Table or bar chart – three answers compared

A Task 1 table with no dates, answered at around Band 5.5, 6.5 and 8. Learn to replace a column-by-column list with grouped comparisons, using examiner-style commentary and a nine-sentence upgrade.

In a line graph the story is in the shape of the lines. In a table or bar chart that has no dates, there is no shape to follow, so many candidates fall back on the only structure they can see, which is the order of the table. They read it row by row, or column by column, and the result is a list. This lesson shows what a real report on such data looks like, using one table and three answers.

The task

Writing Task 1. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the percentage of adults in four age groups who take part in five types of physical activity at least once a week in one country.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Percentages do not add up to 100, because one person can do several activities.

Finding the story in a table with no dates

Ask four questions, and write the answers in note form before you write a word of the report.

1. What is highest in each column, and what is lowest? (Walking is highest in every age group.)
2. Does anything change in one direction across the columns? (Walking rises with age. Three activities fall steeply. Swimming is nearly level and then falls.)
3. Where is the biggest gap, and where is the smallest? (Gym is the biggest gap in percentage points, 29; swimming is the smallest, at 7 points.)
4. What is the exception? (Walking is the only activity that becomes more common with age.)

The overview comes from questions 1, 2 and 4.

Answer A, around Band 5.5

The table shows the percentage of adults who do five kind of sport or exercise every week in four age groups in one country.

Firstly, for people aged 18–29, 41% do walking, 22% do swimming, 24% do cycling, 38% go to the gym and 25% play team sports. Secondly, for aged 30–44, walking is 46%, swimming is 24%, cycling is 21%, gym is 29% and team sports are 11%. Next, in the age 45–59, walking is 52%, swimming is 21%, cycling is 15%, gym is 18% and team sports is 5%. Finally, the people who are 60 and over, 58% walking, 15% swimming, 7% cycling, 9% the gym and only 2% team sports.

As we can see, walking is the most popular activity because it is easy and free. Young people like gym and team sports because they have more energy, but old people can not do these sports. So the government should build more parks for walking.

Examiner-style commentary on Answer A

Task Achievement. All 20 figures are reproduced, one age group after another, so nothing is selected and nothing is compared. This is the usual Band 5 pattern: detail is recounted mechanically. There is no overview. The nearest thing to one is walking is the most popular activity, which is true and important, but it is buried in the last paragraph and is followed by an explanation (because it is easy and free) that the data do not give. The remaining sentences go further away from the task: because they have more energy, old people can not do these sports and the recommendation the government should build more parks are all opinion. The big pattern, that most activities decline with age and walking alone rises, is never stated. Around Band 5, and probably lower on a strict reading, because the opinions take up a third of the answer.

Coherence and Cohesion. The answer is clearly organised, but organised in the wrong way: one sentence per age group, in the order of the columns. Firstly, Secondly, Next, Finally are the only linking devices, and they number the age groups instead of linking ideas. This is mechanical. There is no reference or substitution, and the same five activities are named four times. The last paragraph has some logic, but its link to the data is broken: So the government should… is a conclusion that does not follow from the table. Around Band 5.

Lexical Resource. The vocabulary is basic and the same words recur: is or do in nearly every clause. There are collocation errors: do walking, do swimming, do cycling (go walking, go swimming, go cycling or simply walk, swim, cycle), and the gym used as an activity. Expressions such as people aged 18–29 appear correctly in the first sentence but become for aged 30–44 and in the age 45–59. Around Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Nearly all sentences are simple lists joined with commas and and. There is an incomplete sentence: Finally, the people who are 60 and over, 58% walking, 15% swimming… has no main verb. Errors of agreement and form are frequent: five kind of, team sports is 5%, can not, for aged. The meaning is nearly always clear. Around Band 5.

Estimate: Task Achievement around 5, Coherence and Cohesion around 5, Lexical Resource around 5, Grammar around 5.5, which is around Band 5 overall. Notice that this answer would be marked more kindly if it stopped at the second paragraph, because the third lowers Task Achievement without gaining anything.

Answer B, around Band 6.5

The table compares how many adults in four age groups take part in five different physical activities at least once a week.

Overall, walking is the most popular activity in every age group, and it is the only one which becomes more popular as people get older. By contrast, the other four activities are more popular with younger adults, especially gym and team sports.

Looking at walking, the figure rises steadily from 41% among 18 to 29 year olds to 58% among people aged 60 and over. Swimming is quite similar for the first three age groups, at between 21% and 24%, but then it falls to 15% in the oldest group.

Gym or fitness classes are done by 38% of the youngest adults, but only 9% of those aged over 60. Team sports shows the biggest difference, because 25% of young adults play them compared to just 2% of the oldest group. Cycling also falls sharply from 24% to 7%. The 30 to 44 group is in the middle for these activities, with 29% going to the gym and 21% cycling.

