how to write ielts task 1 bar chart

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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.

ielts bar chart - charlestown weight distribution

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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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.

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.

IELTS External links

Also, read the following IELTS Report Writing Guides

IELTS Bar Chart
Line Graph IELTS
Pie Chart for IELTS
IELTS Academic Table
IELTS Academic Process Diagram
Maps for IELTS
Combined - Table and Bar Chart
Combined - Bar Chart and Pie Chart
Combined - Table and Pie Chart
IELTS Writing Task 1 Guide

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

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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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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How to Write A Task 1 Bar Chart Band 9 Report

A bar chart presents categorical data with rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent. This is one of the seven most frequent question types for your IELTS Writing Task 1 exam.

On this page, you will find a complete discussion on IELTS Task 1 Bar Chart question. The discussion will proceed under the following 7 major steps:

Analyse the question

Identify the major features

Remember the 4 paragraph structure

Paraphrase the question sentence

Write an Overview paragraph

Write the Body paragraph 1

Write the Body paragraph 2

Using the 7-step strategy in the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 is a clever way to raise the standard of your writing skills in the IELTS exam.

But if you want to confirm that you get the band score you need, our guaranteed IELTS Writing Feedback Service can help. Our expert team of former IELTS examiners will give you detailed feedback and step-by-step guidance to help you achieve your target score.

How to Achieve a High Band Score in IELTS Academic Task 1 Report - eBook by IELTS Luminary

In addition, we offer high-quality eBooks written by a team of former IELTS examiners. These eBooks are brainchild of the examiners’ vast experience and research over the professional career, revealing powerful tips and strategies to help you achieve a band score of 7 or higher.

The eBooks provide valuable insights and thorough discussions on all possible IELTS essay types, making them an exceptional resource for anyone aiming to excel in the IELTS exam.

How to Write a High Band Scoring Task 2 Essay - eBook by IELTS Luminary (IELTS Essay eBook)

1. How to Analyse A Task-1 Bar Graph Question?

IELTS Reading Tips and Strategies eBooks - IELTS Luminary

To understand the question fully, we should identify three key parts:

The main topic of the question, which is waste collection by a recycling centre.

Specific keywords that help us to focus on particular aspects of the topic, such as paper, glass, tins, gardens, and the years 2011-2015.

Action words that tell us what we need to do, such as comparing different features in the given diagrams or data sets.

Once we have identified these three parts, we can then proceed to analyse the diagrams and identify the major features that are relevant to the question.

2. How to Find The Main Features in A Task 1 Bar Chart

Finding the main features in an IELTS Task 1 Bar Chart involves carefully examining the graph and identifying key points, trends, and comparisons. Here are some steps to guide you:

Start with the Title and Axes: Begin by understanding what the bar chart is about. The title will give you the context, while the axes will provide specific details such as the quantities being measured and the time frame.

Identify Major Trends: Look for overall trends or patterns. Is there an overall increase or decrease? Are there any patterns such as cyclical trends, fluctuations, or constant levels?

Look for Highest and Lowest Points: Noticing these can often provide valuable information about peaks or troughs in the data.

Compare Different Categories: If there are different categories represented in the bar chart, identify differences or similarities between these categories.

Identify Significant Changes: Note if there are any significant changes or outliers in the data. If a certain bar stands out for being dramatically higher or lower than the others, that's a main feature.

Note Periods of Stability or Significant Changes: Look for periods when the data doesn't change much, or periods when there are significant changes. These can both be key features.

Contrast Beginnings and Endings: If the graph shows data over time, compare the data at the beginning and end of the time frame. Significant changes or consistencies can be important main features.

Remember, your goal isn't to describe every detail in the chart, but to present an overview of the most significant features. Practice this with various types of charts and with time, you'll become more adept at quickly identifying the main features in an IELTS Task 1 Bar Chart.

So, applying the steps that we have described above, we've identified the following major features:

In all the years except 2013, paper waste was the largest amount collected.

Glass was consistently the second highest waste collected, except in 2013.

Tins and gardens were consistently the third and fourth highest, respectively.

In 2015, the total waste collection was the highest at 196 tones, followed by 176 tones in 2011 and the lowest was 133 tones in 2012.

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Do you want to ensure a high band score of 7 or above?

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3. IELTS Task-1 Bar Chart Essay Structure

We can complete the essay using only 10 sentences! Yes, it is that much simple! Take a look how we place the 10 sentences in our 4 paragraph essay. You can look into the eBook to learn how to write each paragraph perfectly.

1. Paraphrasing the Question Sentence

Paraphrase the question statement using just one or two sentences.

2. Overview Paragraph

Sentence 1: summary statement 1(preview of the essay without presenting data)

Sentence 2: summary statement 2 (more preview without presenting data)

3. Body Paragraph 1

Sentence 1: first major point

Sentence 2: second major point

Sentence 3: extension sentence 1 (compare/combine the major points stated above)

Sentence 4: extension sentence 2 (extension of the previous sentence, or adding an exceptional feature).

4. Body Paragraph 2

Sentence 1: exceptional feature

Sentence 2: extension of the exceptional feature

Sentence 3: final sentence (wrapping-up the whole essay, completely based on the discussion above, nothing new)

Let's develop the answer step by step applying the above-stated 4 paragraph essay structure.

4. Paraphrasing the Question Sentence

The introductory paragraph of our IELTS Task 1 essay is designed to paraphrase the question statement. The primary objective of this paragraph is to restate the question sentence in your own words, without altering the original meaning.

To accomplish this effectively, you must have a solid grasp of paraphrasing techniques which you can find in detail in the eBook. The examiner will assess this paragraph to determine the depth of your comprehension of the question presented.

Let's look at the actual question statement that we are using on this page:

" The chart below shows waste collection by a recycling centre from 2011 to 2015. "

We can paraphrase this statement as below:

" The presented diagram showcases various waste categories collected by a recycling centre for a continuous span of five years, ranging from 2011 through to 2015. The units of measurement for each category are in tons. "

That's it, quite simple. Our first paragraph is complete, and you have already used 28 out of 150 words. Let's move to the next part of the essay, the Overview Paragraph.

5. Task 1 Bar Chart Overview Paragraph

The second paragraph of our IELTS Writing Task 1 essay is the overview, and it holds significant weight in the scoring process. In the absence of an overview paragraph, your essay is unlikely to receive a score higher than band 5 in the IELTS Writing section. Therefore, it is crucial to approach this paragraph with utmost care. You can check this chapter in the eBook where we have given in-depth discussion on how to write an impressive overview paragraph.

An overview serves as a summary of the key features that you will be discussing in the subsequent body paragraphs. This paragraph should not contain any data but should instead highlight the obvious features that are visible in the presented diagrams. Its purpose is to provide readers with a general idea of the essay's content.

Overview Paragraph S tru c t ure

Remember our Overview paragrap h stru c ture:

Sentence 3: outline sentence (state how the discussion will proceed.)

Let's form the paragraph:

Sentence 1 ( S umm ary Statement 1 )

" In general, over the entire five-year period with the exception of 2013, paper waste was the most substantial category of waste, followed by glass, tins, and gardens, respectively. "

Sentence 2 ( Summary Statement 2 )

" However, apart from 2015, the total amount of waste collected from these four categories remained mostly constant throughout the period. "

Complete Overview Paragraph

"In general, over the entire five-year period with the exception of 2013, paper waste was the most substantial category of waste, followed by glass, tins, and gardens, respectively. However, apart from 2015, the total amount of waste collected from these four categories remained mostly constant throughout the period. "

Quite simple. Previously we wrote 28 words for the first paragraph (paraphrasing the question sentence). And just now we have added 44 more words to write the 2nd paragraph (Overview paragraph). That means we've completed the 1st two of our 4 paragraph IELTS Task 1 essay. Therefore, we're already halfway through. It's time to move to the Body Paragraph 1 and Body Paragraph 2 respectively.

6. Task 1 Bar Chart Body Paragraph 1

In the overview paragraph, we have given just a general statement of significant features, we haven't discussed any detail. Now it's time to explain them in the two body paragraphs.

