy fell to around a quarter, and meat became the main source of calories, reaching half of the total intake. Pulses and vegetables reached 10% and 15% respectively. Pulses in the final age group increased sixfold to over 60%, whereas calories obtained from vegetables was 10%, half that of meat (20%), and even slightly less than dairy (15%). The 50+ group shows the most marked preference out of all the groups. It also confirms the gradual decline in vegetable consumption as males become older. Overall it is clear that each age group has a clear favourite which varies depending on age. However, vegetables are consistently amongst the least popular, regardless of age.

Sample Answer Analysis

In this essay, the introduction paragraph restates the writing prompt. It is not the overview paragraph, which can be either the first or the last paragraph. In this case, the overview appears at the end in which the writer states the overall trends of the bar graph. While the horizontal axis contains information relating to the question keywords, it’s important not to overlook the vertical axis and state clearly how the data is given (for example, is it as percentages, in kilos, or tonnes, or hours?) Make sure you have included this information in the first part of the essay.

You will also notice that the body paragraphs consist of a breakdown of the main features in order of age group to show and compare the difference in amounts of each food category consumed as people grew older, placing the final age group into its own body paragraph. This is because the data showed that there was a fairly significant upward trend in one food type (pulses) that the writer wanted to highlight. And finally, as previously mentioned, the conclusion part of this essay includes the overview, which should consist of a sentence or two about general trends.

Some notes on structure

Notice how the sentence is structured. How many complex sentences can you identify? When preparing for your IELTS academic writing task, you will want to show some sophisticated writing. When you sit for your IELTS writing test, you might feel pressured for time and it may be a bit difficult to think of complex sentence structures while considering the main features. Take note on the following important tips on structure:

• Make sure you have mentioned all the categories in your answer – in this example, there are four categories.
• Make sure you have also included the correct values when you summarise the data, in this case, percentages.
• It is often tempting to write too much for a task 1 essay but by following the method shown you will stay focused. Concentrate on the most important information.
• Compare the highest and lowest values, for example, rather than all the differences.
• Write what comes naturally at first, even if you write in correct simple sentences.
• Allow yourself some time at the end to go back and adjust some of your structures to complex sentences.
• If you are aiming for a high score on the IELTS test, you should aim for structures that are complex and accurate.
• It is important to be sure of the tense you are using. This example requires the present tense but many bar charts illustrate data from the past. In that case, you need to write the introduction in the present tense (the bar chart illustrates…) and then switch to writing mostly in the past tense (the number of people choosing this option dropped after the first year).

Click here for more free IELTS bar chart sample essays . You can also find sample IELTS task 1 questions here .

Tips on describing a bar graph in IELTS

• Avoid listing every single data point; instead, use your own words to describe the key information from the chart/graph.
• Avoid mixing formats: for example, don’t mix decimals with estimations in the same sentence.
• Check whether there is a date on the bar chart – you may need to use the past tense.
• Make note of general trends, particularly upward or downward trends that can be highlighted in your own words.
• After you have successfully written out your description with all of the information you want to include, go over it and replace some simpler words with more academic vocabulary – this will help you achieve a high score . For example, try replacing “big” with “most significant”.
• Check that your text is error-free. Review carefully to see if all your sentences are grammatically correct.
• Make sure that the data you have described is correct – that you have not made a mistake with a category or labels.
• Review for the correct use of connectors and linking words .
• Practise with different bar graphs/pie charts to improve especially with a range of values (percentages, kilos, miles, dollars).
• Review the superlatives – highest, lowest, most expensive, biggest difference – these are essential if you want to effectively describe bar charts.
• The fastest way to improve is to get feedback on your work. You can also check another model bar graph answer for comparison.
• Don’t forget to check your word count. Make sure your piece is another too brief nor too wordy and detailed. Most model answers come in at around 200 words. You’ll use a similar writing model for pie charts and tables so you don’t need to memorise completely different models for each.

Bonus tips to score high on IELTS Bar Graph Questions

• To improve your task 1 bar graph skills try copying out a sample bar graph with pen and paper. You will start to understand how to locate key points and choose the most relevant information. It doesn’t matter what the topic is, remember it could be anything from the gross domestic product of different countries to comparing the highest expenditure on housing. You don’t need to be an expert on gross domestic product or the Japanese rental market, you just describe the data and make comparisons.
• Practice describing a bar chart out loud. It will help you remember vocabulary to describe data under pressure, decide point by point what to include in your answer and make sure you have mentioned every category at least once. Your confidence will improve when it comes to your next IELTS writing task.
• Make sure you practice ‘two type’ questions – you might see an IELTS question with one bar chart or two so it is a good idea to look at a model answer for each type. You might see one bar chart and a table, or other types of graphs such as line graphs. Some questions might have a mix, for example, one or more pie charts and a bar chart. However the data is displayed, it’s important to stay calm and focus on finding the major differences and similarities, compare categories and identify trends. Describing a table or line graph is very similar to describing bar charts and the more you practice the more confident you will feel.

Check out one of our free lessons here by clicking on the following link !

Video:  How to describe a bar graph

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to describe bar graph in ielts task 1.

Divide the information into two or three groups, focus on trends and exceptions to help you. You don’t need to describe everything. Think of synonyms for key words and most important numbers – for example, 52% is just over half.

How to write task 1 bar graph?

Follow a model, the 4 paragraph diagram model is easiest. That’s rephrasing the question, one main trend, another main trend and an overview. Overall have 10 sentences with specific tasks as we explain in this article.

How do you write a description of a bar graph?

Remember that the important thing is to describe the main features AND make comparisons. Use superlatives and the phrase ‘which means that…’ to help you. For example, Portugal’s spending was between 20 and 27% which means that it had the highest spending of all 4 countries studied.

Audio tutorial: How to describe a bar chart for the IELTS exam

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Sample Bar Chart Questions and Model Answers

Take a look at these bar chart model answers to help you prepare

• Bar chart of international student enrolment in British universities 2009-2014
• Bar chart of average monthly revenue from retail telecommunication subscribers
• Bar chart of increase in total consumption
• Bar chart of life expectancy (2006)
• Bar chart of percentage of eligible voters registered for each race by state and year
• Bar chart of average weekly attacks
• Bar chart of pet Owners
• IELTS Task 1 Sample Answer 2 Double Graph Pie Chart and Bar Chart

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IELTS Preparation with Liz: Free IELTS Tips and Lessons, 2024

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Introduction and Overview for an IELTS Bar Chart

An introduction and overview for an IELTS chart is given below. The introduction is the easiest paragraph to write and the overview is the most important paragraph in your report. Look at the sample paragraphs below for the IELTS chart given and fill in the gaps. This lesson will help you understand introduction and overview content as well as improve your language skills.

The chart below shows the average monthly expenditure by British households in three years.

Introduction and Overview for an IELTS Chart

Fill in the gaps with no more than two words in order to complete the introduction and overview for the above chart. Remember this is about paraphrasing and ensuring information is stated correctly.

Introduction

The (1) ……………………… illustrates the typical (2)  ……………………….. of money spent each month on utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment (3) …………..groceries by households in Britain in three years (1990, 2000 and 2010). Units are (4) …………………. in pounds sterling.

(5) …………………., the largest expenditure by far was on rent in all three years, (6)  ………………. the least amount of money spent was on utility bills and entertainment. Although there was a significant (7)  …………………. in spending on rent, transport and utility bills, there was little change in the amount spent on the two other items.

• chart / bar chart
• Overall (this is the most appropriate linker to use)
• it is not possible to use “in comparison to” or any similar linker due to the grammar structure of the sentence. To use “in comparison to” the sentence must read “…the largest expenditure was on rent in comparison to the least amount of money spent which was on …”
• increase / rise / growth

Here is a full model answer with an alternative introduction:

The bar chart illustrates how much money households in Britain spent in an average month on utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment and groceries in 1990, 2000 and 2010. Units are measured in pounds sterling.

Overall, the largest expenditure by far was on rent, whereas the least amount of money spent was on utility bills and entertainment. Although there was a significant rise in spending on rent, transport and utility bills, there was little change in the amount spent on the two other items.

Expenditure on rent increased from around £450 per month in 1990 to £600 by 2010. Likewise, money spent on transport and utility bills climbed by almost £100 to about £250 and £150 respectively.

On the other hand, the typical amount of money spent on groceries in the UK barely changed, remaining at just over £300 over the three year period. The money spent on entertainment showed marginal change dropping only by approximately £10 to £100 in the final year. Tips & Vocab Paraphrases:

• shows = illustrates
• the average monthly = in a typical month
• expenditure = amount of money spent / how much money was spent

As you can see paraphrases are minimal. Instead of lots of unnecessary paraphrases, alter the structure of the sentence to showcase your language skills. Over paraphrasing can lead to unnecessary errors which can lower your score.

• Either state how many categories there are or list each category in the introduction.
• Always give dates in the introduction.
• Give the units if necessary as a final sentence in the introduction.
• Put key features together in the overview.
• The overview is usually a separate paragraph which starts with the linking word “Overall”. This helps the examiner locate the overview quickly which is considered a good aspect of report writing.
• This IELTS chart is considered a simple chart and all students aiming for band score 6 and above should be able to write this report without many errors.
• See the recommended links below to help you further.

Recommended Lessons

Click below to open the link:

• Diagram Introduction and Overview Bar Chart Model Answer Video: Structure and Paragraphs for Writing Task 1
• ALL WRITING TASK 1 TIPS, LESSONS AND MODEL ANSWERS

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how is my essay can any one review it and give an estimated band score

The bar chart Illustrates the average monthly spending of a typical British household in 5 different categories (Utility bills, Transport, Rent, Entertainment and groceries) in the year 1990, 2000 and 2010

Overall, rent remains the largest chunk of household expenditure. In a stark contrast entertainment was the least spend upon and the only category which saw a decrease in expenditure. Except rent, utility bills and transport which saw a significant growth in expenditure, the other two were relatively stable.

The expenditure on rent was the largest among all, growing significantly each year from just about 450$ in 1990, slightly over 500$ in 2000 and finally peaking at 600$ in 2010. Contrastingly the utility bills started quite low with expenditure slightly under $100 in 1990, eventually increasing rapidly to around 150$ in 2010. Transport also followed a similar pattern of significant rise in cost from just above 150$ in 1990 to marginally below 250$ in 2010.

