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IELTS / Guides / Writing · Task 1: bar chart
IELTS Writing · Guide

IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar Chart: how to compare data and structure your report

A bar chart compares quantities across categories, and sometimes across time as well. You write a report of at least 150 words that selects the main differences and similarities and supports them with figures. It tests comparison and selection: the skill of deciding what to leave out as much as what to put in.

About Writing practice

Format

  • Task 1 of Academic Writing: about 20 minutes of the 60, a minimum of 150 words, and one third of the Writing mark because Task 2 counts twice as much.
  • Bars may be vertical or horizontal, single, grouped or stacked. A bar chart may show one date (static) or several (time series), and this decides your tenses.
  • Four equally weighted criteria apply: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
  • An overview of the key patterns is required: usually the highest and lowest categories and, if the chart shows dates, the main change.
  • On computer you type and see a live word count. About 160 to 190 words is a good target, and fewer than 150 is penalised.

Strategy

  1. Read the title, the axis labels, the units and the key. Check whether bars show numbers or percentages and whether there are one or two dates.
  2. Look for the pattern: which category is highest, which lowest, where are the biggest gaps, and if there are dates, which bars rose or fell the most?
  3. Write a one-sentence introduction that paraphrases the title and adds the unit and time: 'The chart compares the average weekly hours spent on homework by teenagers in six countries in 2019.'
  4. Write an overview of two sentences: the main contrast and the most striking fact. 'Overall, teenagers in Korea did far more homework than those elsewhere, while Finland recorded the lowest figure.'
  5. Plan two body paragraphs by grouping the bars, not by taking them in the order of the axis. You might group the highest values together and the lowest together, or compare the same category across two dates.
  6. Use comparative and approximation language with figures: 'roughly twice as much as', 'just under a third', 'the gap between the two narrowed to 5%', 'whereas', 'in contrast', 'by far the largest'.
  7. Decide the tense from the dates: past simple for a past year, present simple for a chart with no date or the present, 'will' for projections. Simple calculations such as 'about double' are fine if accurate.
  8. Check that every figure matches the chart, including units, and that you have not forgotten a category that stands out. Count words last.

Common traps

  • Describing the bars one by one in the order they appear. It creates a list and fails to show which differences matter.
  • Mixing up numbers and percentages, for example writing 'rose to 45' when the axis shows percent.
  • Leaving out the overview, or giving only a generalisation such as 'there are many differences'.
  • Including every figure, which uses all your words on detail and gives no grouping or selection.
  • Describing a time-series bar chart as if it had no dates, so that you miss the change over time that is the point of the chart.
  • Giving reasons or opinions, such as why a country spends more, when the chart gives only data.

Practise it inside a real Writing section

Practice on PrepFreely is always a complete section, so you meet this question type in the same place and proportion as on test day. Random sections never repeat until you've done them all. Every answer is explained.

Practise Writing Take the Writing course

FAQ

Do I have to describe every bar?

No. Select the key features and group the rest, mentioning the others briefly or not at all if they add nothing.

Is a vertical bar chart different from a horizontal one?

No. The skills are the same. Read the axes carefully, because in a horizontal chart the categories are on the vertical axis.

What about stacked bars?

Describe the total and the largest component, and compare the same component across bars. Make clear whether you are discussing totals or parts.

Can I do my own calculations?

Yes, simple and accurate ones such as 'about double' or 'a third higher' are welcome. Do not invent figures that are not shown.

What tense do I use?

That depends on the dates. A single past year uses past simple; a chart with no date or the present uses present simple.

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