Body Paragraph 1 Structure

Remember our Body Paragraph 1 structure:

Sentence 1 : f irst major point

Sentence 2 : s econd major point

Sentence 3 : extension sentence 1 (compare/combine the major points stated above)

Sentence 4 : extension sentence 2 (extension of the previous sentence, or adding an exceptional feature).

Let's form the paragraph following the above-stated structure:

Sentence 1( First Major Point )

" Over the entire five-year period, the relative proportions of waste collected from each of the four categories remained consistent. "

Sentence 2( Second Major Point )

" Paper waste was the most frequently collected waste category, followed by glass, tins, and gardens, respectively. "

Sentence 3( Extension Sentence 1 )

" However glass was the leading waste material in 2013. "

Sentence 4( Extension Sentence 2 )

" Throughout this period, the levels of tins and garden waste were neck and neck, although garden waste consistently remained lower. "

Complete Body Paragraph 1

"Over the entire five-year period, the relative proportions of waste collected from each of the four categories remained consistent. Paper waste was the most frequently collected waste category, followed by glass, tins, and gardens, respectively. However glass was the leading waste material in 2013. Throughout this period, the levels of tins and garden waste were neck and neck, although garden waste consistently remained lower."

By adding 62 words to the first body paragraph, we have already covered 75% of the required length for an IELTS Task 1 essay. It's remarkable how simple it can be - we just need to describe the major features we see in the diagrams.

With 28, 44, and 62 words respectively for the first three paragraphs, we have used up 134 out of the total 150 words. This means we only need to write at least 16 more words for the final paragraph. Let's proceed to the second body paragraph.

7. Task 1 Bar Chart Body Paragraph 2

Body paragraph 2 is the final paragraph of our IELTS Task 1 essay. This is the easiest paragraph in the whole essay. Because here we're just stating other features briefly in the first sentence, adding another overall comparison statement in the second sentence, and then writing a final sentence summarizing the whole essay. Lets's apply our structure for the second body paragraph:

Body Paragraph 2 Structure

Sentence 1(Exceptional Feature)

" The trend for the total amount of waste collected, however, differed from that of individual categories. "

Sentence 2(Extension of the Exceptional Feature)

" The highest amount of waste, totalling 196 tons, was collected in 2015, followed by 2011 and 2014. "

Sentence 3(Final Sentence)

" Therefore, despite fluctuations, paper waste consistently dominated throughout the period, and 2015 saw the highest amount of waste collected by the centre in a single year. "

Complete Body Paragraph 2

"The trend for the total amount of waste collected, however, differed from that of individual categories. The highest amount of waste, totalling 196 tons, was collected in 2015, followed by 2011 and 2014. Therefore, despite fluctuations, paper waste consistently dominated throughout the period, and 2015 saw the highest amount of waste collected by the centre in a single year."

We've added 58 more words to the previous 134, and just finished the final part of our 4 paragraph essay. That means we have just completed an IELTS Task 1 essay with 192 words, which is absolutely okay. In fact, you should write somewhere between 170 and 220 words for convey a smart description.

In conclusion, writing a task-1 bar chart band 9 report may seem daunting, but with these strategies in hand, it's an achievable goal. Remember, the secret lies in effective interpretation, clear organization, and varied language use. Practice identifying key features and trends, comparing and contrasting data, and accurately representing numerical data in your own words. Ensure that your introduction, overview, and detailed paragraphs follow a logical flow, maintaining a high degree of coherence and cohesion.

Moreover, focus on improving your lexical resource by employing a variety of vocabulary, grammatical structures, and synonyms. Lastly, while preparing for your IELTS task-1, be sure to review top-tier band 9 samples to identify the essential elements of a successful response. Just like mastering any skill, it takes practice and dedication to write an impressive bar chart band 9 report, but rest assured, with the right approach, you're well on your way to achieving that IELTS band 9 score.

Don't forget to check the following resources:

Download IELTS High Scoring eBooks

Get Detailed Essay Feedback from An Examiner

Check the detailed discussion on all the question types

Multiple Graphs Line Graph

Pie Chart Map

Table Chart Process Diagram

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer

Pen pointing at multicolored IELTS writing bar charts - image by Magoosh

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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More from Magoosh

Hand holding pen pointing at IELTS Writing Task 1 pie chart

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.

IELTS bar chart writing task 1 overview and tips

1. introduction to ielts bar chart writing task 1.

Bar chart or Bar graph, in IELTS Writing Task 1, share several similar features with Line chart which has two axes (x-axe and y-axe). This feature helps people see how a trend has changed over time. On the other hand, instead of lines, IELTS Bar chart Writing Task 1 contains rectangular bars in horizontal or vertical orientation that illustrate the ratio of each category.

Being a visual representation of data using bars, bar graphs aim to simplify the data and show the difference between volumes and things of categories more easily.

These are some examples for IELTS Bar chart Writing Task 1 :

2. Structure of IELTS Bar Chart Writing Task 1

To write an IELTS Bar Chart Writing Task 1 , you need to get to know the structure to stick to. To be specific, there are four different parts:

2.1. Introduction

In this very first part, you need to take theses criteria into account:

Topic (e.g. frequency of eating at fast food restaurant)
Place (e.g. the USA)
Time period (e.g. 2003-2013)
Unit of measurement (% of people)

Then, you have to paraphrase the information given in your own words in about one or two sentences.

e.g. The bar chart compares the proportion of Americans who had meals at fast food eateries in three separate years (2003, 2006 and 2013).

2.2. Overview

You need to look at the general trend of the graph as well as some highlighted features (highest, lowest, equal figures, etc.). This part should be also described in approximately 1 to 3 sentences.

e.g. Overall, most Americans went to fast food restaurants once a week, between 2003 and 2006, and once or twice a month in 2013. People eating fast food daily accounted for the lowest percentage in all three years.

As usual, you should separate this part into two different paragraphs that describe details of the bar chart. Each paragraph should consist of 3 to 4 sentences.

You can refer to 2 ways to split up the body:

Group comparison items together and divide into two paragraphs (e.g. paragraph 1 – increasing trend; paragraph 2 – fluctuating trend)
Each body paragraph describes the data of each category (e.g. country, males and females, city, etc.)

>>> Read more: IELTS writing task 1 line graph

3. Steps to write an IELTS Bar Chart Writing Tasks 1 essay effectively

3.1. Step 1: Analyse the question

When reading the question, identify these features and highlight or underline those:

Brief description of the chart

(e.g. The bar chart below shows the expenditure that people in two different countries spent on consumer goods in 2010 .)

Type of the chart:

bar chart, line chart, table, pie chart, etc. dynamic or static chart

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

The task asks you to select and report main features, and compare those features. Remember that you do not need to list all the features, just pick out key features that are outstanding. Also, the word limit and time alloted should be noticed: you should spend 20 minutes to complete Task 1 with at least 150 words.

3.2. Step 2: Point out main features of the bar graph

You need to answer these questions:

What information do both horizontal and vertical bars give?
What is the period of time?
What are the most outstanding features?
Are there any similarities among categories?
How to group the data? (for Body part)

Now, you’re about to begin your essay.

3.3. Step 3: Write the essay

Remember that the structure includes 4 paragraphs:

Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Overview
Paragraph 3: 1st detailed features
Paragraph 4: 2nd detailed features

3.4. Step 4: Re-check your essay

Make sure that you won’t lose any point for incorrect spellings or ungrammatical structures. So, don’t forget to double check your IELTS Bar Chart Writing Task 1 before moving to Task 2.

➡️➡️ See more: IELTS Writing Practice Test

4. IELTS Bar Chart Writing Tasks 1 Tips

4.1. Making the most of transition words

Throughout the essay, you need to continuously use linking words to maintain the connection among ideas. Use those words properly, suitably and your score will be higher.

Apart from some linking words like Next, Besides, In addition, etc., you should use other in-between linking words such as compared to, in comparison with, opposing, whereas, while, etc.

