IELTS Writing Task 1 #107

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the changes in food consumption by Chinese people between 1985 and
2010.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Answer
The graph shows changes in the amount of fish, salt and meat eaten per person per week in China
between 1985 and 2010.

From the graph we can see that people in China consumed more fish than either meat or salt throughout
the period. In 1985, the consumption of fish stood at 610 grams, then increased to 700 grams in 1990.
Although it dipped in 1995, it then rose steadily and reached 850 grams in 2010.

In contrast, there was a consistent drop in salt consumption. The amount consumed decreased steadily
from almost 500 grams per person to only 200 grams by 2010. The amount of meat consumed weekly
started at about 100 grams. However, this gradually increased throughout the period. By 2010 it was at
the same level as the consumption of salt.
Overall, the consumption of fish rose, while the consumption of salt fell. In addition, the consumption of
meat, while at a relatively low level, rose significantly during this period.

IELTS Writing Task 1 #108

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the population change between 1940 and 2000 in three different counties
in the U.S. state of Oregon.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The graph shows the increase in population of three counties, Columbia, Yamhill and Washington in the
U.S. state of Oregon, between 1940 and 2000. In 1940, Columbia had the lowest population of the three
counties, at around 25,000. This compared with about 30,000 in Yamhill and approximately 75,000 in
Washington.

By 1970, Columbia’s population had risen to just under 36,000. Although this appears on the graph to be
a gentle increase, it is in fact an increase of approximately 50%. Yamhill’s population also rose by nearly
50% between 1940 and 1970: from 30,000 to just under 45,000. However, the greatest real increase was
in Washington, where the population in 1970 had increased by approximately 75,000, to 125,000.

The years 1970 to 2000 saw the populations of Columbia and Yamhill increase by approximately the
same amounts that they had increased by the thirty years before. In 2000, Columbia’s population – at
approximately 76,000 – was triple what it had been in 1940. Likewise, Yamhill’s population, at around
90,000, was almost triple what it was in 1940.

Although Washington’s increase in population between 1940 and 1970 was large, its increase in the
following thirty years was even sharper, rising from about 125,000 in 1970 to more than 240,000 in 2000.

(206 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #109

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the amount of money spent on books in Germany, France, Italy and
Austria between 1995 and 2005.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

Write at least 150 words.

Model Answer:
The line graph compares the amount of money spent on buying books in Germany, France, Italy and
Austria over a period of ten years between 1995 and 2005.
In 1995 Austria spent the least amount of money on books, while Italy and France spent about
asmuch as each other. However, by 2001, the gap in spending between these two countries had
widened and considerably more money was spent in France than In Italy.

As can be seen from the graph, the amount of money spent increased in all four countries but rose the
most dramatically in Austria. The period between 2000 and 2005 saw a sharp growth and in 2005 the
Austrians spent three times as much money as they did in 1995.

However, during this ten-year period, Germany remained the biggest spenders on book, with all three
other countries spending much less on them.

IELTS Writing Task 1 #110

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The three pie charts below show the changes in annual spending by local authorities in Someland
in 1980, 1990 and 2000.

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

Write at least 150 words.

 Expenditure by local authorities in Someland

Model answer
The charts show how much local authorities spent on a range of services in Someland in three separate
years: 1980, 1990 and 2000.

In all three years, the greatest expenditure was on education. But while K-12 education saw a fall from
25% in 1980 to only 18% of spending in 2000, higher education remained the largest proportion, reaching
45% of total spending in 1990 and ending at 40% in 2000.

Expenditure on health and human resources had increased to 20% by 1990 before decreasing to only
10% by the end of the period. In contrast, the share of transportation saw an opposite trend. This cost
decreased to only 6% of total expenditure in 1990 but rose dramatically in 2000 when it represented 22%
of the total budget. Similarly, the cost of environmental services saw a rising trend, growing from only 4%
to 9% by 2000.

Overall, higher education constituted the largest cost to local authorities, and while spending increased
for transportation and environmental services, there were corresponding drops in expenditure on health
and human resources and K-12 education.

(178 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #111

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the cinema viewing figures for films by country, in millions.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Cinema viewing figures for films by country, in millions

Action Romance Comedy Horror Totals

India 8 7.5 6.5 2.5 24.5

Ireland 7.6 3.8 5.5 6.4 23.3

New Zealand 7.2 4.5 3.9 4.7 20.3

Japan 7.1 4.5 4 2.2 17.8

Total 29.9 20.3 19.9 15.8

Model answer
The table compares four countries in terms of the number of people who watch four different genres of
film at the cinema: Action, Romance, Comedy and Horror.