On the other hand the expenditure on entertainment was substantially less while also being the only category which saw a slight decrease in expenditure, it was slightly over 100$ in 1990 remained constant in 2000 and took a slight dip to $100 in 2010 The cost of groceries remain stable over the years slightly ever rising in the given period; from been marginally above 300$ in 1990 to just reaching around 350$ in 2010

My website isn’t aimed at providing a feedback or marking service. But I do have time for a quick comment: 1) make sure you use capital letters correctly. The word rent does not need a capital letter in English grammar. So, using capital letters for categories when it is not grammatically correct will lower your score for Grammar, which counts for 25% of your marks. 2) in your first body paragraph, you write “The expenditure on rent was the largest among all” – you’ve already given that information in the overview so you will be marked down for repetitive information. 3) review your linking words. The word “Contrastingly” should be “By contrast” or “Conversely” or “On the other hand”.

These are not big mistakes – but you do get a lower score when you have a lot of small mistakes. So, avoiding these errors will definitely help your score. Writing Task 1 is a short report which means that every sentence must be precise and concise. For a high score, you must be very aware of each sentence and all information. Lastly, don’t forget that writing task 1 is a report, not an essay. When you realise it is a report, your style and aims change and go in the right direction.

Hi Liz, hoe are you,

i have a problem with my time management skills, i mean if write without setting a timer for 20 minutes i can write a very good essay. But i know that i have to write it in the given time , what do you recommend, HELP☹

I’m not clear on your meaning. In the writing test, you have one hour to complete two tasks. One task is a short report and the other task is an essay. Both must be finished in one hour. The advise is to use 20 mins for task 1 and 40 mins for task 2, but you manage the time yourself. There’s a clock on the wall in test rooms and a clock shown on the screen if you take the test on the computer.

Hi Liz, could you please check my title paraphrasing and overview? The bar chart illustrates the typical monthly expenses of British families over three years. The years are 1990, 2000 and 2010. Overall, it is interesting to note that, the highest amounts were utilised on house rent payments and lowest money was spent on entertainment and utility bills.

Remember that the overview is the most important paragraph you can write in your task 1 report. This means it must be more than one line with limited key features. You need more key features if you want a high score. Focus on the overview by reviewing all my model answers so that you do the same as the models I’ve given.

Hello, thanks a lot for your work. I was wondering how you would rate my text :

The presented bar chart describes the average monthly spending among 5 different categories including rent, transport, utility bills, entertainment and groceries by British families in 1990, 2000 and 2010. At first glance, it is apparent that households spent the most money on rent over the three years studied, while utility bills accounted for the smallest proportion of spending in 1990 and 2000. However, in 2010, entertainment was the category with the least expenditure.

Now, getting back to the details, we can see that every category underwent a constant increase in its expenditure except entertainment, which saw a slight decrease in spending from just over 100 pounds to around 100 pounds, and utility bills that underwent a drastic climb in expenditure which jumped from just under 100 pounds to about 150 pounds from the year 2000 to 2010. In all three years, the second largest category of spending was groceries which accounted for over 300 pounds in 1990 and soared up to around 350 pounds in 2010. In addition, transport remained the third spending category throughout the decades with a progression from around 175 pounds in 1990 to about 250 pounds in 2010.

The overview is the most important part of your writing task 1. Always start it with “Overall” so that the examiner can locate it quickly. It will almost always be in a separate paragraph. Also, “Now getting back to the details” is informal and not considered appropriate for writing task 1 reports. Take a look at the language in my model answers and use that language: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/

Hi Liz! Thank u so much!! I learnt more from ur website and from u. What do u think about this introduction?

The bar chart illustrates the typical amount of money spent each month on utility bills and entertainment. Average monthly groceries by households Britain in three years. Units are measured in pounds sterling.

There are certain issues with this introduction. Firstly, the bar chart shows more than utility bills and entertainment. It shows transport and rent as well as groceries. You can either list all categories or just state the number “money spent in five areas of monthly life”. However, if there are only five categories, then state all five. Don’t list two categories in one sentence and then another in a different sentence. This isn’t logical organisation of information and you are being marked on logical organisation of information. The second sentence doesn’t contain a verb and repeats the information about being monthly. Your final sentence is correct. So, go back to my model above and make a note of what you need to remember about writing introduction and then make a list of what to avoid doing. This way, you’ll find introductions easier to write.

The bar chart illustrates the average monthly expenditure in 5 types (utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment and groceries) from 1990 to 2010 in England. The cost symbol are using in pounds sterling.

Overall, the amount spent on rent was consistently the highest expenditure. It was almost 450 in 1990 and rose steadily to exactly 600 in 2010. Whereas, the lowest expenditure was changed, from the utility bills about 80 in 1990 turned to the entertainment of exactly 100 in 2010.

Furthermore, both utility bills, transport and groceries climbed gradually except the entertainment. The entertainment’s expenditure was both about 120 in 1990 and 2000, after which it declined to 100 in 2010 and became the lowest monthly expenditure.

This bar chart illustrates the average money spent by British households in 3 years(1990, 2000 and 2010). Overall, the money spent on utility bills, transport, and rent has a significant increase, whereas it is volatile on entertainment and groceries. The highest money spent is on rent, the flip side to that the lowest spent on utility bills and entertainment. The money spent on utility bills, transport, and rent is an upward trend in all 3 decades. In 1990 utility bills, the spent is below $100 and then there is a slight increase but below $100 in 2000, finally in 2010 it reached nearly double to 1990 which is nearly $150. In transport, they spent less quarter to $200 in 1990, then above $200 in 2000 and a slight increase in 2010. In rent, they spent half near to $500 in 1990, then above $500 in 2000 and a large increase in 2010 to $600. In 2000, the money spent on entertainment is equal to that of in 1990 which is above $100 and then there is a slight decrease in 2010 to $100. In groceries, the money spent in all the 3 decades is above $300, there is a slight increase in 2000 when compared to 1990, and a little move in 2010 when compared with 2000.

You have a mistake in it, you must see the minute detail. the amount is not in dollars it is in pounds.

The chart provides information about British families’ monthly average expenses in five different categories (rent, transport, utility bill, groceries and entertainment) in the years 1990, 2000 and 2010.

Overall, throughout the period, most expenses were made for paying rent while the least expenses were made for utility bills. However, expenditure on grocery items remains almost unchanged.

People from British families spent most of their money on paying rent which increased over the period by nearly 250 pounds starling, 510 pounds starling and exactly 600 pounds starling for 1990, 2000 and 2020, respectively. Then for the groceries, they spent around 310 pounds starling in 1990 and later that reached around 320 pounds sterling in the year 200 and that remains unchanged till 2010.

In 1990 and 2000, expenses for their entertainment were just nearly 110 pounds sterling and later on 2010 amount dropped by 10 pounds sterling. Expenditures in the transport category increased over the year gradually where at the beginning they need to spent about 180 pounds starling, later on, in the year 2000 rose by approximately 35 pounds starling and at the ended with around 130 pounds sterling in the year 2010. Utility expenses increased from about 80 pounds to 150 pounds per month from 1990 to 2010 and there was a small change in 2000.

Hi Liz, than you very much for your help and your website! I tried to write the whole report, could you please let me know what do you think about it? Thanks a lot in advance!

“The bar chart illustrates the typical amount of money spent on five categories (utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment, and groceries) by households in Britain in three specific years (1990, 2000, and 2010). Units are measured in pounds sterling.

Overall, the largest spending was on rent whereas the least amount of money spent was on utility bills and entertainment. While there was a considerable increase in the expenditure on rent, utility bills, and transport, the remaining two categories experienced little change.

In terms of rent, the expenditure stood at around £450 in 1990 and consistently increased up to just above £500 in 2000, before peaking at £600 in 2010. Both utility bills and transport experienced similar growth. Whereas the former rose from around £80 in 1990 to just below £100 in 2000 and further climbed up to roughly £150 in 2010, the latter increased from around £180 in 1990 to just more than £200 in 2000 and to roughly £250 in 2010.

On the other hand, spending in the remaining categories experienced little growth, if any. Groceries started at just above £300 in 1990 and sluggishly grew, increasing this figure by roughly £20 in 2000 and reaching around £350 in 2010. Entertainment was the only spending category that decreased over the considered period, with a stable amount of around £110 in both 1990 and 2000 that declined to exactly £100 in 2010.”

The two pie charts provide an information about the various sources of energy namely oil, natural gas, coal, hydroelectricity and nuclear power, in percentage, for USA between 1980 and 1990. Overall, the highest amount of energy was produced by oil, whereas hydroelectric power was the least sources of energy in both years in the USA. Similarly, coal, natural gas produced similar proportion of energy. However, nuclear power doubled the production in 1990. In 1980, 42% of the sources of energy was from oil that declined to almost 10% (33%) coming to the year 1990. Similarly, 26% and 22% of natural gas and coal was another main sources respectively, of which coal showed a slight increase reaching to 27% and natural gases dropping to 25% in the year 1990. Moreover, in 1980 nuclear power was at the 5% that doubled and reached 10% the next year. However, hydroelectric power remained at the lowest at 5% in both years.

The chart illustrates the average amount of money spent on utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment and groceries, by households in Britain over three years (1990, 2000 and 2010). Units are measured in pounds sterling.

Overall, household expenditure is highest in 2010, compared to 1990 and 2000. Families spent the most money on rent, while the least average expenditure was on entertainment in 2010 and utility bills in 1990, as well as 2000.

The chart shows an increase in spending on all categories, except entertainment, with an approximately £10 decrease. This might not be unconnected with the proliferation of free content on the internet by 2010. Utility bills however, saw a quantum jump this year when compared to 2000 (approximately £50) while increase in the amount of money spent on transportation between 2010 and 2000, was not as much as that between 1990 and 2000 (about £10 and £40 respectively). These data perhaps pointing to increase the access, variety and number of home entertainment gadgets available to households.

In terms of rent, families spent £600 on average in 2010 which is about £150 more than the average expenditure at the start of the study, on the other hand, increase in the typical amount of money spent on groceries remained remarkably consistent (about £10).

There shouldn’t be any interpretations in this task.