4.2. Be careful with word and time limit

You will have a total of 60 minutes for the IELTS Writing test, so try to spend around 20 minutes for the IELTS Writing Task 1. Also, with the requirement of at least 150 words, you need to write the task with three parts (Introduction, Overview, and Body).

4.3. Don’t express your point of view

IELTS Bar Chart Writing Task 1, as well as other types of Academic Writing Task 1, will be a task of describing or illustrating a graph, so there will be no personal opinions given on the task.

4.4. Use proper vocabulary and grammar

A wide range of vocabulary and sentence structures will be an advantage for your IELTS Bar chart Writing Task 1 essay, which can boost your lexical score. To consult more vocabulary for IELTS Task 1, please visit this article IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 on our web.

IELTS Bar Chart Writing Task 1 will no longer be a barrier for you if you prepare enough for the test and practice as much as possible. With IELTS TEST PRO , you can refer to a variety of model samples and useful tips for you to deal with this type of chart in IELTS Writing Task 1.

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How to describe Bar Charts in IELTS Task 1 Writing

By ielts-jonathan.com on 18 June 2022 0

Learning to write about IELTS Bar Charts

Before learning how to describe bar charts in IELTS Task 1, it would be useful for you to study these articles first.

If you are familiar with the content, you can continue to the next section.

IELTS TASK 1 Describing changes and trends

IELTS TASK 1 Working correctly with numbers

IELTS TASK 1 Increase your band score with Adjectives/Adverbs

IELTS TASK 1 Using Compare and Contrast language

Bar charts usually have two main features that you need to notice – the comparison of two or more units or numbers in the same year, or charts that show changes over a period of time

For this type of essay it is standard to write a four paragraph essay, namely An Introduction, An Overview and Two Bodies

Have a look at these articles if you are unsure about the paragraphs of an IELTS report.

How to write an Introduction

How to write an Overview

How to write the Main Bodies

Writing about Bar Charts

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Bar charts are common questions in IELTS.

This format of question is very visual and can seem easy to answer.

This is often a mistake.

It is really important to be prepared for all types of IELTS questions. But, the good news is that the preparation won’t take as long as you might think.

There are different types of Bar Chart. All will require you to notice differences and trends.

In many ways the question is a similar task to Line Graphs except the information is presented in a different way.

Values may be presented as measurements, costs or numbers against units of time, cities, countries, months or types of people among others. A bar chart typically represents a period in the past.

It’s important to use specific vocabulary related to this task and the grammar needed here would be prepositions and the past tense to describe trends.

You would also need to use specific language that shows numbers and amount as well as the language required for Line Graphs.

Bar Chart Questions follow the same format as any IELTS Task 1:

Introduce the map
Give an overview of the main point/s (necessary for Band 6 and above)
And provide the detail

This post will explain:

The two types of Bar Chart question
The tried and tested method for answering any map question
How to write the introduction
How to write about the detail showing trends and time.
How to finish with a great overview
The common mistakes IELTS students make

What is an IELTS bar Chart Question?

These questions can be divided into two types: past and present charts and show trends in one direction over time.

Official IELTS practice questions have featured information related to education, population, climate, exchange or school for example. In fact anything where the highest and lowest can be compared.

More good news is that the same skills and principles can be applied to any bar chart, whether in the past or present.

Let’s consider a typical question first.

The chart below shows the number of men and women in further education in Britain in three periods and whether they were studying full-time or part-time.

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

Write at least 150 words

A Good Teacher’s Guide to IELTS Planning.

Any good teacher will tell you that to be effective in Task 1 you need to understand the task quickly and plan an answer quickly too. You can do this like so:

Get an overall visual understanding of the map.

Paraphrase the question
Consider an overview
Divide the process into past and present
Include time to proofread your writing

Gaining an overall understanding of the Bar Chart

A bar chart has a number of features that require vocabulary related to time or number. So, you should start at the beginning, and look for and compare the obvious differences or trends.

In the example above, this differences are fairly obvious. Noticeable features are there were increases in enrollment for both men and women in full-time education and while there were increases in enrollment for women in part-time education this was not the same for men.

However, bar charts are not always as clear as this, and you may need to look more carefully to notice changes.

It’s quite a challenge to write about something you have never seen, so it is important that you look at other sample bar charts to get a good understanding of how they might vary.

Don’t worry , it doesn’t need to be perfect, you only have 15 minutes and just need to notice the main features and report them in an accurate way.

Identify the obvious trend/s
Is the trend increasing, decreasing or is it stable?
Is the an exception to general trend ?
Is it past situation or present?
Units are often about time, are they days, months, years or decades?
If they are not about time, what are they?
If there is a key, what information is provided on the bar chart?

By answering these questions you will have already started planning your essay

Good News – Remember the IELTS task is not there to trick you, and you won’t be given a complicated process to describe. Your task is to report effectively and accurately.

Task 1 Question Introduce bar charts IELTS Jonathan

As with any Task 1, you can begin by paraphrasing sentence (1)

This is the rubric or instructions.

Paraphrasing is a task that is worth learning to do well, and a good knowledge of paraphrasing will also help you in the Reading, Listening and Speaking part of the test.

Simply put, paraphrasing for IELTS means using different words and/or word order so the original meaning remains the same.

In order to remain the same, different words need to be synonyms, so man, male and person have a similar meaning, they are synonymous, but man, male, person and girl are not all synonymous.

paraphrase IELTS Bar Chart Task 1 Jonathan

As you can see, all the information in the three sentences has been taken from the question, but it has not been copied.

If you do copy directly then those words are not used towards the word count and you will fail on TASK ACHIEVEMENT.

You need to write it in your own words.

In any Academic Task 1 question you can rewrite (paraphrase) the questions and this will be the first paragraph. Excellent!

You can then move on further and consider the next section, the Overview.

Overview of the Bar Chart

The ‘ public band descriptors ’ state that to achieve a Band 6 or above for ‘ task response ’ the student must provide an overview in a Task 1. Without one, you are less likely to get a high score.

If you started planning at the beginning then writing a good overview will be a lot easier near the end.

Remember, the questions I asked you to consider. These should be sufficient to provide the 2 sentences you need to construct the basic overview.

Identify the obvious trend
Is the trend increasing decreasing, stable?
Is there an exception?
How are units measured?

An IELTS bar chart is different to a chart or table as there aren’t usually any key differences to identify.

So, as there are no differences to comment on, you should mention, for example, the obvious trend/s AND exception if there is one.

Providing the Detail

Now that you have completed paraphrasing the question and given the overview, the next stage is to explain the IELTS bar chart in detail.

You can do this by:

Stating the significant trends
Use verbs and nouns to show an increase, decrease or exception.
Use prepositions to describe time and trend

Before you do this you need to consider the most suitable language that reflects the sophistication of the task.

In order to describe the process well there are three key aspects of language to be considered. These are vocabulary, prepositions and choice of grammar.

Key vocabulary for describing Bar Charts

Numbers and Amounts

Language IELTS Bar Charts Task 1 Numbers Amounts

Vocabulary to describe time

IELTS Preparation Bar Charts Time Jonathan

Vocabulary to describe changes over time

Trends that go up

IELTS LANGAUGE TRRNDS BAR CHARTS JONATHAN

Trends that go down

Language to describe no changes

Language to describe multiple changes

Bar Charts IELTS Fluctuate Language Trends Jonathan

2) Structure for describing trends over time The Overview

When we describe change, the present perfect and the present perfect passive is often used. Also time phrases are used such as: over the 20 year period, from 1990 to 2000, over the years, in the last 10 years, in the years after 1990 and so on.

The Overview

The overview comes just after the introduction and makes a general statement about the main differences between the bar chart. The overview is quite short, maybe about 2 or 3 sentences. Do not go into detail in the overview.

Overview Bar Chart IELTS Task 1 Jonathan

Now I can add the two Body Paragraphs using the language and vocabulary from above.

The Body Paragraphs

Varying your language for Task 1

One final tip for a higher score is variation in language.

It’s a good idea to avoid repetition when writing Task 1.

According to the information, the production of cars doubled .

According to the chart, twice as many cars were produced.

Sales increased to. Sales went up to.

