IELTS WRITING TASK 1
BAR CHART
OVERVIEW
You should spend no more than 20 minutes on the task.
You should write at least 150 words – you’ll be penalised if
your answer is too short.
Task 1 is worth one third of your total writing mark; Task 2 is
worth two thirds.
You can leave out minor points or details.
You must write in full sentences, not bullet points or note form.
Do not speculate on reasons for the data or try to draw
conclusions – your only task is to describe or summarise the
data and make comparisons where relevant.
EXAMPLE QUESTION
IMPORTANT:
The overall approach is the same for all Task
1 question types (i.e. bar charts, diagrams, line
graphs, maps, pie charts and tables). The overall
structure of your response should also the same,
with an introduction, overview and details
paragraph(s).
STEP 1 > ANALYSE
Your first task is to analyse the bar chart. If you don’t
understand what it’s showing you, it’ll be impossible for
you to complete the task successfully.
STEP 2 > WRITE THE INTRODUCTION
Question prompt Possible synonyms
chart bar chart
shows displays
amount of ... time number of hours
alone by themselves
with others with other people
per day daily
United Kingdom British
Original task:
The chart below shows the amount of leisure time spent alone and
with others per day by age group in the United Kingdom.
Paraphrased version:
The bar chart displays the daily number of hours that British people
from various age groups spend engaged in leisure activities by
themselves and with other people.
To summarise, when writing the introduction, you
should:
include all of the key aspects (e.g. topic,
measurement(s), comparison(s), specifics);
paraphrase as much as you can;
make your introduction sound natural – imagine you’re
just telling a friend what the bar chart is showing.
STEP 3 > WRITE THE OVERVIEW
IMPORTANT: If you don’t include an overview, it’s impossible for
you to get more than a Band 5 for the Task Achievement criterion.
To write an effective overview, ask yourself these questions:
What major trends or differences can you see?
Is there an overall increase, decrease or fluctuation?
Are there noticeable peaks or troughs?
How does the data change for different age groups, genders, years,
etc.?
If you had to tell a friend in one or two sentences what the bar
chart was telling you, what would you say?
POSSIBLE OVERVIEW
Overall, it can be seen that the British spend more of their leisure
time with others than alone across all age groups, with the youngest
and oldest members of the population spending the most leisure time
with others. In addition, time spent alone generally increases with
age.
In common, as can be seen, from an overall perspective, it can be
clearly seen that, a glance at the graphs reveals that
STEP 4 > WRITE THE KEY FEATURES PARAGRAPH(S)
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you write your key features paragraph(s):
Don’t present data mechanically. For example, don’t say People who are 8 to 15 spend
just over 1 hour of their daily leisure time alone. People who are 16 to 24 spend almost
2 hours of their daily leisure time alone. People who are 25 to 34 spend just over 1 hour
of their daily leisure time alone. Instead, group data together in a way that makes sense.
This allows you to highlight the key features more effectively.
Double-check the labels on the vertical and horizontal axes to make sure that you’re
using the correct units of measurement (hours, minutes, etc.) in your response.
Don’t try to do any calculations (e.g. averages, additions, subtractions) – just describe
the data as presented.
Pay close attention to your grammar and use of prepositions in these paragraphs – it’s
easy to make mistakes.
Remember not to speculate on reasons for the data or try to draw conclusions – your
only task is to describe/summarise the data and make comparisons where relevant.
You can use approximation phrases if the number is
not a fixed number, such as about, around,
approximately, just under, etc
POSSIBLE DETAILED PARAGRAPHS
The amount of leisure time that people in the United Kingdom spend
with others peaks between the ages of 8 and 15 at a little over 5 hours
per day. It then declines to a low of approximately 3.5 hours a day
between the ages of 25 and 34, before gradually rising again as people
age, reaching around 4.5 hours per day for those aged over 65.
When it comes to leisure time spent alone, the overall trend is similar for
those aged over 16, albeit from a lower base. Leisure time spent alone
drops from just under 2 hours per day for those aged 16 to 24 to a little
over 1 hour per day for those aged 25 to 34, before slowly rising to just
under 3 hours per day for the oldest age group. However, whereas those
between the ages of 8 to 15 spend the most leisure time with others, they
spend the smallest amount of leisure time by themselves at around 1
hour a day.
The bar chart reveals the daily number of hours that British people from various age
groups spend engaged in leisure activities by themselves and with other people.
Overall, it can be seen that the British spend more of their leisure time with others than
alone across all age groups, with the youngest and oldest members of the population
spending the most leisure time with others. In addition, time spent alone generally
increases with age.
The amount of leisure time that people in the United Kingdom spent with others peaks
between the ages of 8 and 15 at a little over 5 hours per day. It then declines to a low of
approximately 3.5 hours a day between the ages of 25 and 34, before gradually rising
again as people age, reaching around 4.5 hours per day for those aged over 65.
When it comes to leisure time spent alone, the overall trend is similar for those aged
over 16, albeit from a lower base. Leisure time spent alone drops from just under 2
hours per day for those aged 16 to 24 to a little over 1 hour per day for those aged 25
to 34, before slowly rising to just under 3 hours per day for the oldest age group.
However, whereas those between the ages of 8 to 15 spend the most leisure time with
others, they spend the smallest amount of leisure time by themselves at around 1 hour