The bar chart illustrates the typical amount of money spent each month for five different purposes (utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment, and groceries) by households in Britain in 1990, 2000, and 2010. Units are measured in pounds sterling. Overall, it can be clearly seen that there was an increase in the money spent for all purposes over a period, with the exception of entertainment which was decreased slightly during the last decade. In terms of individual items, while they paid the most for rent in all periods, the least for utility bills up to 2000 only. Eventually, this trend was changed and they spent the least on entertainment in 2010. British households spent a significantly larger amount on rent, groceries, and transport over a period. Out of all, rent was the most expensive, which consistently grew from 450 pounds in 1990 to 600 pounds in 2010. Secondly, while groceries showed a very slight rise of only around 50 pounds from 300 to 350 pounds, the expense for transport gradually increased from roughly 150 pounds to approximately 200 pounds in 2000, then climbed up to 250 pounds in 2010. On the other hand, they spent roughly just under 100 pounds on utility bills in 1990 and 2000, but it moderately increased to around 150 pounds in 2010. In contrast, their expenditure was remained stable with just above 100 pounds for entertainment, whereas, in 2010, it slightly declined to just under 100 pounds.

Hey Liz! Why there is no “a” before the word “little” in the last line of the overview “there was little change in the amount spent on the two other items”?

“there was a little change” = there was a small change “there was little change” – there was almost no change So, you see, the article “a” changes the meaning a lot.

Very helpful. Thanks heap. Liz

The bar chart demonstrates the monthly expenses made by households in Britain in 1990, 2000 and 2010.

Overall, the maximum expenditure is made on rent in all three years with dramatic growth in two decades, followed by groceries, with minimal or no expenditure growth in 2 decades. British people spent less on utility bills and entertainment.

In 1990, the British spent almost 450 on rent, increased by 200 in 2010, which was double the money spend on groceries in 2010. Household expenses on groceries were slightly above 300 in 1990, and hiked by around 10 in 2000 but remained constant after a decade.

Although expenses on utility bills and entertainment were the least that people spent in the UK, the utility bills hiked from below 100 in 2000 to nearly 150 in 2010. In opposite to this, expenses on entertainment were slightly above 100 in 1990 and 2000, which declined and reached 100 in 2010.

The household expenses on transport were two-fold less than that of expenses on accommodation in 1990, around 180 which proliferated by nearly 40 after two decades.

The bar chart illustrates the amount of money an average family in the UK spent on five different sectors in 1990, 2000 and 2010. Overall, the amount of money paid out on rent was the highest among all categories in all three years. There was a considerable rise in utility bills, transportation and rent, while the change in other sectors was minimal. Entertainment was the only sector that displayed a downward trend. Rent cost the families approximately $450 in 1990, and this number increased steadily by roughly $75 per decade to exactly $600 by 2010. Likewise, the amount spent on utility bills and transportation grew substantially, from around $90 and $180 to about $150 and $250 respectively. On the other hand, the spending on groceries rose slightly by about $10 to $330 in 2000, and then remained relatively unchanged in the next decade. In contrast, the figure of entertainment remained comparably stable from 1990 to 2000 at around $110 before a dip to exactly $100 in 2010.

Hi Liz! thanks so much for your help. What do you think about this introduction?

“The bar chart illustrates the average money spent by British people on different households’ necessities at the beginning of three different decades; 1990, 2000 and 2010. Units are measured in pounds sterling.”

You have the right approach, but be very careful presenting false information. This does not show the “beginning” of the decades. The beginning of a decade means the first couple of years. This chart show the whole decade, not just the beginning. Use your language carefully. Be precise. Otherwise, all good.

Hi Liz, I try to write the whole report for the chart, can you give me some comments about my writing? thank you — The chart illustrates the typical amount of money that British families spent every month in five categories in 1990, 200 and 2010. Units are measured in pounds sterling. Overall, except for entertainment, the expenditure on all other categories increased over the period in which the largest spending was on house rental while the least amount of money spent was on utility bills and entertainment. Regarding the renting budget, the figure was just around 450 pounds in 1990 then increased significantly to exact 600 pounds in 2010. This trend can also be seen in the expenditure on utility bills and transport where there was a significant increase of nearly 70 pounds after the period of 20 years from about 80 pounds to nearly 150 pounds and from approximately 180 pounds to around 250 pounds respectively. on the other hand, although the second major spending of UK’s families was on groceries, the change on the number was minor which was from about 310 pounds to 320 pounds by the end of the period. In terms of leisure activities, the figure was unchanged at around 110 pounds for the first decade then decreased slightly to shart 100 pounds in the final year.

u will get 7.5 or 8 band score for this

Dear Liz, First, I’d like to thank you for your useful informations and great idea for people preparing for IS exam and I have a little unclear cases. This is about the IELTS examination past paper books ,which are published by Cambridge, with numbers, such as,1,2,3 etc. These numbers demonstrate difficulty when incerase or just show order. When I practice with others IS practice tests books which issued by other organizations , some questions types from those books are considerable different from Cambridge test books.

They are the order the books were published. Book 1 was published years ago, book 14 will be published next month.

The bar chart illustrates how much the money British families spent monthly on utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment and groceries in 1990, 2000 and 2010. The amount spent is measured in pounds sterling. Overall, it is observed that the British household spent the maximum amount on rent each month during these three years. In contrast, they spent relatively less on utility bills and entertainment. The biggest monthly expenditure of British family was to pay rent, which increased from 450 pounds in 1990 to 600 pounds in 2010. The next big spending was on groceries that remain almost constant at 310 pounds in this period. Furthermore, they also spent high amounts on transport which increased from 280 pounds to 350 pounds in these 20 years. However, the monthly expenditure of British people on utility bills was lowest at 80 pounds in 1990, increased a little to 150 pounds in 2010. Similarly, they spent the smallest on entertainment as they spent 110 pounds on entertainment in 1990 and 2000, which slightly decreased to 100 pounds in 2010. Please check my answer

As I remember that she’s already mentioned on her video you shouldn’t indicate the accurate data such as 150 or 280 pounds this means your band score will be affected badly.

You should give accurate precise data if it is possible to see that figure on the graph. If the precise figure can’t be given, you use “about” or “around” or “just under” etc.

Can you please check my Introduction and Overview.

The bar chart illustrates the average amount of money spent by British households on a monthly basis in utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment and groceries in three years (1990, 2000 and 2010). Units are measured in pounds sterling.

Overall, the highest amount of money was spent on rent in three years (1990, 2000 and 2010) while the lowest expenditure was shown in utility bills in the year 1990 and 2000. On the other hand, British households spent the least amount of money on entertainment in 2010. The chart also shows that there was a steady increased in the monthly expenditure of British households on utility bills, rent and groceries for the given period while amount of money spent on entertainment remained unchanged in 1990 and 2000 then slightly dropped in 2010.

You need to understand the meaning of an overview. See all model answers on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/

The amazing Liz, this website was established in 2014, but I could not find a better one especially for academic writing !! Hurray

I am very happy because of this website.I have been searching that kind of website for a long time.Thanks a lot

It is one of the most useful website for ielts student thank you so much Liz. It is extremely incredible for any ielts student.

I’m glad my site is useful 🙂

your page helped me get 9.0 band score for my ielts exam

Fantastic!! Very well done to you 🙂

Wow! That’s a great score everyone’s dreaming of! What did you get on writing?

I noticed one more key feature that should be in the overview: more money was totally spent in 2010 compared to the other two years. Is that correct?

You need to decide not just which points to put in the overview but also how many.

The bar chart illustrates the amount of money spent by British household on expenses like utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment and groceries per month for 3 years. Units are measured in pounds sterling. Overall, the cost of living expense is seeing an increasing trend in totality except for entertainment expense. Rent and grocery are the major two expenditure of a British household in comparison to other expenses. In a span of 30 years significant increase in expenses like rent , utility bill and transport is seen. Rent saw consistent rising trend about L450 in 1990 to above L500 in 2000 and finally reached L600 in 2010. Furthermore, the utility bill expense in first two years were more or less the same(little below L100) but shot more than L150 in a span of 10 years. The transport expense in year 1990 was little over L150 then it flung to slightly below 250 and then the increase was gradual (approx. 250 in 2010) The expenses like entertainment and groceries were more or less the same over the years. As seen entertainment ranged from approx. L120 to L100 a downward trend as compared to groceries ranging from little above L300 to L340 showing an upward trend over the years.

PLEASE CHECK MY ANSWER TO THE BAR CHART USED FOR INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW.

you are using present sentence form (is, are) in the second body paragraph, which is wrong i guess, it should be written in past because survey was already conducted.

Yes …. Exactly 👍👍

Thank you so much Liz for your useful information

You writing task 1&2 practices and lessons are very helpful!

I just went through your different links of writing task 1. In every writing task that you have written, conclusion comes just after the introduction,but the ielts book which is authenticated by the cambridge and the ielts have the conclusion part at the end of the every task.I’m just concerned about this,why so?

Regards Bharat

See this video lesson: https://ieltsliz.com/writing-task-1-report-structure/

Hi,… Can I use pencil for both tasks of writing section. Plz suggest

https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-pen-or-pencil/

Thank you so much Liz. nd thanks for all the videos..

Can we write all listening answers in capital letter

https://ieltsliz.com/liz-notice-2015-2016/

Is that enough for writing task 1? I mean we have to write at least 150 words for task 1 but there are around 100 words.

This lesson shows the introduction and overview. It doesn’t not give body paragraphs. See my model answers for full writing task 1 reports. Liz

why groceries not included to overview?

Key features are put in an overview, not all categories. You are being marked on your ability to select information. Liz

Ok thank you so much liz.. 🙂

Hi dear liz Can I write (the chart illustrate the medium monthly disbursement. …etc)

No. “medium” is not appropriate as a paraphrase for “average” in this context. Liz

How about the word mean? Is is acceptable?

Hi, Thanks for your valuable informations. Here I would like to ask you about the last sentences is correct or not, because on your explanation states that “little changes in the amount spend on the other two items”. But there are other three items (transport, entertainment and groceries). Am I right or not? Thanks Josna

The other two refers to those which are not stated. Read the sentence more carefully. Liz

can we write atypical British family instead of household

Yes, you can write “a typical British family”. Liz

Hello dear Liz, Can you show us how to discraib 2 charts or 2 lines, because I have seen them many times.

Thank you, Ziyo

See the model for two charts here: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/ Liz

thank liz . I just want to know how to make sure that my grammar are correct .

I can only suggest that you find an English teacher to correct your writing. Unfortunately, I don’t offer that service. Liz

I wanted to ask if it is right to use “while” in number 6. Thanks

Yes, you can use that as well. I’ve added it into the lesson. Liz

Hi dear Liz! Thank you for useful source of information! I have a question. What will happen if I do not write overview for task 1? Instead can I just give general information after introduction and continue to write bodies?