The same can apply to nouns too,

For example, the number of cars produced , the total production of cars.

Common errors

A very basic error seen in Task 1 introduction is basic verb agreement.

Look at the two genuine examples below

The bar chart show The bar charts shows

In both examples it is unclear about the number of nouns discussed

Here is the correction:

Make sure you practise the passive so you know exactly how to use it.

Common errors using the Present Simple Passive

You will see from the description, it is more unusual to comment on who or what is doing the action so the ‘by….” phrase is often excluded.

Singular or Plural

Notice these examples are incorrect.

There were an increase in rainfall. There was a declines in visitors. The number of sales gone up.

This is a really common mistake In Task 1 writing!

Here are the corrections:

There was an increase in rainfall. There was a decline in visitors. The number of sales has gone down.

Finally, check your Essay

Ideally, you need to allow 3 to 4 minutes at the end of the test to check and improve your writing. Often students don’t do this because they spend 2o minutes writing, but it is far better to write for about 15 minutes and allow 5 minutes to check and improve your writing.

From my experience the points you should check for are:

Are there any obvious spelling or punctuation errors?
Are the verbs the correct tense?

Additionally, you should consider these questions, but if you followed my planning advice you should be ok.

Do the verbs agree with the subject?
Does the description make sense? Does it follow the visual?
Is there any repetition in vocabulary?
Could this be improved with synonyms?
Have I written over 150 words?
Have I organised the text into at least 3 paragraphs?
Have I noticed only the obvious features from the map?
Have I included the prominent features in the overview?
Have I NOT included my personal opinion?

Once you have done this, be proud of the final product!

Here’s my sample answer.

What do you think?

Sample Answer Adult Education Bar Chart

The bar chart presents information on male and female full and part-time enrolment in further education at the beginning of three decades, 1970, 1980 and 1990.

Overall, it is noticeable that the number of people in both full and part-time education increased over the three periods. In addition, the numbers of women increased more sharply resulting in the number of women in some form of education outnumbering men by 1990.

In 1970, there were 1 million men in part-time education. This figure dropped to around 875,00 in 1980 before rising slightly to 900,00 in 1990. Noticeably, the numbers of men in full-time education consistently increased from 100,000 in 1970 to 200,000 by 1990.

As for women, there were roughly 700,000 in part-time education in 1970, this then grew to 800,000 in 1980 and then jumped sharply to 1.1 million in 1990. In comparison, part-time education enrolment increased sharply from below 100,000 in 1970 to 200,000 in 1980 and then increased very little by 1990. With respect to part-time education overall, the number of men declined while it increased for women.

Word count (180)

Official Band Score Examples Task 1

If you’d like to see official examples of student’s work you can do so here .

All the Best, Jonathan

I’m Jonathan

I’ve taught IELTS and University English in more than a dozen universities and schools around the world.

I’m a parent, traveller and passionate about language teaching and helping students achieve their dreams.

Whilst living in Austria or working in Asia, I run IELTS courses to help students get to where they want to be.

If you are serious about IELTS, connect with me to see how I can help you.

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IELTS Writing Task 1: How to describe BAR GRAPHS

Test your understanding of this English lesson

172 comments.

Hi, teacher Emma! Thank you very much for this lesson!

A bad tree doesn’t yield good apples

U r being lackadaisical

Hi Emma . Thank you for this vidéo and all the threads of other IELTS related vidéo . Emma , may we use -to accentuate quickly the number of words in our writing – phrases rather than synonym . For instense , rather than saying ,”the graph demonstrate” we would say , “the graph brings to light multiple pieces of information ” . That way the 150 words would be reached rapidly . Thanks for your comment . See you

Thanks Emma for this lesson. You are a good teacher.

thanks Emma for this lesson

if someone wants to practice english-im creating international group for people with intermediate level of english at least on whatsapp. Please write me here down +79374015000 PS Its free for sure))

Please teacher… more lessons on CAE exam… thanks

A very long and extended lesson to improve our writing acknowledges in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), but I thought that your opinion about the types of graphics that you find in the exam was important, but it doesn’t, you only have to describe in general terms an obvious topic and focus on it, if it’s possible using jargon of the topic to get a better task. Thanks a lot, teacher Emma, a good explanation on how to describe graphic information in an exam like the IELTS.

I like all the teachers thank you for your support in teaching us.. :)

I learned a lot, I really would exprees my deep thanks for your efforts

Great lesson Emma, thanks! I think it could also be very useful to prepare different types of presentations, like sales, marketing, technical topics and so one.

I Agree, Jorge!

Thenk you for lesson

I Will try my best next quiz……..

Why here is so boring and quiet???? I know that we should comment on new lessons but I believe if we want to be better in speaking and writing, we’d better be more active in arguing and interaction. Who’s with me?

was it repeat ? or this lesson is New …I think I show it before.

I don’t know. Actually,I’ve not watched it yet. I’m not willing to watch it.

thank a lot

thats great, i am agree with you dear nkh, thats good method to learn language as a child that dont need grammars.

Hi! But I think knowing is better than not knowing most of the time. I myself like grammar, since I like writting and also traslation. Without knowing grammar I can’t be successful, can I? Me and most people like me need to know it. Regards

Practice make a per perfect.

Hi Emma It is really good practice. In my life I am an open book. I passed the Examination what I have need. Now I am really learning from you. Thank you Mostafizur Rahman

Good lesson Emma, thank you so much!

10/10, Thank you, for your lesson. In my job, I often have to describe charts, so it was very helpful practise for me.

a great lesson with a big knowledge … thanks Emma

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hi there teacher emma this is videos it´s very interesting because I learnning new word and new vacabulary when I answer the question in the exam IELS, A NUEWS challenges that ESL us, for me is more rewarding al this learnning languajes as I know what is the chart, bar graphs, and pie chart, that decreasse an increasse and them, thank you so much for your english class every day take care.

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Thanks a lot, Emma! You are amazing. (Azores Islands, 12Sept2023);

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Academic practice
General practice
Task 1 Academic
Task 1 General
Task 2 (essay)

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.

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 three years. It rose to approximately 30% in 2013, then increased by around 5% in 2014, and reached around 42% in 2015, 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 three years. It rose to approximately 30% in 2013, then increased by around 5% in 2014, and reached around 42% in 2015, outracing the rate of Sweden.

(190 words)

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Simplified Chinese

Cách viết Writing Task 1 dạng Bar chart chỉ với 3 bước cực hiệu quả

Cách viết dạng Bar chart trong Writing Task 1 được IDP cập nhật chi tiết trong bài viết sau! Hãy cùng theo dõi ngay để biết cách phân tích đề bài, lên outline và triển khai từng phần cho dạng câu hỏi nhận xét biểu đồ cột trong IELTS.

Chủ đề bài viết

Bar chart - Biểu đồ cột IELTS thể hiện sự biến thiên của đối tượng (dựa trên một đơn vị nhất định). Dạng bài này thường yêu cầu phân tích đặc điểm, số liệu, so sánh và dự đoán xu hướng của đối tượng. Có hai dạng là Bar chart có sự thay đổi theo thời gian (time graph) và không có sự thay đổi theo thời gian (comparison graph) với đặc điểm và cách làm khác nhau. Dưới đây là cách viết biểu đồ cột trong IELTS , cùng theo dõi ngay!

>>>Xem thêm: Thi ielts bao nhiêu tiền và cách thanh toán chi phí thi IELTS tại IDP

Bước 1: Phân tích biểu đồ

Bước đầu tiên khi sau khi đọc đề bài đó là phân tích biểu đồ. Mỗi đề bài sẽ bao gồm ba phần:

Phần 1: Mô tả ngắn gọn về biểu đồ “The bar chart below shows…”

Phần 2: Chỉ dẫn bạn đến yêu cầu của bài: “Summarise the information …and make comparisons…”

Phần 3: Một biểu đồ, cụ thể ở dạng bài này là Bar chart.

Để phân tích được biểu đồ, bạn cần làm rõ 4 yếu tố sau:

Topic – Đối tượng của biểu đồ là gì?