Examiner-style commentary on Answer B

Task Achievement. A clear overview appears in the second paragraph and covers both the dominant feature (walking is the most popular… in every age group) and the exception (the only one which becomes more popular). The data are grouped by pattern, not by age group, which is the right decision, and every activity is covered. The weaknesses are in precision. Team sports shows the biggest difference is not correct if difference is measured in percentage points, because gym falls by 29 points and team sports by 23. It would be true only of the proportion, since 25% against 2% is more than a twelvefold drop, and the answer does not say so. Cycling also falls sharply uses a word of speed for a table that has no time axis. The last sentence reports figures for one age group that add nothing to the pattern already given. Around Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion. The structure is logical: overview, then walking and swimming (the rising and the stable), then the falling activities. Each paragraph has a topic. Looking at walking is a signpost where the sentence could begin with the subject, and By contrast is an automatic connector, although both are used appropriately. There is some referencing (it, the other four activities, these activities). The last sentence is a loose end, so the answer stops without a point. Around Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource. The range is adequate and mostly precise: take part in, rises steadily, falls to, the oldest group. The most noticeable weakness is repetition of popular (three times in the second paragraph) and of activities. There are word-choice problems: Gym or fitness classes are done by (the natural verb is attended or taken part in), quite similar (vague), and falls sharply (see above). Around Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy. The sentences vary: relative clauses (which becomes), participle phrases (aged 60 and over), and but/because complex sentences. There are a few errors that stand out: Team sports shows (plural subject), compared to where compared with is more usual,. Many sentences are error-free. Around Band 6.5.

Estimate: Task Achievement around 6.5, Coherence and Cohesion around 6.5, Lexical Resource around 6, Grammar around 6.5, which is around Band 6.5 overall.

Answer C, around Band 8

The table shows the percentage of adults in four age groups who take part in five physical activities at least once a week.

Overall, walking is the most popular activity in every age group and the only one that becomes more common with age. The other four are all more popular among younger adults, although the size of the gap varies considerably.

Walking rises from 41% of 18 to 29 year olds to 58% of those aged 60 and over. Swimming is the most evenly spread, at between 21% and 24% for the first three groups, and only the oldest group falls noticeably behind, at 15%.

Gym, cycling and team sports are the most age-dependent. Gym use shows the widest gap in percentage points, with 38% of the youngest adults attending but only 9% of the oldest. Team sports show the steepest proportional decline: a quarter of 18 to 29 year olds play, compared with just 2% of those over 60. Cycling falls from 24% to 7%, and the youngest group is the only one in which it is more popular than swimming.

Examiner-style commentary on Answer C

Task Achievement. The overview contains the dominant feature, the exception and the idea of variable differences (the size of the gap varies considerably), which prepares the reader for the body. The body then tests that idea against the data: swimming as the evenly spread activity, gym as the widest gap in points, team sports as the steepest proportional fall. The distinction between percentage points and proportional shows real control of the figures. The comparison across activities (the only one in which it is more popular than swimming) is the kind of detail that is not on the surface of the table. About half the figures are used, and each is there for a reason. Around Band 8.

Coherence and Cohesion. The paragraphs follow a clear sequence from overview to rising, flat and falling activities. The third paragraph opens with a topic sentence that names its three activities, so the reader knows what to expect. Linking depends on reference, parallel structure and comparison (the most evenly spread, only the oldest group, the widest gap), and there is not a single however or moreover. Around Band 8.

Lexical Resource. The language is precise and varied: age-dependent, evenly spread, falls noticeably behind, proportional decline, attending. Terms are not repeated mechanically (popular, common, the most). The youngest adults and the oldest vary the description of groups without changing the meaning. Around Band 8.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy. The answer uses relative clauses (that becomes, in which it is), comparative and superlative structures, with plus a participle, a colon to introduce a detail and noun phrases of some length (the steepest proportional decline). Sentences are almost entirely error-free. Around Band 8.

Estimate: Task Achievement around 8, Coherence and Cohesion around 8, Lexical Resource around 8, Grammar around 8, which is around Band 8 overall.

What separates the three answers

B and C use a similar number of figures (13 and 11). What differs is the use made of them. Extra detail is not what moves an answer from 6.5 to 8: better selection and more exact comparison do.

The upgrade

Nine sentences from Answer B, each rewritten to the standard of Answer C, with the reason.

1. B: The table compares how many adults in four age groups take part in five different physical activities at least once a week. C: The table shows the percentage of adults in four age groups who take part in five physical activities at least once a week. Why: The figures are percentages, so how many is inexact. Different adds nothing.