Take a look at this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-band-scores/ . You MUST learn more about how your writing is scored. The band scores show that for one criterion (Task Achievement), you will only get band 5 if there is no clear overview. You need to put key features in an overview statement. All the best Liz

mam some suggest to write conclusion for task 1.is it necessary? what conclusion should contain?

Please look at the videos and tips for your answer: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/ Liz

hello mam , thank you so much for your guidance. can we write the approx value in brackets like for example(around $10)

Yes, you can use brackets in writing task 1. All the best Liz

This is a really inlentigelt way to answer the question.

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Answering IELTS writing task 1: bar chart

In this lesson we’re going to learn how to tackle bar charts in IELTS Writing task 1 questions to get the highest score. To get a band 9 in IELTS Writing task 1, you should follow this answer structure :

• Introduction
• General overview
• Specific features

Let’s look in detail how to apply this structure to an IELTS bar chart question .

IELTS bar chart Question :

The bar chart shows the divorce rates in two European countries from 2011 to 2015. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

You can watch a video tutorial on how to describe bar charts in IELTS Academic Writing task 1:

And now let's learn how to answer IELTS bar chart questions .

IELTS bar chart answering strategy :

1. Introduction

You should start your answer by writing an introduction . The introduction is 1 or 2 sentences, where you paraphrase the information from your question. You should mention two things in your introduction:

• what your graph shows
• for what period of time

In our example, the introduction can look like this:

The bar chart provides information about the percentages of divorces in Finland and Sweden between 2011 and 2015.

See how I used synonyms to paraphrase the question :

shows → provides information about divorce rates → percentages of divorces two European countries → Finland and Sweden (it’s good to be more specific) from 2011 to 2015 → between 2011 and 2015.

2. General Overview

The second paragraph of your answer is a general overview , where you briefly describe major trends on your graph. Ideally, you should describe 2-4 key features.

To make major trends easier to notice, you can outline Sweden’s bars and Finland’s bars like this:

Now it’s obvious that:

• Sweden experienced a downward trend
• Finland experienced an upward trend
• both countries showed fluctuations
• Initially Finland had a lower rate, but in 2015 Finland outraced Sweden

Use word overall to start your general overview. In our case, the overview may look as follows:

Overall, Sweden experienced a downward trend, while Finland showed an upward trend throughout the period. Both countries’ divorce rates had some fluctuations. Although Finland initially had a lower rate, it outraced Sweden at the end of the period.

3. Specific details

After we’ve written the introduction and general overview, it’s time to give the specific details . You should describe the specific features in 2 or 3 (sometimes more) paragraphs.

You can group data in such way :

• Details about Sweden
• Details about Finland

When you have two countries (or two cities or any other two things depicted on the graph), the simplest way of grouping data - is to describe each country’s trend in a separate paragraph.

When giving specific features, you have to write exact numbers/percentages and include as much details as you can .

In our case, the specific details may look as follows:

Sweden’s divorce rate was about 45% in 2011, being higher than Finland’s rate by approximately 8%. Then, it rose to almost fifty percent in 2012. However, the figure showed a gradual decrease to about 47% in 2013, and continued to decline steadily to the end of the period, reaching around 45% in 2014 and hitting a low-point of about 37% in 2015.    Percentage of divorces in Finland was less than 40% in 2011, and it decreased in 2012, when about one third of marriages in Finland ended with a divorce (as opposed to almost a half in Sweden). However, the figure experienced a steady growth during the next two years. It rose to approximately 39% in 2013, then increased by around 3% in 2014, and remained steady for the next year, outracing the rate of Sweden.

• When analyzing a bar-chart, we cannot always give exact details (due to inaccuracies of the chart), so use words around , about and approximately when giving inexact data.
• Give data for each year shown on the chart

The full answer + Practice

It’s the end, we have finally written the answer for IELTS bar chart question. And now, let’s practice: fill in the gaps in this answer with appropriate words .

The provides about the percentages of divorces in Finland and Sweden between 2011 and 2015.

, Sweden experienced a downward trend, while Finland showed an trend throughout the period. Both countries’ divorce rates had some fluctuations. Although Finland initially had a lower rate, it Sweden at the end of the period.

Sweden’s divorce rate was about 45% in 2011, being higher than Finland’s rate by approximately 8%. Then, it rose to fifty percent in 2012. However, the figure showed a gradual decrease to about 47% in 2013, and continued to decline steadily to the end of the period, reaching around 45% in 2014 and hitting a of about 37% in 2015.

Percentage of divorces in Finland was than 40% in 2011, and it decreased in 2012, when about one third of marriages in Finland ended with a divorce (as to almost a half in Sweden). However, the figure experienced a steady growth during the next two years. It rose to approximately 39% in 2013, then increased by around 3% in 2014, and remained steady for the next year, outracing the rate of Sweden.

(190 words)

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• Academic Task 1

Bar Charts IELTS Writing Task 1 Guide & Practice

• Task 1 Guide
• Table & Bar
• Bar & Pie
• Table & Pie
• Compare Contrast
• Identifying Trends

Bar charts are a very common type of question on the IELTS writing task 1 academic paper. Read below for helpful tips and tricks, as well as example questions and a model answer.

Table of Contents

1.1 objective, 1.2 skills used, 2.1 sample question 1- horizontal bar chart, 2.2 sample question 2- vertical bar chart, 2.3 sample question 3- two bar charts presented, 3.1 introduction, 3.2 overview, 3.3 main body paragraphs.

• 4.1 Task Achievement
• 4.2 Coherence and Cohesion
• 4.3 Lexical Resource
• 4.4 Grammatical Range and Accuracy

5.1 Vocabulary for Accuracy

5.2 linking devices, 5.3 language for reference, 6.1 comparatives.

• 6.2 Advanced Comparative Forms

7.1 Model Answer Commentary

8.1 problem 1, 8.2 problem 2.

• Quiz- Check Your Understanding of IELTS Bar Charts

1. Question Overview

An IELTS writing  bar chart, also known as a bar graph, is something you may encounter in writing task 1 of the IELTS academic exam . The writing section of the test lasts for 60 minutes in total, and you should dedicate 20 minutes of your time to task 1 . Writing task 1 is worth 40% of your overall score for the writing component.

Here is the list of all IELTS Writing Academic Task 1 types

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The main aim of this task is to produce a minimum of 150-word report that interprets the data presented in a given chart. You need to summarise the main features of the chart, add relevant data/figures and make valid comparisons where relevant.

This part of this exam will test your ability to:

• Select and summarise the key features of a chart
• Identify trends in information
• Describe and compare data
• Produce a report using a formal register

2. IELTS Bar Chart Sample Questions

A bar chart presents data visually using rectangular bars. These bars can either occur horizontally or vertically. You may also be given two charts to summarise and contrast in one task. In writing task 1 of the IELTS academic exam, you will always be given a description of the chart as well as key information you need to understand the chart such as:

• A title and/or statement explaining the chart
• A key/legend that explains the colour coding of the chart
• A labelled vertical Y axis
• A labelled horizontal X axis

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the number of international graduates from UK universities in 2000 and 2015.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The graph below shows the changes in the maximum number of gorillas in the wild between 1990 and 2015.

You should spend 20 minutes on this task.

The graphs below give information about computer ownership as a percentage of the population between 2000 and 2010, and by level of education for the years 2000 and 2010.

3. Structure for Bar Chart Reports

A good writing task 1 report will follow a very clear and logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and two main body paragraphs. Even though writing a conclusion is a good idea, it’s acceptable if you do not include a conclusion as the overview paragraph should suffice.

You can follow the same structure each time you practise writing reports. Follow the advice below for each paragraph below to start writing successful reports!

Your introduction should always paraphrase the given statement, meaning you should write it again in your own words. Memorising some good phrases to start a bar graph should help as well, but make sure the phrase you use is relevant to the given IELTS bar graph in the real exam. Let’s have a look at some examples below:

• The bar chart shows / presents
• The bar graph compares

Paraphrasing demonstrates to the examiner that you have fully understood the meaning of the writing task 1 statement and that you have the knowledge and understanding to be flexible with the language. The aim is to change the words and structure of the original statement whilst maintaining the meaning of the text. Successful paraphrasing may involve some of the following:

• Using synonyms/parallel expressions
• Changing the word order of the sentence
• Changing the phrase from active to passive
• Changing the form of words (e.g., noun to verb)

Example of paraphrasing

Original statement: The chart shows consumer spending on luxury goods in the UK in 2010 and 2020.

Paraphrased statement: The chart illustrates the amount of money spent on luxury goods (foreign holidays, high-end vehicles, designer clothes and spa services) by consumers in the United Kingdom in the years 2010 and 2020. Other things to consider when writing your introduction of a bar chart:

• You do not need to change every word to paraphrase a text successfully
• You may list given categories ( if the list is not too long). Use the word For instance, The bar graph presents wine production data in liters in three countries, namely Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
• Include any dates as this is important for tense
• Use brackets to put data and information inside
• Write 1-2 sentences maximum
• Look at the chart itself to see if there is any additional information to introduce not given in the statement
• This should be your most straightforward paragraph to write. Don’t spend too much time here and move onto your overview and main body paragraphs

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Your aim in academic writing task 1  is to produce a ‘clear overview’ where you select and describe the main features/ trends from the bar chart. It is very important to include an overview paragraph for your writing task 1 response. The examiner will be looking for this and candidates who do not include an overview paragraph will be extremely difficult to score above a band score 5.0 in task achievement. More on IELTS Writing Band descriptors here.

You do not need to write a conclusion for task 1. A conclusion summarises the main ideas of a text. Your report is too short to do this, and you will end up repeating yourself which is something you want to avoid.

Typically, your overview should come directly after your introduction (recommended). However, you may find some sample reports where the overview comes at the end of the report.

Here are some key things to consider when writing your overview:

• Start your overview with ‘Overall’ to make it easy for the examiner to locate your overview paragraph. Other possible words / phrases are:
• It is clear from the graph that….
• Broadly, it can be seen that..
• There could be 2, 3, 4 or even 5 key features in your chart (we recommend you focus on 2-3)
• Your key features should stand out as the highest or overall figures in some way
• Make sure to use
• You should not give precise figures for your overview, save this for your main body paragraphs

You should have two main body paragraphs in your report to meet coherence and cohesion. Besides, this approach is logical and easy to follow for the reader.