Place – số liệu trong biểu đồ được lấy ở đâu?

Time – số liệu trong biểu đồ được lấy ở thời điểm nào?

Unit of measurement - Đơn vị đo của số liệu trong biểu đồ?

Đề mẫu:

Article - IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar charts - Paragraph 1 - IMG 1 - Vietnam

Đề mẫu để xây dựng cách viết dạng Bar Chart trong Writing Task 1 - Nguồn: Bestmytest

Thực hành phân tích đề:

Topic – Đối tượng của biểu đồ là gì: Living Issues of City Residents - dựa trên ba đối tượng là Health Services, Education and training, Air Pollution

Place – số liệu trong biểu đồ được lấy ở đâu: In major UK cities

Time – số liệu trong biểu đồ được lấy ở thời điểm nào: In 2008

Unit of measurement - Đơn vị đo của số liệu trong biểu đồ: Đơn vị đo lường: phần trăm

Bước 2: Note lại những thông tin quan trọng

Sau khi đã phân tích đề và nắm được những điểm mấu chốt, giờ là lúc bạn ghi lại thông tin quan trọng từ biểu đồ, bao gồm:

Điểm cao nhất? - Health Services

Điểm thấp nhất? - Air Pollution

Có sự thay đổi vượt trội nào trong biểu đồ?

Các điểm chung của số liệu?

Đây đều là những thông tin mà bạn có thể dựa vào để phân tích và so sánh theo đúng yêu cầu của đề bài. Nắm rõ các thông tin này giúp bạn hạn chế tình trạng liệt kê khi làm bài thi Writing Task 1.

Đăng Ký Thi IELTS Trên Máy Tính Ngay

Bước 3: Chiến lược viết từng phần của bài mô tả Bar chart

Cách viết phần introduction.

Trong phần giới thiệu, bạn chỉ nên diễn giải lại đề bài bằng cách thay đổi cấu trúc và sử dụng từ đồng nghĩa.

Cấu trúc viết câu mở bài: The bar chart + show(s)/illustrate(s)/give(s) information about + 3W (what?, where?, when?)

Ex: The bar graph compares the living issues of local people in some major cities in the UK during 2008.

Từ vựng thường dùng: Show - illustrate - give - compare,...

Cách viết phần Overview Task 1 dạng Bar chart

Ở phần tiếp theo này, bạn nên thể hiện các đặc trưng chủ yếu mà bạn có thể thấy trong biểu đồ, chỉ cung cấp các thông tin chung chung và so sánh nếu có.

Một vài lưu ý khi viết overview:

Overview nên gồm 2 câu, một là giới thiệu chung về biểu đồ và hai là những thông tin chính.

Không đưa số liệu vào overview.

Chỉ nên chọn 2-3 ý chính để viết.

Những cụm từ vựng IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar chart dùng cho phần Overview:

As is observed: Theo quan sát

Overall: Nhìn chung

Generally speaking: Nói chung là

At a first glance: Thoạt nhìn

As can be seen: Như có thể thấy

Increase/Rise: tăng lên, Decrease/Fall: Giảm đi, …

Remain stable: Không thay đổi

Hit the peak/ hit the highest point: Đạt điểm cao nhất

Slightly: Không đáng kể

Dramatically: Đáng kể

Gradually: Dần dần

Ex: As is observed, health services were the primary issue in most cities, followed by education and training. While air pollution remained a minor problem.

Tầm quan trọng của câu overview trong IELTS Writing Academic Task 1

Tổng hợp bộ từ vựng IELTS Writing Task 1

Cách viết phần Body

Phần Body là nơi bạn được phép trình bày nhiều thông tin chi tiết liên quan đến các dữ liệu bạn có. Ở phần này, chú ý thêm các câu so sánh vào bài viết, đừng chỉ liệt kê thông tin bởi điều này sẽ khiến bạn mất điểm.

Cụ thể, phần body sẽ có cấu trúc như sau:

Phần body 1: 3-4 câu miêu tả chi tiết nhóm thông tin đầu tiên từ biểu đồ/ điểm giống nhau của biểu đồ

Article - IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar charts - Paragraph 3 - IMG 2 - Vietnam

Ví dụ cách triển khai body 1

Phần body 2: 3-4 câu miêu tả chi tiết nhóm thông tin tiếp theo/ điểm khác nhau của biểu đồ

Article - IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar charts - Paragraph 3 - IMG 3 - Vietnam

Ví dụ cách triển khai body 2

Những cụm từ dùng trong phần body: accounted for: chiếm, reached a peak of: đạt cực đại là, just over: cao hơn 1 chút, approximately: khoảng, xấp xỉ, …

Cấu trúc sử dụng trong phần body: Fell to + số liệu, Fell by + phần trăm,…

Đăng Ký Thi IELTS Trên Giấy Ngay

Từ vựng dùng trong dạng bài Bar Chart

Mặc dù dạng bài Bar Chart được chia thành hai loại: loại có biến đổi theo thời gian và loại không có thay đổi theo thời gian, các thí sinh đều phải đưa ra các phân tích về đặc điểm, số liệu hay dự đoán những xu hướng dựa trên các thông tin của đề bài.

1. Từ vựng miêu tả câu mở đầu

2. từ vựng miêu tả sự thay đổi , 3. từ vựng miêu tả tốc độ thay đổi .

Gas prices have slightly increased in the last few months.

In the given period, the city's water consumption witnessed a moderate fall of approximately 15% from 180 to 153 million liters per day.

4. Từ vựng dùng để liệt kê

According to the graph/ First of all/ to begin with/ to start with/ Firstly: đầu tiên là

Secondly: thứ hai là

In turn/ before that/ subsequently/ following that: sau đó thì

Finally: cuối cùng là

Correspondingly: Tương ứng

Respectively: Tương ứng

5. Giới từ thường được sử dụng

In 1992, the Service Industry accounted for 4 percent of GDP, whereas IT exceeded this, at just over 6 per cent.

From 2000 to 2020, the number of households using solar energy as their primary source of electricity increased significantly, rising from just 500 to over 10,000.

6. Từ vựng chỉ số phần trăm - Các loại %, số phần và con số

tripled (v): gấp ba

doubled (v): gấp đôi

one-fourth: 1/4

three-quarters: 3/4

half: một nửa

double fold: gấp đôi

5 times higher: cao hơn gấp 5 lần

3 times lower: thấp hơn 3 lần

7. Từ vựng chỉ ngày tháng năm

From + năm: từ năm X

Between + Year X and Year Y: giữa năm X và năm Y

After + Year X: sau năm X

By/in + Year X: vào năm X

In + tháng X: vào tháng X

Cấu trúc câu dùng trong dạng bài Bar Chart

Cấu trúc trong đoạn overview.

Overview là đoạn cần tập trung vào những xu hướng tổng quát hoặc những đặc điểm nổi bật của cả biểu đồ. Bạn có thể áp dụng những trạng từ sau cho đoạn Overview của mình:

In general: nhìn chung thì

In common / Generally speaking / Overall

It is obvious: rõ ràng là

As is observed: theo quan sát

As a general trend: xu hướng chung là

As can be seen: có thể thấy là

As an overall trend: xu hướng chung là

As is presented: như đã thấy

It can be clearly seen that: có thể rõ ràng thấy được là

At the first glance, it is clear that .. : nhìn sơ có thể thấy ..

At the onset, it is clear that .. : rõ ràng là ..

A glance at the graphs reveals that .. : nhìn sơ biểu đồ cho thấy là..

Bài mẫu xây dựng cách viết dạng Bar chart trong Writing Task 1

Sau khi đã tham khảo những hướng dẫn viết Writing Task 1 dạng Bar chart bên trên, bạn hãy vận dụng để làm 3 đề mẫu dưới đây:

Bài 1: The graph gives information about the age of the population of Iceland between 1990 and 2020.

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

Article - IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar charts - Paragraph 4 - IMG 4 - Vietnam

The bar chart compares the different ages of people living in Iceland between 1990 and 2020.

