Task 1 – bar charts, pie charts and tables
How to describe and compare static data in IELTS Writing Task 1 - comparative structures, the language of proportions, grouping information and a worked table answer.
Line graphs are about change. Bar charts, pie charts and tables are mostly about comparison: which is bigger, which is smaller, how the parts make up the whole. When they include several dates they also show change, and then you combine the language of this lesson with that of Lesson 4.
First decide: is there a time dimension?
| The visual has… | Your main job | Main language |
|---|---|---|
| No dates, or a single date | Compare categories with each other | Comparatives, superlatives, proportions; present or past simple |
| Two or more dates | Describe change and compare | Trend language plus comparison |
This decision shapes the whole answer, so make it before you write anything.
The language of comparison
Comparatives and superlatives
- X was higher/lower than Y.
- X was the highest / the lowest / the second highest.
- X was by far the most popular. / X was slightly more common than Y.
- Far/considerably/significantly more people chose X than Y.
- X was not as popular as Y. / X was almost as high as Y.
- X was twice as high as Y. / three times as many… as… / half as much… as…
Linking two facts in one sentence
- While/Whereas 38% of paper was recycled, the figure for plastic was only 8%.
- Glass had the highest rate, at 45%, followed by paper (38%) and metal cans (30%).
- Castlebridge had 4,100 overseas students, compared with 2,400 at Northfield.
- The figure for X was 60%, as opposed to just 20% for Y.
- X and Y were similar, at 21% and 22% respectively.
Respectively means ‘in the order just mentioned’. It is useful but easy to overuse; once per answer is enough.
Similarity and difference
- X and Y showed a similar pattern. / The same was true of Z.
- In contrast / By contrast, … / Conversely, …
- X was the only category in which… / The exception was X.
The language of proportions
Pie charts, and any chart in percentages, call for fractions as well as figures.
| Percentage | Expressions |
|---|---|
| 75% | three-quarters |
| 66–67% | two-thirds |
| 50% | half |
| 33% | a third / one in three |
| 25% | a quarter / one in four |
| 20% | a fifth / one in five |
| 10% | a tenth / one in ten |
| 52% | just over half / slightly more than half |
| 48% | just under half / almost half |
| 72% | nearly three-quarters |
| 4% | a very small proportion / a tiny minority |
| 85% | the vast majority |
Verbs for shares: account for, make up, constitute, represent, comprise.
Space heating accounted for just over half of all energy used. Appliances made up almost a quarter of the total in 2020.
Careful with these nouns:
- the percentage/proportion of + noun: the proportion of waste recycled
- the number of + countable plural: the number of students
- the amount of + uncountable: the amount of energy
- the figure for + anything: the figure for plastic
Percent or percentage points? If a rate goes from 38% to 55%, it rose by 17 percentage points, not ‘by 17%’. If you are unsure, use from 38% to 55%, which is always correct.
Organising the body paragraphs
The worst way to describe a bar chart is bar by bar in the order printed. Look for a grouping.
| Situation | Possible grouping |
|---|---|
| Several categories, one date | Largest categories / smallest categories |
| Two groups compared (men/women, two countries) across categories | Where group A is higher / where group B is higher |
| Several categories, two or three dates | Categories that rose / categories that fell or stayed stable |
| Two pie charts | Sectors that grew / sectors that shrank |
| Table with rows and columns | By row groups that behave alike, or by the most important column |
Inside each paragraph, go from the most significant figure to the least.
Tables: finding the story
A table gives you no picture, so you must make one in your head.
- Read the headings of the columns and rows.
- In each column, find the highest and lowest.
- In each row, see whether the figures rise, fall or stay the same across the columns.
- Look for the odd one out.
- Decide the two or three facts for your overview.
Worked example: a table with two dates
Task: The table below gives information about the international students at four universities in one country in 2010 and 2020.
| University | Number 2010 | Number 2020 | % of all students 2010 | % of all students 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield | 2,400 | 5,900 | 12% | 24% |
| Castlebridge | 4,100 | 4,600 | 21% | 22% |
| Port Ellis | 1,200 | 3,300 | 8% | 19% |
| St Aldhelm’s | 3,000 | 2,500 | 18% | 14% |
Analysis
- Three universities go up on both measures; St Aldhelm’s goes down. → overview
- Castlebridge was first in 2010; Northfield is first in 2020. → overview
- Port Ellis: smallest numbers but the fastest growth (almost ×3).
- Grouping: (1) Castlebridge and Northfield, the two largest; (2) Port Ellis and St Aldhelm’s, a contrast.
Model answer (173 words)
The table shows how many students from overseas were enrolled at four universities in 2010 and 2020, and what percentage of each institution’s total student population they represented.
Overall, international students became more numerous and formed a larger share of the student body at three of the four universities. St Aldhelm’s was the exception, with a fall on both measures, while Northfield replaced Castlebridge as the university with the most overseas students.
In 2010, Castlebridge had by far the largest international intake, at 4,100, which was 21% of its students. Ten years later this had risen only slightly, to 4,600 and 22%. Northfield, by contrast, more than doubled its number from 2,400 to 5,900, and the proportion doubled as well, from 12% to 24%, the highest figure in the table.
The most rapid growth in relative terms occurred at Port Ellis, where the number almost tripled from 1,200 to 3,300 and the share rose from 8% to 19%. At St Aldhelm’s, however, international enrolment dropped from 3,000 to 2,500, and the percentage declined from 18% to 14%.
Notice that numbers and percentages are reported together for each university. Describing all the numbers first and then all the percentages would force you to mention every university twice.
Worked example: pie charts
Task: The pie charts show how energy was used in the average household in one country in 2000 and 2020.
| Purpose | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Space heating | 52% | 40% |
| Water heating | 20% | 18% |
| Appliances | 13% | 24% |
| Lighting | 8% | 4% |
| Cooking | 5% | 5% |
| Cooling | 2% | 9% |
Grouping: heating (the two biggest, both falling) / the rest (appliances and cooling up, lighting down, cooking unchanged).
In 2000, just over half of all household energy (52%) went on space heating, and a further fifth was used to heat water. By 2020, the figure for space heating had dropped to 40%, and that for water heating had fallen slightly, to 18%. Together, however, these two categories still made up well over half of the total.
By contrast, the share taken by appliances almost doubled, from 13% to 24%, making this the second largest category in 2020. Cooling showed an even more striking rise, from only 2% to 9%. Lighting moved in the opposite direction, halving from 8% to 4%, whereas cooking remained unchanged at 5% and was one of the smallest uses in both years.
Useful techniques here: a further fifth; that for water heating (avoiding repetition of ‘the figure’); together… still made up; moved in the opposite direction.
Common mistakes
- Describing every figure. Select; group; summarise small categories together (the remaining three categories each accounted for less than 5%).
- No comparisons. A list of separate statements is not what the task asks for.
- Wrong noun: ✗ the amount of students, ✗ the percentage of 20%, ✗ the number of energy.
- ‘Percent’ as a noun: ✗ the percent of waste → ✓ the percentage of waste.
- Forgetting the unit: if the table is in thousands, 420 means 420,000.
- Personifying the chart: ✗ the red bar is taller. Describe the data, not the picture.
Key points
- Decide first whether the visual shows change, comparison or both.
- Use comparatives, superlatives, multiples and linking structures (while, compared with, followed by).
- Vary percentages with fractions and approximations.
- Group categories logically and move from most to least important.
- In tables, report related measures together and look for the exception.
Now try it in a real section
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