There are different ways you could choose to organise your paragraphs depending on the data. For example:

Main Body Paragraph 1 – Compare the highest and lowest categories in the dataset

Main body paragraph 2 – Summarise and compare the other categories

The content of your body paragraphs will depend on the chart, but here are some general points to consider:

• Make sure to use the correct tense (look carefully at the given dates, are they in the past, present, future, or perhaps they range from the past to the predicted future)
• Determine if the chart is comparative or
• Always provide data and support your sentences with numbers
• Do not just provide a long list of numbers; the examiner will check every number and they need to be accurate and clear for the reader
• Use symbols given to you on the axis for currency, percentage etc. (e.g., £, $, %)
• Avoid repetition

4. IELTS Writing Task 1 Band Descriptors Explained

4.1 task achievement (25%).

To achieve a high band score in task achievement, you must:

• Produce a factual report (use a formal register; do not give your opinion; avoid the first person ‘I’)
• Write at least 150 words (you need to be able to sufficiently develop your ideas)
• Report and compare the key features of the chart (do not try to describe every detail of the chart)
• Provide an overview that clearly highlights the key features of the chart (this is essential to scoring above a band score 5 in task achievement)
• Accurately describe the data

4.2 Coherence and Cohesion (25%)

To achieve a high band score in Coherence and Cohesion of your bar chart task 1, you must:

• Organise your report logically
• Use paragraphs (include an introduction, an overview, and two main body paragraphs)
• Use a range of linking devices accurately and appropriately
• Use referencing effectively to avoid repetition (e.g., using ‘this’ to refer to refer back in your text to a noun/noun phrase)

4.3 Lexical Resource (25%)

To achieve a high band score in Lexical Resource of task 1 bar graph, you must:

• Use a range of vocabulary appropriate to describe data from bar charts
• Show understanding of collocations
• Avoid making spelling mistakes
• Use an appropriate register throughout the report (e.g., avoid slang/ phrasal verbs/ idioms)

4.4 Grammatical Range and Accuracy (25%)

To achieve a high band score in Grammatical Range and Accuracy, you must:

• Use the correct tense according to your data set (confirm if your data is taken from the past, present, future, or a combination, and use the corresponding tense in your report)
• Use a range of simple and complex sentences (e.g., compound, relative, or subordinate sentences)
• Avoid grammatical errors
• Use punctuation accurately

5. Vocabulary for IELTS Bar Charts

When describing bar graph IELTS task 1, you will often find that a figure cannot be precisely determined and you have to estimate the number. To show flexibility with your language, you can use words and phrases to estimate the figures. Here is some useful language to help you write about numbers that are above, below or approximate figures:

In order to create cohesion throughout your report, you should use a range of linking devices appropriately. Here are some useful linkers to create contrast when writing about bar charts:

• as opposed to
• compared to

Examples 80% of people owned a computer in 1990, whereas/while only 30% owned one in 1980.

Only 30% of people owned a computer in 1980 as opposed to/compared to 80% in 1990.

Using the words ‘ respectively ’ or ‘ in turn ’ is an efficient and accurate way to refer back to specific figures in your writing task 1 report. It will also help to avoid unnecessary repetition and improve your lexical resource score.

When using these terms, the order of the numbers follows the order in the sentence. You can also use brackets to contain the figures.

Examples The price of oil and gas in 1990 was almost the same (about $100 and $110, respectively ).

Espressos were considerably less popular than espressos , at 4 and 8 sales per week in turn .

6. Grammar for Bar Charts IELTS Task 1

You can use comparative structures to improve your range of grammar and compare the data in the bar chart/s. For example:

You can also use words together with comparative forms to indicate a small or a big difference:

• considerably

Examples: Americanos were considerably more popular than espressos.

Cappuccinos were slightly more popular than caramel lattes.

6.2 Superlatives

Superlatives are a useful way to rank or order information.

• Travelling by plane is the most expensive way to travel, at an average of £100 per ticket.
• The second most expensive is by train, where it costs around £30.
• The least expensive form of transport is by bus, coming in at £20 per ticket.

6.3 Advanced Comparisons

• X is not as + adjective + as y e.g., Coffee in Brazil is not as expensive as in America.
• Not + verb + as + noun phrase + as e.g., Coffee in Brazil does not cost as much as in America, at $2 and $2.90, respectively.
• Three times/ half/ twice as much/less as e.g., Coffee in America costs twice as much as in Brazil.
• The number of X is ___ times higher than Y e.g., The number of people buying coffee in Brazil is three times higher than in America.

7. IELTS Bar Graph Sample Answer

The chart shows data about the average weekly sales of two coffee shops in New York in 2015.

The bar chart compares the most popular types of coffee sold by two coffee shops in New York in a typical week in 2015. The chart shows average sales of eight items, including iced coffees, Americanos and espressos, in Club Coffee and Espresso Express.

Overall , it can be seen that Club Coffee is generally the busiest coffee shop, outselling Espresso Express in six out of eight coffee items. On the whole , stronger coffees such as espressos and flat whites were not as popular as weaker coffees like café lattes or cappuccinos.

In terms of sales at Club Coffee, café lattes came top of the list, with an average of around 135 sold each week. Cappuccinos and Americanos were the next best sellers, with around 115 and 100 of these drinks sold respectively. Club coffee sold slightly more decaf coffees than iced coffees, with roughly 75 of each in total being sold per week on average. Espressos and caramel lattes were not nearly as popular, with just 25 and 18 sold in turn.

Café lattes were also the number-one purchase in Espresso Express, with just over 120 average items sold in a week. Cappuccinos were third, at around 65 sales. Caramel lattes came next, with just over 60, three times as many as are sold in Club Coffee. Decaf coffees and flat whites were joint fifth, with 50 sales apiece, followed by iced coffees at approximately 45 sales a week. The least popular item in Espresso Express was espressos with around 25 sales.

The report above would receive an estimated 9.0 overall in the IELTS writing task 1 Academic paper.

It has been organised into four logical paragraphs that are clearly divided into an introduction, overview, and two separate body paragraphs.

The overview paragraph has been clearly signposted using ‘overall’ and a further linker ‘on the whole’. These key features have been compared concisely using phrases such as ‘stronger coffees… were not as popular as weaker coffees…’.

Further details have been given in the main body paragraphs. The data has been presented accurately using vocabulary to express when the figure cannot be exactly determined, such as ‘around’, ‘just over’ and ‘roughly’.

Comparative language has been used throughout the report through the use of comparatives and superlatives, for example, ‘the least popular item…’

Reference has been employed to reduce repetition , for instance ‘with just 25 and 18 sold in turn’ and ‘with around 115 and 100 of these drinks sold respectively’.

8. Common Errors and How to Avoid Them

Not understanding what information to include in your bar chart report.

Solution 1 Take a short amount of time, before you even start writing, to identify the key features of the chart. It will be worth investing this time in finding the highest, lowest or most interesting key features instead of wasting time trying to write about every detail

It is not common that you will be asked to describe a bar chart with a trend, this is more common with a line graph . Candidates often use language to describe trends when it is not appropriate. For example, the sentence ‘the price of X rose from £ ______ to £______ between 2000 and 2010’ is more suitable for a line graph with a trend, not a bar chart.

Solution 2 Ensure you understand the data clearly so you can use the appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

It is likely that a comparative form would be more appropriate instead of describing a change (rise/fall).

Incorrect for bar chart: The price of X rose from £ ______ to £______ between 2000 and 2010.

Correct for bar chart: X cost £____ more than Y, which cost £_____.

9. Quiz- Check Your Understanding

Take this short quiz to test your understanding of writing task 1 and bar charts:

Bar Charts- IELTS Writing Task 1

• The key/legend
• The IELTS statement
• The horizontal and vertical axis
• All of the above Answer: D.

Explanation: You must include an overview paragraph if you want to score higher than a band 5.0 in task achievement.

Explanation: You may see a vertical horizontal bar chart, or even two types of bar chart may be presented. You are likely to see a comparative bar chart, but occasionally IELTS do set bar charts that ask you to describe a trend (as you would with a line graph).

Explanation: To create a well organised report you should use four paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, and two main body paragraphs

Explanation: True, each section of the marking criteria is work 25% of your overall score

Explanation: Using the words ‘respectively’ or ‘in turn’ is an efficient and accurate way to refer back to specific figures in your report in the order they are mentioned. It will also help to avoid unnecessary repetition and improve your lexical resource score.

• The price of oil and gas in 1990 was almost the same ($100 and $110)

Explanation: Superlatives can help to create order, for example, travelling by plane is the most expensive way to travel, at an average of £100 per ticket. The second most expensive is by train, where it costs around £30.

• Comparatives
• Referring expressions
• Coffee in Brazil as expensive as in America.
• Coffee in Brazil is not expensive as in America.

Explanation: ‘not as _____ as ____’ is a useful comparative sentence that can broaden your grammatical range.

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20 Recent IELTS Graph samples with answers

The chart below shows how much money is spent in the budget on different sectors by the uae government in 2000..

The charts below show the growth in the population in some of the world’s largest cities as well as the population distribution in urban and rural areas.

The average prices per kilometre of clothing imported into the European Union from six different countries in 1993 and 2003 are shown in the bar chart below.

The bar charts below show the number of hours each teacher spent teaching in different schools in four different countries in 2001.

The line graphs below show the production and demand for steel in million tonnes and the number of workers employed in the steel industry in the UK in 2010.

The bar charts and line graph below show the results of a survey conducted over a three-year period to discover what people who live in London think of the city.

The pie charts below show the online sales for retail sectors in New Zealand in 2003 and 2013.

The number of tourists visiting Malaysia and Dubai from 1995 to 2003 is presented below.

The bar chart below shows the estimated sales of jeans for two companies next year in Turkey. The pie chart shows the projected market share of the two companies in jeans at the end of next year.

The graph below shows a survey result of 4000 participants who expressed what important aspects they have learned from the internship they have completed.

The graph below shows the top priorities by business companies in the USA in 2016.

The graphs below show the average monthly expenditure on children’s sports and participation in different sports in the UK from 2008 to 2014.

The pie charts below show the online shopping sales for retail sectors in Australia in 2010 and 2015.

The bar chart below shows Scotland’s exports to the rest of the UK and the rest of the world for the year 2014.

The chart below shows the changes in sales of four different types of books from 2002 to 2012.

The diagram shows the procedure for university entry for high school graduates.