All in all, the size of the 25-54 age group increased the most over the period while the size of the two younger age groups decreased a little bit. The number of people in the two older age groups stayed about the same.

The 25-54 age group grew from approximately a third of the population in 1990 to nearly half of the population in 2020.

The older two age groups did not increase or decrease much. The size of the 65 and over age group remained at about 13%, whereas the size of the 55 -64 age group only fell from about 14% to about 10% of the population.

By contrast, the 0-14 age group fell from just over 25% in 1990 to just under 20% in 2020. Similarly, the 15-24 age group dropped from just over 20% of the population in 1990 to just under 10% of the population in 2020.

Bài 2: The chart and graph below give information about participants who have entered the Olympics since it began.

Article - IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar charts - Paragraph 4 - IMG 5 - Vietnam

The two charts give information about the gender and number of athletes who have entered the Games since they started. The bar chart illustrates the number of men and women entering the Games, whereas the line graph shows the number of participants.

It is evident from the bar chart that, until 2012, there were always significantly more men entering the Games than women. In 1924 and 1952, there were hardly any women entering the Games, yet in 1952 there were over 4,000 male participants. In 2012, however, the number of female athletes rose significantly to nearly 5,000, only approximately 1,000 lower than male participants.

The line graph shows a similar trend, with the number of participants increasing throughout the century. The most significant increase occurred between 1984 and 2012 when the number of athletes rose from just over 6,000 to over 10,000 in 2012.

To summarize, therefore, since 1924 the number of athletes entering the Olympic Games has increased dramatically. This is particularly the case for women, who are now represented in nearly the same numbers as male participants.

Bài 3: The graph below shows the percentage of part-time workers in each country of the United Kingdom in 1980 and 2010.

Article - IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar charts - Paragraph 4 - IMG 6 - Vietnam

The given bar graph shows the rate of part-time employees in four different parts of the UK from 1980 to 2010.

Overall, except for the workers of Northern Ireland, all the people of other countries have shown a rise in the rate of their work as time continues. Also, Wales and England have the most active part-time workers in both eras.

The graph clearly depicts that in 1980, nearly 25% of people worked in England as part-time workers but manpower in whales is about 8% higher than that in England. After 30 years, England shows a greater rise in the rate of workers than that in Whales. But the overall percentage of employees in 2010 still seems to be higher in Wales.

Furthermore, Scotland has the lowest rate of part-time workers with just about 11% while Northern Ireland exceeds more than that in the starting year. As time passes by, the percentage of workers decreases in Northern Ireland in contrast increases twice as that in 1980 in Scotland.

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>>> Bài viết cùng chủ đề:

Các dạng biểu đồ trong IELTS: Tổng quan & cách viết

Bật mí chi tiết cách viết dạng Map trong Writing Task 1

Trên đây là hướng dẫn cách viết dạng Bar chart trong Writing Task 1 kèm bài mẫu chi tiết. Hy vọng các thông tin trong bài đã giúp bạn đọc củng cố kiến thức và chuẩn bị tốt hơn cho kỳ thi IELTS sắp tới.

Tự tin ghi điểm dạng bài Bar Chart trong IELTS Writing!

Với các từ vựng và cấu trúc câu đa dạng liên quan đến dạng bài Bar Chart trong phần thi IELTS Writing Task 1 ở trên, hy vọng bạn đã nắm được phần nào cấu trúc bài thi và ghi điểm thật cao trong bài làm của mình. Bạn có thể đọc thêm chiến thuật giải quyết các dạng bài ở kho tài nguyên IELTS sẵn có của IDP để chuẩn bị tham gia thi IELTS trên giấy hay trên máy tính.

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IELTS Bar Chart Sample Answer

Below is a band score 9 sample answer for an IELTS bar chart in writing task 1. Below the model is a link to a video lesson about how to describe an IELTS bar chart. Watch the video to learn essential tips for each paragraph for a high score bar chart.

The bar chart illustrates how many children, divided by gender, played six kinds of sports (tennis, badminton, cycling, swimming, football and hockey) in a town in England in 2012. Overall, the number of boys playing sport exceeded that of girls in the given period and the sport with the most significant difference between the genders was football. Football was also the most popular sport for boys while the majority of girls preferred swimming. Furthermore, both males and females least preferred playing hockey. There were four sports in which boys participated more than girls. While 60 boys played football, the number of girls playing that sport was considerably lower (around 20). With regards to tennis, the figure for boys who played that sport was 50 as opposed to just under 40 for girls. Similarly, more boys cycled than girls (approximately 35and 20 respectively). The difference, in terms of hockey, was minimal with only about 5 more boys playing that sport than girls. On the other hand, more girls took part in the two remaining sports which both showed a difference of about 10 between the genders. As many as 50 girls preferred swimming in comparison to 40 girls for badminton.

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The bar graph elucidates the proportion of boys and girl’s players among the vivid sports namely, Tennis, Badminton, Cycling, Swimming, Football and Hockey in town of England in year 2012. Overall, the young boys can be seen adequately playing all sports than girls, whereas girls were excessively high as compared to the opponent in badminton and swimming. Although the highest difference is in football where the 60 boys played, it is also the highest number among other sports. Hockey is the least playing game among all the players, considerably 15 for boys and 8 for girls. It is the one of the sports with less player from both groups. Football played among 60 boys as compared to 20 girls, this is the one athlete game with a difference of 40. The two sports where the numbers of girls players were exceeding was badminton and swimming with 40 and 50 respectively. Among all sports girls high attended swimming with a total of 50 players. The average of 12 players differences between tennis and cycling where boys lead by 50 and considerably 35 respectively.

The given bar graph illustrates that a collective amount of boys and girls playing different kinds of games (Tennis, Badminton, Cycling, Swimming, Football, and Hockey) in the English belonging area in 2012.

Overall, the strength of boys are pretty enough compares to girls in the sports. It seems Football and Tennis are very much popular among the boys in against to girls. While huge number of girls love to play Badminton and doing Swimming than boys.

In Tennis exactly 50 boys love to play tennis while ratio of girls is below 40. In Football ratio of boys is higher than girls (60 and slightly above 20 respectively). Hockey is also popular in boys where there are around 15 boys playing compared to girls where there are below 10 girls are playing. We cannot forget the Cycling sport where the strength of boys are considerably higher than girls (35 and 20 respectively).

Badminton and Swimming are the two sport where girls are in lead compares to boys. In Badminton sport is played by girls are exactly 40 than 30 boys. On the other hand, in swimming the amount of girls are 50 compare to boys which is slightly above than 40.

The bar graph illustrates the number of children from both gender who played the six kinds of sports in an English town in 2012.

Overall, majority of boys played tennis, cycling, football and hockey. Whereas, badminton and swimming were the sports English girls took part the most.

Generally, footwall was the favorite sport among boys with 60 players as compared to girls which was overwhelmingly low at around 20. Other sports as tennis, cycling and hockey were also dominated by males. In detail, there were 50 boys in tennis, while only more than a quarter in girls. Moreover, there were roughly about 38 and 15 boys played cycling and hockey respectively.

Conversely, girls on the other hand, engaged most in swimming with 50 participants which was over 5% than boys. Whereas, 40 preferred badminton that made it as the second most played sport among this group.

The bar chart illustrates the number of children, divided by gender played six different sports games (tennis, badminton, cycling, swimming football and hockey) in the town of English in 2012. Overall, the participation of male students in sports seems higher than girls, especially in tennis, cycling and football. While girls show enthusiasm for badminton and swimming. Further, both were less active in hockey with the least participation. Football was the most popular sport for boys, as 60 boys participate as opposed to around 20 girls. With regards to tennis, less than 40 girls played as compared to boys (50). Similarly, more boys cycled than girls (approximately 35 and 20 respectively). Both were less active in hockey and there is a minor difference between around 15 and 20 (boys and girls respectively). On the other hand, considerably more girls took part in Badminton and Swimming than boys, which both showed a difference of about 10. As 50 girls preferred swimming, whereas 40 girls for badminton.