2. B: Overall, walking is the most popular activity in every age group, and it is the only one which becomes more popular as people get older. C: Overall, walking is the most popular activity in every age group and the only one that becomes more common with age. Why: The second half of the sentence repeated popular and a full clause; ellipsis (and the only one that…) does the same work in half the words.

3. B: By contrast, the other four activities are more popular with younger adults, especially gym and team sports. C: The other four are all more popular among younger adults, although the size of the gap varies considerably. Why: Especially gym and team sports names two of three falling activities and ignores cycling. The rewrite states the real feature, which is that the gaps differ in size, and removes the automatic connector.

4. B: Looking at walking, the figure rises steadily from 41% among 18 to 29 year olds to 58% among people aged 60 and over. C: Walking rises from 41% of 18 to 29 year olds to 58% of those aged 60 and over. Why: The signpost Looking at is deleted, and of those replaces the second among people.

5. B: Swimming is quite similar for the first three age groups, at between 21% and 24%, but then it falls to 15% in the oldest group. C: Swimming is the most evenly spread, at between 21% and 24% for the first three groups, and only the oldest group falls noticeably behind, at 15%. Why: Quite similar is vague. The rewrite makes a comparison with the other four activities (the most evenly spread) and focuses on the exception with only.

6. B: Gym or fitness classes are done by 38% of the youngest adults, but only 9% of those aged over 60. C: Gym use shows the widest gap in percentage points, with 38% of the youngest adults attending but only 9% of the oldest. Why: Are done by is an unnatural collocation. The rewrite also adds the superlative that the original answer wrongly gave to team sports.

7. B: Team sports shows the biggest difference, because 25% of young adults play them compared to just 2% of the oldest group. C: Team sports show the steepest proportional decline: a quarter of 18 to 29 year olds play, compared with just 2% of those over 60. Why: The original claim was wrong in percentage points, and because wrongly turns a description into a cause. The agreement error is fixed, a quarter replaces 25%, and compared with is the standard form.

8. B: Cycling also falls sharply from 24% to 7%. C: Cycling falls from 24% to 7%, and the youngest group is the only one in which it is more popular than swimming. Why: Sharply implies speed in time, and a table of age groups has no time. The new second clause adds a comparison between two activities, which is what the table most easily hides.

9. B: The 30 to 44 group is in the middle for these activities, with 29% going to the gym and 21% cycling. C: (Delete the sentence.) Why: It restates the pattern already described. A Band 8 answer finishes on its last key feature and does not need a summary.

Checklist for a table or bar chart without dates

1. Overview in its own paragraph. Does it state the highest and lowest, the main pattern and the main exception?
2. Structure by pattern. Are the paragraphs organised by what the data do, and not by the order of the rows or columns?
3. Selection. Have you left out at least a third of the figures? Is each figure you kept either an extreme, an exception or a clear example of a pattern?
4. Comparison in nearly every sentence. Do you have comparatives and superlatives (the widest gap, more evenly spread), proportions (a quarter, twelve times) and compared with?
5. Points or per cent. Do you say percentage points for differences between two percentages, and per cent for relative change?
6. Present tense. Is a table without dates described in the present simple, and are speed words (sharply, rapidly) avoided unless the columns are dates?
7. No cause, opinion or advice. Because, should and I think do not belong in a Task 1 report.
8. Word choice. Have you varied popular / common / widespread, and have you used verbs that really go with the nouns (attend a gym, play team sports, take part in activities)?
9. Last sentence. If it only repeats what you have said, delete it.

Practice task

Writing Task 1. The table below shows the average monthly spending of students on five items in three cities. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Short plan

• Overview. Rent is the largest item in every city, accounting for about half of the total or more (49% to 59%). Southport is the most expensive overall (£915) and Eastbridge the cheapest (£800). The ranking of cities changes from item to item.
• Paragraph 1. Rent and the total: Southport is highest on rent (£540) and Eastbridge lowest (£390), a gap of £150, which is larger than the £115 gap between the highest and lowest totals. This is worth saying outright, because it shows that the difference in rent outweighs everything else, so Eastbridge is cheapest even though its students spend more on food and transport.
• Paragraph 2. The smaller items: Eastbridge students spend the most on food (£210) and transport (£85); Southport students spend the most on entertainment (£120), and the least on food, transport and books. Books and equipment hardly vary (£35–£45).
• Check. Use at least two superlatives, one proportion (about half) and the words whereas or while once. Do not mention the reasons why students spend what they spend.

Key points

• With no dates, the story is in highs, lows, gaps and exceptions. Find them before you write.
• Group the data by pattern, not by the order of the table. Row-by-row or column-by-column writing is a list.
• Distinguish percentage points from proportion. A claim about the biggest difference must be true in the way you measure it.
• Do not use words of speed or time (sharply, rapidly) for data that have no time axis.
• Cross-category comparisons (one activity above another) show that you have read the whole table.

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