The chart below shows Morocco’s income from different economic sectors in 2003 as well as its income from fishing from 1982 to 2003.

The bar chart below shows the proportions of English men and women of different ages who were living alone in 2011. The pie chart compares the numbers of bedrooms in these one-person households.

The diagram below shows the life cycle of a salmon, from egg to adult fish.

The table below shows the worldwide market share of the notebook computer market for manufacturers in the years 2006, 2007 and 2014.

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer

Wondering what to expect when it comes to bar charts on IELTS Academic Writing Task 1? Let’s examine a practice bar chart question with a model band 9 essay .

To see why this essay is band 9, and check out the official IELTS rubric for Task 1 (PDF) . Then take a look at the scorer commentary that appears right underneath the model essay itself.

This particular prompt is a bar chart . Your approach to this chart should be the same as your approach to any other Task 1 infographic. Take a look at the information and think carefully. What is the best way to summarize the way the information is structured and the main points? From there, how can you best compare the most relevant pieces of information? Finally, how should you structure that summary and comparison?

For more advice on how to approach this, see our article on IELTS Academic Task 1 paragraph structure , as well as our main page for IELTS sample questions and practice resources .

Try to do this prompt yourself. Then check out our band 9 model essay below the prompt and compare it to your own work to see how you did.

Model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Prompt: Bar Chart

The chart below gives information about the ratio of income to spending (in dollars) by Americans by age range in 2013.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Model Essay

This graph compares how much Americans spent to how much income they made in 2013, by age group.

The data shows an overall rise and fall in both income and spending between young, middle-aged, and older Americans. Income rises and falls more sharply than spending.

Those under 25 and over 75 actually spent slightly more than they earned. In contrast, between the ages of 25 and 64, Americans earned 10,000 to 20,000 dollars more than they spent. This difference shrinks in the 65-74 age group, where spending was just a few thousand dollars less.

In terms of actual numbers, those under 25 or over 75 earned and spent around 30,000 and 35,000 dollars, respectively. 25-34 year-olds and 65-74 year-olds both earned in the 50,000s and spent in the 40,000s. In the middle, between ages 35 and 64, income was 70,000-80,000 dollars, and spending ranged from roughly 55 to 60 thousand.

Scorer Commentary (Bar Chart, Band 9)

The score report below is based on the official IELTS Writing Task 1 rubric . This report also looks very similar to the Magoosh IELTS essay scoring service .

Overall Band Score: 9

What was done well in the essay:

• This essay is borderline risky when it comes to word count. But it still manages to sit at 158 words, just above the exact 150 word minimum. So the writer has managed to avoid the IELTS Writing word count penalty .
• The response includes all important details listed in the instructions. The basic topic of the grpah (debt to income for different age groups) is stated, followed by an overview of the tends, and some detailed comparisons of specific age groups and income levels.
• Each aspect of the essay gets its own paragraph, with a paragraph for the basic purpose of the graph, a paragraph for overall trends, and so on. This helps to clearly divide each different type of important information.
• Transitions and referential phrases are used effectively to show how ideas are interlinked. Examples include “in contrast,” “this difference” and “in terms of actual numbers.”
• Vocabulary and grammar are both excellent. No errors here, and some nice variety of sentence structure and word choice too. This makes the essay both easy and interesting to read.

More Practice IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample Questions and Model Essays

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Process Diagram with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Map With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Line Graph with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Pie Chart with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Comparing two Graphics with Model Answer

From there, you can study the “big picture” with Magoosh’s comprehensive guide to the entire IELTS Writing section .

David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he’s helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in many scholarly articles , his Master’s Thesis is featured on the Reading with Pictures website, and he’s presented at the WITESOL (link to PDF) and NAFSA conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru. Come join David and the Magoosh team on Youtube , Facebook , and Instagram , or connect with him via LinkedIn !

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6 responses to “IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer”

The bar chart compares the amount of money American citizens from different age categories earned and spent in 2013. We can see that the pattern of distribution of both values has a bell shape, with the lowest figures for the youngest and the oldest groups, and the highest in the centre. It is also notable that except the youngest and the oldest age categories American people earned more than they spent. The income and spending for people younger than 25 were around $30000 and $28000 respectively, these figures were the lowest in the chart. However, next category (25-34) earned almost twice as much as the youngest group and spent just under $50000. Americans from the following two age groups, 35-44 and 45-54, were the highest earners and spenders. Their income scaled up to just under $80000 and expenditure amounted to £60000. In the next older age groups, the amounts of money Americans earned and spent decreases. While those from 65-74 age group earned approximately $53000, they spent about $47000. Finally, the oldest group ( 75+) spent all their income which was around $34000.

woooow i like it so much, can you help me for the writing task 1

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of earning and expenditure of the US nationals by seven different age groups in the year 2013. Overall, there were almost no gap between the income and expenditure noticed for people aged below 25 and 75 or above, whereas, people age ranges 35-44, 45-54, and 55-64 spent less than their earnings, however, they earned more and, thus, spent more than the rest of the four groups. People of 34-44, 45-54, and 55-64 years old spent around $20000 less than their earning (approximately $80000, $78000, and $75000, respectively), who had recorded the most earnings and expenses among the seven age groups. The ratio of expense and earning was not so high among the nationals aged 25-34 and 65-74 which were about $10000 and $5000, respectively. People aged 75 or above earned almost $35000 and spend the same amount of money while the young people aged below 25 earned around $28000 and spent $30000, a slightly more than their earnings. Both the young adults and old people had less income and expenditure than the rest of the people.

I think there is no penalty for less word count. The trend has changed recently as per my knowledge. Thank you.

The difference is that previously there was a FIXED penalty for writing under the word count. You would automatically get a band 5 or lower score in the Task Response category for writing under the word count. This automatic penalty has been removed, but the IELTS still clearly states that students “will be penalized if their answer is too short.” They do not specify by the exact amount any more, but in order to get the highest marks possible, I’d suggest writing a little more than the word minimum for each essay.

I hope this helps! 🙂

The chart illustrates that the proportionate of income to utilization of that by various age groups in America such as more than 25 year,25-34, 35-44,45-54,55-64,65-74 and more than 75 years in 2013. Overall, only less than 25 years old people disburse more money than the earnings, they spend 2000 dollars higher than the actual income. From 25-74 years age range peoples expenditure were less than the income but in the case of more than 75 years old citizen the ratio of their earnings and the spending is neutral. Moreover, by the comparison of less than 25 years old as well as 25-34 years old people their percentage of spending were decreased drastically by the means of yield, which means their income were 28000 and dissipated amount was 30000 but when comes to the case of 25-34 aged people that became 59000 and 49000 that is they started to made profit on the other hand in terms of profit 35-44 years age range were got more conscious about their spending which was 79000 as earnings and utilized amount were 59000 so their profit were 20000 more. In addition that, 45-54 years of American peoples also were made higher income just like 35-44 years people perhaps there were only slight difference in utilization of that income. The yield was 79000 and the expenditure was 60000. The age range 55-64 their expense were 10000 less than their income. In 65-74 aged peoples earning capacity became 53000 and the spending was 48000. The more than 75 years old American peoples both earnings and utilization were 33000 dollars.

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IELTS Exam Preparation: Free IELTS Tips, 2024

• IELTS writing

It is common in the IELTS Writing paper to be asked to describe a bar graph. Bar graphs, also known as bar charts, are similar to line graphs in that they have two axes and are useful for showing how something has changed over a given period of time, especially when there are significant changes. Bar graphs consist of rectangular bars, which can be orientated horizontally or vertically, with the lengths proportional to the data values that they represent. They are typically used for comparing two or more values.

Sample Questions

The age of the population of iceland between 1990 and 2020.

The graph gives information about the age of the population of Iceland between 1990 and 2020.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The percentage of women going into higher education in five countries

The chart gives information on the percentage of women going into higher education in five countries for the years 1980 and 2015.

Participants who have entered the Olympics since it began

The chart and graph below give information about participants who have entered the Olympics since it began.

Road transport in a number of European countries

The bar charts below give information on road transport in a number of European countries.

The percentage of part-time workers in each country of the United Kingdom

The graph below shows the percentage of part-time workers in each country of the United Kingdom in 1980 and 2010.

Industries’ percentage share of Brazil’s economy

The bar chart below illustrates five different industries’ percentage share of Brazil’s economy in 2009 and 2019 with a forecast for 2029.

The percentages of men and women in employment

The bar charts below show the percentages of men and women in employment in three countries in 2005 and 2015.

The number of medals won by the top five countries in the summer and winter Olympics

The graphs below show the number of medals won by the top five countries in the summer and winter Olympics.

Global population percentages and distribution of wealth by region

The chart below gives information about global population percentages and distribution of wealth by region.

Percentage of Canadians gave money to charitable organisations

The chart below gives information on the percentage of Canadians gave money to charitable organisations by age range for the years 2000 and 2015.

Employment figures in different tourism-related industries

The bar chart below shows employment figures in different tourism-related industries between 2009 and 2019.

The main reasons workers chose to work from home

The diagrams below show the main reasons workers chose to work from home and the hours males and females worked at home for the year 2019.

Percentage of the population living in urban areas

The bar chart below gives information about the percentage of the population living in urban areas in different parts of the world.

Car journeys into the city centre

The bar chart gives information about the number of car journeys into the city centre made by residents and non-residents.

The places visited by different people living in Canada

The chart below shows the places visited by different people living in Canada.

Percentage of people using multiple social networking sites

The chart below gives information about the number of social networking sites people used in Canada in 2014 and 2015.

Weight assessment of inhabitants of Charlestown 2015

The charts summarise the weight measurements of people living in Charlestown in 1955 and 2015.

Someland's main exports

The chart below gives information about Someland's main exports in 2005, 2015, and future projections for 2025.

Sports played in New Zealand in 2002

The chart below gives information about the most common sports played in New Zealand in 2002.

Science qualifications in two countries

The chart below gives information about science qualifications held by people in two countries.

Students passing high school competency exams, by subject and gender

The bar chart shows the percentage of students who passed their high school competency exams, by subject and gender, during the period 2010-2011.

Female unemployment rates in the United Kingdom in 2013 and 2014

The graph shows female unemployment rates in each country of the United Kingdom in 2013 and 2014.

Percentage who watch reality shows and game shows

The charts show the number and genres of TV programmes watched by men and women and four different age groups in Australia.