The bar chart given displays the statistics of male and female practicing six different types of sports (tennis, badminton, cycling, swimming, football and hockey) in a random English city in 2012. Overall, the number of boys playing sports has outnumbered the quota of girls in multiple disciplines and shows a significant exceed in football. On the other hand, the majority of girls were interested in swimming, while Hockey had the least percentage of participants from both genders.

Football has the highest number of players with 60 participants for boys compared to around 20 for girls, followed by tennis where boys accounted for 50 and girls for approximately 38 players. Swimming and badminton were the only two types of sport where girls took over the count against boys with a total of 50 and 41 swimmers respectively. Moreover, badminton players amounted to 40 for girls and 30 for boys.

In Cycling activity, the proportion of boy candidates has almost doubled those of girls with 38 players in opposition to 20, while hockey recorded the least figure of players for both boys and girls at 24 participants collectively.

Hello Liz, I would like to ask you a question, hope it’s not silly. Can we skip some information on task 1? For example, what if we never talk we never talk about badminton? Thank you.

You can’t skip information. But you can group categories together based on similarities or differences.

hlo mm, can we use moreover and furthermore in academic task 1??

Yes, sure. They are completely normal linking words to use.

This report will sum up the chart which shows the number of boys and girls playing sport un an English town in 2012. It is readily apparent from the data provided, overall, boys played far more sport than girls, with the exception two sports, namely: badminton and swimming.

Looking at the information in greater detail, it can be seen that the highest number of boys, or rather, 60, plays football, and hockey was by far the fewest. If we also consider tennis, the figures show that 50 males decided to play this sport, and 20 fewer played badminton.

As far as girls are concerned, we can observe that the most, that is to say, 50, chose to swim, whereas the lowest number of female children played hockey. 40 girls played badminton, which is twice as many numbers as cycling, and more or less 20 played football. Turning finally to tennis, about 38 chose to play this type of sport.

Why 1st letters of nouns tennis badminton cycling swimming and hockey are not upper case??

Because this follows English grammar rules. Names of sports do not require capital letters. Headings for charts use capital letters, but you must ensure that you use them in a grammatically correct way in your writing.

Thank you soo much liz.. I really wish to meet you in person and say thank you.. I’m soley studying your materials and i think it’s more than enough to get the band I’m aiming for.. Thank you once again.. Love from 🇮🇳India

Good luck! However, please make sure you also complete real IELTS tests at home. You can find a free test on the IELTS BC website and paid tests in the IELTS Cambridge test books. Do some for practice and others under exam conditions at home.

Hi Liz, I’ve a query about number of words used.. in this we have 200, isn’t that a big number…170-190 is fine, right?

The advice is always not to go over 190 words. This is because most candidates are not band 9 English speakers and some struggle with Task Achievement. TA is also about not going into too much detail. Most Writing Task 1 are suitable for keeping words under 200. However, if you hit 200 or just above, you won’t be penalised. But your writing may contain more mistakes which will lower your score.

Ok Liz, thanks for the answer and for the amazing tutorials too!!

very informative.

Thank you Liz for your help and informative lessons which make our learning process easier.

thanks for the tips! Godbless

Hi liz. First of all I would like to thank you for all your tips, I fell I am improving a lot with your help. I have a question, in writing task 1 can I divide paragraphs by using linkers such as firstly, secondly, thirdly or is it better to avoid this vocabulary since it is not an essay?

Linking words are a must. It is part of the marking criteria that you show the use of linking words. However, using “first, secondly, thirdly” in that way is mechanical – “like a machine” and this will limit your score. Be natural and flexible with your use of linking words. Not all paragraphs need to start with one. Review my model answers and note all linking words: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/

in this you did not even mention about badminton..lol

Badminton was given in the second body paragraph: On the other hand, more girls took part in the two remaining sports which both showed a difference of about 10 between the genders. As many as 50 girls preferred swimming in comparison to 40 girls for badminton.

You are a true daughter of God. Your ❤ is so big (generous) enough for others to see and experience AGAPE, the love of Jesus Christ through you. May God bless you abundantly my dear sister in Jesus Christ. God bless …

Hi liz. I would like to have an independent conversation with you….

Sorry, I do not offer that.

Hi Liz, First of all I would like to thank you for your great lessons. I wish all the best for you. I also have a question. If in a task 1 writing topic we have “per month” like in the following sentence. The chart shows the amount of time teenagers watch television per week or in week. Can I paraphrase it with montly? I am not sure if monthly is formal enough to be used here?

Yes, definitely. Per month = monthly = each month

Hi Liz, Your lessons are clear and concise.You are amazing !

Hi Liz, Thanks for your help so far ,your teachings has been of tremendously assisted. Please,does task one has conclusion?

See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/

hi liz i have a querry related this graph’s introduction in the question it is not described that the boys and girls are children,adults or teens then how can we say them children ? and thanxx a lot for all your very beneficial lessons

The word “boy” means a male who is a child. The word “man” means a male who is an adult. Please review your basic English vocabulary.

Hi Liz, can we use word leapfrog for comparison or is it informal?

If you are asking me, it is because you have a doubt. If you have a doubt, don’t use it.

Hi liz.. how r u ? Some authortities claim that the phrase ” on the other hand”is informal. Glad to see you using this phrase. Kindly clarify afformentioned misconception. Thanks in anticipation.

It is 100% fine to use. It is not informal at all.

hi Liz I’m so happy cuz I’ve found the right person for my Ielts preparation…though this is the first time just about a week that I m taking classes..but following u is just great.. now I have improved many more seeing your ielts related post… thanks once again..😃😃😃😃

I’m glad my lessons are helping you 🙂

Thank you so much. You are doing a splendid job. I have been searched for many good videos regarding IELTS, than i came to know about your’s, it will help me to get a good band score for sure.

Hello Liz, thanks a lot for your effort with us and I hope u recover from your health problems and get well soon, if u please can I organize my body paragraphs for this topic as one for girls and another for boys after stating the comparisons in the overview of that will be lacking enough comparisons for my task achievement.

Bar charts are used in order to show comparisons – that is the purpose of a bar chart.

in a “road to ielts” they say that the “overall” part of an essay should be put in the end of an essay. you always put it in a second paragraph. Is there a right way to do it?

The examiner will looking for a logical order of paragraphing. The overview contains the key features which are more important than the smaller detail and for this reason it is recommended to put the overview before the body paragraphs. However, it is still possible to put it at the end. Always remember that it is the most important part of your writing task 1.

Hi Liz, I want to thank you for your absolutely great help, I have used your website specially for some help with the writing section and I have earned 7.5 for writing in my IELTS just a couple of weeks ago thanks to you! many greetings from Palestine! Gabi

Well done, Gabi 🙂 I’m really pleased for you 🙂

Hi Liz could you let me know with the percentages( should I use singular verb or Plural verb).For example, 60% percentage of expenditure (it should followed by singular or plural verb).

Why are you repeating the symbol and the word? If you use the symbol, don’t use the word.

in the overview , can I take some words from the phrase provided and use it ? like in this case boys and girls

You don’t need to paraphrase all words. Just paraphrase some and change the order of the words as well.

Dear Liz Your amazing in lots of way, thanks for couching.

one of the scholars (he got band score 8.5) in Cambodia suggested your website, and I’ve been browsing through and find it very helpful. Thank you Liz.

This post is very helpful, many of my friends score low in writing as opposed to other skills. I also find writing hard for me.

You’ll find information, tips and practice lessons on this site to help you. Also follow my facebook page.

How to tackle if we are given two line charts for Task 1? For example, one chart shows the comparison of tuition fee for different fields of study in three different countries and second chart gives information on hostel charges in these countries. Should the overview be based on the combined theme or separate?

The introduction and overview are for both. Then give the details of each in separate body paragraphs. See this model: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-line-graph-and-bar-chart-model-answer-band-9/

I got it Thanks alot teacher ^_^

https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/

Thanks for your tips, I got an Ielts exam next month. Hope it goes well.