Shares of expenditures for selected categories

The bar chart shows shares of expenditures for five major categories in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan in the year 2009.

International graduates, Canadian universities, 2001 and 2006

The chart shows the percentage change in the share of international students among university graduates in different Canadian provinces between 2001 and 2006.

Percentage of population aged 65 and over

The chart gives information about the UK's ageing population in 1985 and makes predictions for 2035.

Percentage of pupulation in urban areas

The bar chart gives information about the percentage of the population living in urban areas in the world and in different continents.

Urban populations in different world regions

The graphs provide information on global population figures and figures for urban populations in different world regions.

The percentage of male and female teachers

The chart shows the percentage of male and female teachers in six different types of educational setting in the UK in 2010.

Home and International Students

The bar chart gives information about the number of students studying Computer Science at a UK university between 2010 and 2012.

Finland's telephone calls, by category, 1995-2004

The chart shows the total number of minutes (in millions) of telephone calls in Finland, divided into three categories, from 1995 - 2004.

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IELTS Sample Bar Chart

On this page you will find a model answer for an IELTS bar chart.

This chart is over time, so it uses the ' language of change '. Have a look at this lesson for more advice on  describing a bar graph over time .

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart shows components of GDP in the UK from 1992 to 2000.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Model Answer

The bar chart illustrates the gross domestic product generated from the IT and Service Industry in the UK from 1992 to 2000. It is measured in percentages. Overall, it can be seen that both increased as a percentage of GDP, but IT remained at a higher rate throughout this time.

At the beginning of the period, in 1992, the Service Industry accounted for 4 per cent of GDP, whereas IT exceeded this, at just over 6 per cent. Over the next four years, the levels became more similar, with both components standing between 6 and just over 8 per cent. IT was still higher overall, though it dropped slightly from 1994 to 1996.

However, over the following four years, the patterns of the two components were noticeably different. The percentage of GDP from IT increased quite sharply to 12 in 1998 and then nearly 15 in 2000, while the Service Industry stayed nearly the same, increasing to only 8 per cent.

At the end of the period, the percentage of GDP from IT was almost twice that of the Service Industry.

(182 Words)

This answer meets the requirements of the task.

The introduction explains what the graph is about, and gives an overview of the main points.

The body paragraphs are ordered logically and clearly. The first body paragraph discusses the first three years, where the patterns are fairly similar. This is contrasted in the second body paragraph, where the GDP of each country diverges noticably.

There are a wide variety of sentence structures and the language of change is correctly used. The correct tense - the past - is used.

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More on IELTS Bar Charts:

IELTS Bar Graph: British emigration to selected destinations

This IELTS Bar Graph shows British Emigration to selected destinations between 2004 and 2007. Improve your IELTS Score by viewing model task 1 answers.

Bar Chart Exercise: Language of comparison, contrast and percentages

Bar Chart Exercise: This is a gap fill to help you answer a question for the IELTS Task 1. In the chart it is essential that you know which language to use and how. This bar chart practice provides you with the skills to do this.

Writing Task 1 Bar Chart Sample: Organising your response

This writing task 1 bar chart sample provides a model answer that would achieve a high score in the IELTS test. A key to a high score is a well-organised response.

IELTS Bar Chart Example: Participation in leisure activities

IELTS Bar Chart Example on the participation of 5-14 year old Australians in leisure activities. View a model answer.

IELTS Bar Chart: Model answer with comments and tips

This sample IELTS bar chart is a graph over time depicting the changing modes of transport in a European city. There is a model answer.

Example of a bar chart for IELTS: Comparisons between the categories

This is an example of a bar chart for IELTS with a model answer. The response highlights the importance of making comparisons between categories.

IELTS Bar Graph: Model answer with tips and comments

View an IELTS Bar Graph sample answer for IELTS writing task 1. This graph shows the scores of three different teams over four difference seasons.

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IELTS Task 1: Bar Charts and Graphs

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Here are the IELTS bar charts and graphs!

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IELTS bar graph lesson and model answer

Ielts writing task 1 bar graph..

Updated: Jan 7th 2022

The key thing to remember about line graphs and bar charts is that you must write about the key features and general trends over a period of time (if it is dynamic data) Some tasks are static where you would not use the language of trends though so spend a minute analysing the task and take two or three minutes to plan the task. Do not go directly into writing without a plan.

It is not necessary to go into too much detail but at the same time, you must cover every part of the task. In this lesson we will look at:

1. The structure needed for IELTS writing task 1.

2. paraphrasing the introduction., 3. writing an overview, 4. writing body paragraphs., 5. example task and model answer., static and dynamic data.

Static data means that the chart or graph displays one period of time . Dynamic data shows two or more periods of time . It also shows how trends change over a period of time .

Different language will be used for static charts and dynamic charts. Always make sure that you first analyse the chart or graph to see if it is one time period, or the data is changing over time. If you use trends language for a static chart you will lose marks for grammar.

Note: The task in this lesson is for example purposes only and not an official task from Cambridge.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart below shows the number of passengers who used public transport in somewhere town from 2012 to 2015.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

First of all, IELTS writing task 1 academic has the same structure for all the tasks. This is different for Writing task 2 which has various essay structures. One important point to remember is that we have to write facts and compare data in task 1, no opinion is given here and no conclusion is needed.  Have a look at the structure below.

Remember to write about the main features of the graph and describe the trends over a period of time because it shows dynamic data.

The Introduction

Here you must paraphrase the task and add key information, for example:

‘The chart below shows the number of passengers who used public transport in somewhere town from 2012 to 2015.’

I can change the wording below to:

‘The chart indicates the number of people in thousands who took   three types of public transportation, which were tram, bus and train  in somewhere town in four years  from 2012 to 2015.’

The red words are paraphrased and I have added key information from the chart. As you can see, I have kept the words chart  and the somewhere town because this information cannot be changed. I added the types of transport mentioned in the chart and the number of people in thousands. 

In this part, you must cover the key information and put it together to compare and summarise briefly what the chart is about. Do not include numbers, percentages or statistics here or go into too much detail. It is a general overview of the trends in this case. You will get a better band score if you can successfully write a good overview.

The key features from the chart are below.

The number of passengers using trams grew steadily . The number of passengers using trains declined sharply . The number of passengers using buses fluctuated .

‘Overall, the number of passengers using trams grew steadily and became the most popular form of transport. However, train passenger figures declined sharply but recovered by the end of the period while bus usage fluctuated throughout the timeframe’

In this overview, I have outlined the key features without going into too much detail. Also, I used words like grew steadily, declined sharply, fluctuated ..this vocabulary is necessary when describing changes and trends.

See here for a blog post on grammar for describing trends .  In the overview, it’s useful to use comparatives and superlatives. The word ‘ overall’  is also important to introduce the overview.

Body Paragraphs

Now I will need to write in more detail about the changes, data and numbers in the chart. Depending on the type of task given and the number of features, body paragraph 1 should be about similar trends whereas body paragraph 2 will be about different trends.

The number of passengers taking the train began at around 76,000 passengers in 2012. This figure then declined sharply in the following year to approximately 10,000 passengers. By 2015 train usage recovered to around 54,000 passengers. Bus passenger numbers followed a similar pattern  starting at just over 50,000 passengers, declining in 2013, then recovering  to the same figure as at the beginning of the period. Conversely, about 23,000 people used trams in 2012 and over the next 3 years, the number of people taking this form of transport grew steadily to around 96,000 passengers in 2015. Trams proved to be the most popular form of transportation by the end of the timeframe.

Take a look at the body paragraphs again, you will see I have used words such as: approximately, about, around, just over . If you need to make an approximation you can use these phrases. In the graph you will notice that the numbers are not exact, so we have to give an approximate amount here.

I have highlighted in green the language of trends, as this is dynamic data showing different periods of time. Remember that no conclusion is needed in writing task 1 academic.

Model answer

Finally, here again, is the task and my model answer.

The chart indicates the number of people in thousands who took three types of public transportation, which were tram, bus and train in somewhere town in four years from 2012 to 2015.

Overall, the number of passengers using trams grew steadily and became the most popular form of transport. However, train passenger figures declined sharply but recovered by the end of the period while bus usage fluctuated throughout the timeframe.

The number of passengers taking the train began at around 76,000 passengers in 2012. This figure then declined sharply in the following year to approximately 10,000 passengers. By 2015 train usage recovered to around 54,000 passengers. Bus passenger numbers followed a similar pattern starting at just over 50,000 passengers, declining in 2013, then recovering to the same figure as at the beginning of the period.

Conversely, about 23,000 people used trams in 2012 and over the next 3 years, the number of people taking this form of transport grew steadily to around 96,000 passengers in 2015. Trams proved to be the most popular form of transportation by the end of the timeframe.

(180 words)

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How to Tackle IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar Charts Questions & Practicing Bar Charts IELTS questions

In your IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 preparation, you'll need to practice a total of 7 IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 data types. In this post, we'll look at the bar charts in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 questions in detail and provide you with many bar chart practice questions.

Table Of Contents

How to tackle bar charts in ielts writing task 1 questions.

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Bar charts Questions List

Bar charts are pretty common in IELTS writing task 1 academic. There are three different scenarios you will encounter in a bar chart task:

• A bar chart with categories on the x axis
• A bar chart with dates or years on the axis (functions as a line graph)
• Two bar charts presented

Each scenario requires you to write the report differently. This post will cover all scenarios. Let’s start with our first bar chart lesson!

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Bar Charts Lesson 1

In this lesson, you are going to learn how to analyze and write about bar charts with categories on the x axis.

Practice the questions from the video lesson

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Bar Charts Lesson 2

In this lesson, you are going to learn how to analyze and write about bar charts with dates or years on the axis (functions as a line graph).

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Bar Charts Lesson 3

In this lesson, you are going to learn how to analyze and write about a question that include two bar charts.

Now that you're familiar with the IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar Charts questions, it's time to practice. Check out the practice questions below.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Bar Charts Questions

This section presents a list of common IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Bar Chart questions. If you want to prepare for the IELTS Writing Test, these questions are a must study.

The chart below gives some of the most reported issues among people living in UK cities in 2008 (%).

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.  

Write at least 150 words.

The chart below shows the proportion of male and female students studying six art-related subjects at a UK university in 2011.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.  

The chart illustrates the percentage of male and female executives in six different types of profession across the UK in 2007.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where necessary.

Write at least 150 words.  

The chart below gives the distribution of worldwide car sharing schemes (%) in 2008 and 2016.

Write at least 150 words

The bar chart gives the top eight online activities in Slovakia in a given month.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where necessary. Write at least 150 words

The chart below shows the proportion of males and females in Malaysia who commonly do physical activity in 2010.

The graphs below give information concerning smartphone ownership as a percentage of population in a country from 2000 to 2010, and by level of education for the years 2000 and 2010.

Summarise the data by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.  

The bar charts show education data related to young adults aged 15 years in 10 different countries in 2015.  The first chart shows in which countries adolescents do the most homework in terms of hours per week. The second chart shows the nations that scored the best on an international science test.

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The Ultimate Quick Guide to Bar Charts

Bar charts are an incredibly popular and useful type of data visualisation. In this guide, we will cover the basics, main subtypes and best practices so you can become a bar chart hero and leverage all they can do.

Hi, I'm Mauricio. C onnect with me on LinkedIn to share ideas and keep the conversation going!

This is a topic I’ve been meaning to discuss for a while: bar charts! 📊 It’s impossible to know for sure, but I’d be willing to bet they are the most-used type of data representation, if you don't count just writing down numbers. 🔢 As ubiquitous as they are, I don’t think people give bar charts enough attention or praise. Many times, people go straight for pie charts  (please don’t do that) or much more complex visualisations because bar charts seem boring. 😪

Of course, I’m not advocating for everything to be a bar chart (there are cases in which they don’t fit, and cases where other charts, especially line charts 📈, work better). Variety is the spice of life and all that. However, I’m here to convince you that, in this instance, boring is good! Boring means your audience can understand them easily. That the data is front and centre. Bar charts provide clarity exactly because they are predictable and consistent.

I'd encourage you to ask yourself: “Would a bar chart do the job?” w henever you need to plot data . You’d be surprised how many times that answer is “yes” . So, go for it. You'll be surprised how often they are, in fact, the best option. ✅ Let’s get into some practical details. 💪

Bar Charts: The Basics

Bar charts are fantastic for group comparison 📊. Their perfect use case is when you want to compare one (or more) metric(s) across groups (and perhaps even added subgroups). They can also be used to show changes in data across groups. We’ve all seen them, so I'll keep this brief. Remember that the two main elements to create a bar chart are at least one categorical 📝 and one numerical variable 🔢. The categorical variable(s) will determine how many bars you use, and the numerical variable is the metric that is displayed as the bar length. Let’s explore this Video Game sales dataset (credit to Andy Bramwell). Here is a snapshot of the dataset. The headers are in the first row.

We have some categorical variables (e.g. Platform, Genre, Publisher) and some numerical variables (North America, Europe, Japan…). The “Year” is encoded as numerical here – that's a special case, as it indicates time, so it’s commonly used as a categorical variable too, to order the bars (I’ll explain more in a bit).

Here is a chart created with this dataset:

In this bar chart, Genre is the categorical variable: one bar per genre. Global (millions of units sold globally) is the numerical variable: the value that will be displayed as the length of the bar.

Bar charts are popular and powerful because they...

• … are simple to read and understand.
• This is a huge advantage over pie charts. Pie charts create unnecessary confusion by using two dimensions (a circular area) to represent one number (a percentage).
• A warning ⚠️: don’t add 3D effects. You’ll make the chart more difficult to understand (and in my opinion, uglier) for everyone.
• … are very easy to create, and widely accessible in tooling. 🛠️
• … are incredibly versatile, with many subtypes. More on that next. 

The Main Subtypes of Bar Charts

- Standard bar charts

This is what comes to mind when we think “bar charts”. 📊 One categorical variable, and one numerical variable. The numerical variable is usually some kind of aggregation, like a sum, a count of occurrences or an average (i.e. the mean). Standard bar charts are incredibly powerful and also the easiest type to create. They allow the viewer to quickly compare a value across many categories. These charts can be vertical or horizontal, so we'll cover examples of both.

Vertical bar chart

Vertical bar charts (also known as “column charts” ) have the categories on the horizontal axis, with numbers on the vertical axis. Use these when the categories have an intrinsic order to them (ordinal), such as t-shirt sizes, or dates.  Did you notice something interesting in the chart above? Although the Years are technically numbers, they are used as categories that we can aggregate: total units sold PER year. We want one bar per year, therefore we use them as categories. And because the years obviously have an order, having a vertical bar chart with years from left to right works perfectly. This is the same idea as a line chart (which would do a great job here as well!). Vertical bar charts are also good to show negative numbers (with the columns going below the 0 line). 

Horizontal bar chart

Horizontal bar charts have categories on the vertical axis and numbers on the horizontal axis. Use them when you want to have more freedom to sort your bars. In this case, I sorted the Genres based on the value of Global sales, in descending order. Sometimes, either orientation would work, but if your categories have long names, the horizontal bar chart will make them easier to read because you don’t have to tilt or abbreviate the names of the categories… the genre names wouldn’t fit in the same space that was used for the year in the previous chart.  These same reflections on horizontal versus vertical also apply to the other subtypes, so keep them in mind. 🤔

- Stacked bar charts

(Horizontal) stacked bar chart

As the name implies, stacked bar charts mean you are putting one bar on top of another. Or next to another… for horizontal bars. For this to work, you need another categorical variable (also known as another “series”) to split each bar. Depending on the software (or dataset), you might need to build them by “stacking” multiple numerical variables on top of each other.  Stacked bar charts help you see the “segments” that complete the whole. The chart above is very similar to the previous one, but now we can see the subdivision for each platform (PS, PS2 and PS3). That can lead to further insights… it seems like shooters are disproportionately popular on PS3. Perhaps that is an overall trend that could be investigated by asking "are shooters becoming more popular on PS3 because PS3 is the most recent platform on this list?". 🔫 Also, consider if you want to display the subgroups as percentages of each group instead. You’ll have to label them clearly to make it work, though. 🔣 No visualisation type is free of caveats.

⚠️ Stacking means that individual subgroups are hard to compare because whatever is lowest on the list will shift where they start. In this chart, you can see that the PS2 bar starts where the PS3 bar ends… so make sure to add labels to make it easier to read. ⚠️ If you have too many subgroups, stacked bar charts are not a good idea. Your chart will get cluttered, and you will need way too many colours. 😵 Filtering is a good solution for this: here I went with only the PlayStation platforms, although there are many other platforms in the dataset.

- 100% Stacked bar charts

(Horizontal) 100% stacked bar chart

When the most important thing to explore is the proportion of the subcategories for each category, 100% stacked bar charts are 100% the best choice. They are what pie charts wish they could be (yes… I don’t like pie charts). 🙃 The logic here is that each category goes all the way to 100% . We use the subcategories (the other categorical variable) to split each bar. A major advantage is that you can have many categories while keeping the chart very readable. Of course, when dealing with percentages only, the absolute numbers are hidden. So even though PS has an astounding 85.47% of the share of strategy games across those three platforms (PS3 has 0 strategy games in this dataset), we have no idea if that translates to many games. It’s just the proportion. If the absolute numbers are needed, consider adding another chart, or a total label per category with the absolute number. 🔢

- Side-by-side bar charts aka Grouped bar charts 

Side-by-side bar chart

To counteract the issue of “difficult to compare every segment across all the categories because the segments below change where the next segment starts” (what a mouthful! 😅) from the stacked bar charts, consider going with a side-by-side bar chart (also known as "grouped bar charts"). Side-by-side bar charts make it easier to compare the subcategories across all categories. In the chart above, I can easily see that Sports for PS3 and Sports for PS are very similar, but Sports are much more popular for the PS2.  Of course, it comes with a price:

⚠️ If you have too many categories and subcategories, the chart will become huge and very difficult to digest. This is  because you need to (visually) jump a significant distance between each of the bars when comparing them. It's always worth mentioning that labels are your friends. Keep them around. 

- Tornado charts

Tornado chart

Tornado charts are a special case of the horizontal stacked bar chart. Use it when you have two numerical variables you want to compare across categories (or, conversely, when you have a categorical variable with only two possible values, and you want to compare their subcategories). Again, different ways to get the same result. 😄 The bars start from the middle and go in opposite directions. Then, you sort in descending order based on one of the sides (in this example, I sorted by Genre ). After that, it becomes easy to see if there is a relationship between average global sales and average reviews across genres (in this level of analysis, there isn’t a relationship, because the average Reviews are somewhat close to each other, and are not descending as average Global sales). Tornado charts are a bit trickier to create, but very worth it for these cases.🏆

Bar charts best practices

Ensure colours are consistent to make comparisons easier. You can also use colours to highlight what is interesting. Don’t forget to add the colour legend. Refer to the Colouring Your Charts microlearning for more tips!

Be smart with your sorting: points of higher importance should appear first . For example, sort descending on sales if you want to draw attention to products that are  performing well.

The distances and widths of bars should  be consistent. Unless you want to use the width of the bars to plot another numerical variable (which is possible). Watch out for cognitive overload, though.

Keep the visuals simple! No 3Ds, or unnecessary decorations.

Don’t use vertical text! Consider flipping to a horizontal bar chart if there are too many categories and/or their names are long.

Let's Practise!

Time to plot your bar charts! Use your own data, or the Video Game dataset if you don't have data at hand. Open the dataset in your data visualisation tool of choice (I used Tableau for the charts in this piece).

Define what you want to see. What is the question you want to explore with the data?

What variables will you use to answer the question? List which are categorical and which are numerical. 

Are you going with a horizontal or vertical bar chart?

What bar chart subtype will you use? 

Plot it! Tweak the settings to get to a polished version. Feel free to swap things around as well (e.g. vertical to horizontal, or changing subtypes) while you do this to get to your amazing bar chart.

Dive Deeper into The Topic

  Bar chart menu by Robert Rouse : good resource for inspiration. Shows many detailed variations of bar charts, including more niche types like the lollipop chart.

  A complete guide to bar charts by Atlassian : a more extensive guide, with other examples, even if the core ideas are already presented here. 

Wrapping Things Up

Here are the key points we covered:

  Bar charts are incredibly popular for many reasons : they are easy to understand and versatile.

Different subtypes : we explored a few subtypes that cover many use cases, each with its pros and cons.

Best practices : bringing your bar charts to the next level is simple if you follow the tips and heed the caveats in this article..

With all of this, I believe you might just have become a bar chart enthusiast and, with a bit of practice, a pro. Now, this incredible tool is sharp and ready for your future data challenges.

See you all in a future microlearning!

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