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IMAGES

IELTS Writing Video Walkthrough: Task 1 Bar Graph
IELTS Writing Task 1: How to Describe a Bar Chart and Pie Chart
IELTS Bar Chart Writing Task 1 Overview And Tips
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar Chart
IELTS Writing Task 1

VIDEO

IELTS Live Class
HOW TO DESCRIBE A BAR CHART
IELTS Writing task 1: Bar graph
IELTS Task 1 Multiple Charts Writing Band 9 Ultimate Guide 2023-How to score 8+ in Writing Task 1
On-the-spot IELTS Writing Task 1 (Bar Chart)
IELTS WRITING TASK1 ACADEMIC |IELTS 15 TEST 2 line graph

COMMENTS

How to Describe a Bar Chart [IELTS Writing Task 1]
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.
IELTS Task 1: Bar Charts and Graphs
These are bar charts and graphs that I've collected over the years from real past IELTS exams and other practice materials. Check out my EBoooks here on Patreon. Here are the IELTS bar charts and graphs! Dave. IELTS Task 1: Bar Charts and Graphs. Read my essay here. Read my essay here. Read my essay here. Read my essay here. Read my essay here.
IELTS Bar Chart
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 ...
IELTS Bar Chart and Graph for Writing Task 1
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.
IELTS Bar Chart: Tips for a High Score
IELTS Bar Chart Tips Video Tutorial. This video lesson shows you how to tackle an IELTS bar chart for writing task 1 (academic paper). To see the full model answer for this video lesson, please click on the link above. Also read the summary of tips below the video.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
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.
How to describe a bar graph in IELTS Academic Task 1
How to score high on a bar graph question in writing task 1. A horizontal or vertical bar chart could appear on your IELTS academic task 1. You may also get a stacked bar chart question which includes a lot more data than a vertical bar chart. The bar graph task 1 essay accounts for a third of your marks in the writing test so we recommend ...
IELTS Writing task 1: Bar chart lesson
Learn how to describe bar charts in IELTS Writing task 1 to get a band 9 for your writing! In this tutorial you will see a sample bar chart question + useful...
How to Write A Task 1 Bar Chart Band 9 Report
Remember the 4 paragraph structure. Paraphrase the question sentence. Write an Overview paragraph. Write the Body paragraph 1. Write the Body paragraph 2. . Using the 7-step strategy in the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 is a clever way to raise the standard of your writing skills in the IELTS exam.
IELTS Writing Task 1: How to Describe a Bar Chart
To effectively write about an IELTS Writing Task 1 bar chart, follow these tips. 1. Start by Reading the Title. First and foremost, you should read the title. Often, I have students report on the essay in an inverted order because they didn't read the bar chart title. For example, an IELTS Writing Task 1 bar chart that I give students has the ...
IELTS Writing Task 1 Tips, Model Answers & More
You should write over 150 words. IELTS writing task 1 is worth only about 33% of your total writing marks. Academic writing task 1 is a report on a chart (bar chart, line graph, pie chart, table, map, diagram/process). See below for practice charts, model answers, tips etc. General Training writing task 1 is a letter only.
Latest IELTS Writing Task 1 2024 (Graphs, Charts, Maps, Processes)
Read my sample answer for this bar chart here. IELTS Exam Writing Task 1 posted in Nhẩy đầm với IELTS by Đỗ Phương Thảo February 2nd Read the sample answer for the table below here. IELTS Exam Writing Task 1 Exam posted in IELTS Ngoc Bach by Nguyễn Huyền January 29th Read my sample answer for these charts here.
IELTS Writing Task 1: How to Describe a Bar Chart
Tips for an IELTS bar chart in writing task 1: finding key features, paragraph content: (introduction, overview and body paragraphs) and how to write complex...
IELTS Sample Charts for Writing Task 1 Practice
Below are sample IELTS charts to practise writing task 1 at home. In the IELTS writing task 1 (academic paper), you will be given one of the following and will have 20 mins to write a full report: This collection of IELTS charts represents the main types of charts that you can be given in writing task 1, including tasks with two or three charts ...
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer
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.
IELTS bar chart writing task 1 overview and tips
1. Introduction to IELTS Bar Chart Writing Task 1. Bar chart or Bar graph, in IELTS Writing Task 1, share several similar features with Line chart which has two axes (x-axe and y-axe). This feature helps people see how a trend has changed over time. On the other hand, instead of lines, IELTS Bar chart Writing Task 1 contains rectangular bars in ...
How to describe Bar Charts in IELTS Task 1 Writing
IELTS TASK 1 Working correctly with numbers. IELTS TASK 1 Increase your band score with Adjectives/Adverbs. IELTS TASK 1 Using Compare and Contrast language. Bar charts usually have two main features that you need to notice - the comparison of two or more units or numbers in the same year, or charts that show changes over a period of time.
IELTS Writing Task 1: How to describe BAR GRAPHS · engVid
Are you preparing for the writing section of the IELTS? In this lesson, we will look at Writing Task 1, and I will teach you how to describe a bar graph. This is one question type that can be on the IELTS, so it is a good idea to prepare yourself for it. I will take you through what happens in Writing Task 1, what key grammar you can use for it, and how you can improve the organization of your ...
Answering IELTS writing task 1: bar chart
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.
IELTS Writing Task 1: bar chart overview
The bar chart compares how often people consumed in fast food restaurants across USA in three different years. It is clear that most people went to fast good restaurants once a week or once a month in three separate years while the minority of people never turned up or ate every day in fast food restaurants. In these three separate years, less ...
Bỏ túi cách viết Writing Task 1 dạng Bar chart
Cách viết Writing Task 1 dạng Bar chart chỉ với 3 bước cực hiệu quả. Cách viết dạng Bar chart trong Writing Task 1 được IDP cập nhật chi tiết trong bài viết sau! Hãy cùng theo dõi ngay để biết cách phân tích đề bài, lên outline và triển khai từng phần cho dạng câu hỏi nhận xét ...
IELTS writing task 1 academic bar graph
INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST SYSTEM IELTS writing task1Academic How to write IELTS writing task1Bar chart? Bar graph/Bar chart ielts9THIS VIDEO EXPLA...
IELTS Writing Task 1: Bar Chart
IELTS Writing Task 1: Bar Chart. by Liz 27 Comments. A free video lesson on an IELTS writing task 1 bar chart. ... If l want to do an academic IELTS paper for writing task 1 , shall I do all the types or can I choose one ? Thank you beforehand! Reply. Liz says May 19, 2016 at .
IELTS Writing Task
IELTS Writing Task - 1 (Bar Chart) Like. Comment. Share. 11. Tech Park English is live now.
IELTS Live Class
IELTS Task 1 WritingThe following charts show projections for global production in two years. Report the main features and make comparisons where relevant.Wr...
Writing task 1: bar graph plus pie chart. Daily workshop series . #
190 likes, 6 comments - kerala_institute_of_englishFebruary 20, 2023 on : "Writing task 1: bar graph plus pie chart. Daily workshop series . #ielts #balachaur #ieltswriting #task1 #balachaur_shootout"
IELTS Bar Chart Sample Answer
IELTS Bar Chart Sample Answer. Below is a band score 9 sample answer for an IELTS bar chart in writing task 1. Below the model is a link to a video lesson about how to describe an IELTS bar chart. Watch the video to learn essential tips for each paragraph for a high score bar chart. The bar chart illustrates how many children, divided by gender ...
IELTS Writing Task 1
18 likes, 0 comments - i.am.juvaDecember 4, 2021 on : "IELTS Writing Task 1 - Pie Chart Tutorial New video ️ Link in bio Learn how to write a great answer in this tutorial and..." IELTS Writing Task 1 - Pie Chart Tutorial New video ️ Link in bio 🎥 🚀 Learn how to write a great answer in this tutorial and... | Instagram
IELTS Writing Task 1: How to Write/Describe a Map Chart
IELTS Writing Task 1: How to Write/Describe a Map Chart || BASHAR IELTS ||IELTS Writing Task 1Tips for an IELTS Map chart in writing task 1: finding key feat...
Writing task 1 (AC) Bar Graph
23 likes, 0 comments - dictionary_ielts_pteJanuary 27, 2022 on : "Writing task 1 (AC) Bar Graph"