The table indicates that more Indian people watch films at the cinema than the other three nationalities. In
all four countries, Action is the most popular genre of film. The total number of viewers for action films is
nearly 30 million and in each country about 7-8 million people watch them.

Not many people like watching horror films at the cinema compared to the other genres of film. In India
and Japan only 2-2.5 million people watch horror films but they are more popular in New Zealand and
Ireland. On the other hand, romance films are very popular in India with 7.5 million viewers but it is not as
popular in the other countries. New Zealand and Japan come next with 4.5 million viewers each.

(152 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #112

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The two pie charts below show the online shopping sales for retail sectors in Canada in 2005 and
2010.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The two pie charts compare the percentages of online sales across different retail sectors in Canada in
the years 2005 and 2010. For three of the sectors, it is evident that over this time frame there was
significant change in their proportion of online transactions.

At 35% we can see that electronics and appliance sector accounted for the majority of online sales in
2005, but this percentage had dropped to 30% by 2010. During the same five-year period, as an
increasing number of people chose to purchase food and beverage online, we can see that transactions
went from just 22% to 32%, making it the retail sector with the largest overall proportion of the online
market.

In 2005, the home furnishing industry boasted an impressive 25% of the total online sales in Canada.
However, by 2010, the figure had fallen considerably to 15%. Interestingly, online sales of video games
eventually overtook sales of home furnishings, although video games still represented only 23% of the
market.

(165 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #113

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows female unemployment rates in each country of the United Kingdom in
2013 and 2014.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The bar chart shows the unemployment rates among women in the countries that make up the United
Kingdom, both in 2013 and in 2014. There has generally been a small decrease in female unemployment
rates from 2013 to 2014, except in Scotland.

In 2013, 5.6% of women in Northern Ireland were unemployed. The only country with a smaller
percentage of women unemployed was Wales, with a rate of 5.4%. Both countries saw a decrease in the
percentage of unemployed women in 2014. In Northern Ireland, the percentage fell to 4.6% and in Wales
it fell to 5%.

England had the greatest percentage of unemployed women in 2013, with 6.8%. However, this
decreased by 0.3% in 2014. Lastly, Scotland was the only country which had an increasing percentage of
unemployed women. In 2013, it had 6.1% of women out of work. This increased to 6.7% in 2014, making
it the country with the highest female unemployment rate of the four countries.

(160 words)
IELTS Writing Task 1 #114
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows the changes in the share price of Outokumpu companies in euros
between January 2006 and December 2010.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

Write at least 150 words.

Source: NASDAQ OMX Helsinki

Model answer
The graph shows the changes and a decline overall in the share price of Outokumpu in a five-year period
from January 2006 through December 2010.

At the beginning of this period the share price was at EUR 13 per share. There were several fluctuations
until late 2006 when there was a sudden increase from EUR 21 to EUR 31. This higher price did not last
long, however, and it fell before rising strongly again in 2008. From mid-2008 there was a sharp
downward trend through the end of the year when it fell to the lowest point in this period at just over EUR
7 per share. After that the share price recovered and, despite some fluctuations, continued to rise until it
reached a peak of EUR 17 in early 2010. Until late 2010 the trend was downward again, ending the year
at just over EUR 12.
Outokumpu made significant gains and losses during this period but overall lost around EUR 1 per share.

(164 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #115

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart below shows the number of travellers using three major airports in New York City
between 1995 and 2000.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The bar chart gives information about how many people visited New York City through three major
airports, over a six-year period between 1995 and 2000.

Overall, it can be seen that over the period, there was a fluctuant trend in the number of passengers who
travelled via John F. Kennedy airport, while the other two airports saw an upward trend. Another
interesting point is that LaGuardia airport was the most popular at the end.
Looking at the detail, the number of travellers at John F. Kennedy airport started at 26m in 1995, and then
increased remarkably to reach the highest point of 47m in 1997. In 1999, the figure dipped to 32m. At the
last year, there was a slight growth to 44m. On the other hand, LaGuardia began at 35m in 1995, after
that it rose remarkably for the next three years, at 46m. In 2000, LaGuardia hit the peak point at 68m
travellers.

However, if we look at Newark airport, it started at the lowest point of 16m passengers in the first year.
After this point, the trend increased significantly to 42m in 1998. In the last two years it remained stable at
42m travellers.

(197 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #116

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The Table below shows the results of a survey that asked 6800 Scottish adults (aged 16 years and
over) whether they had taken part in different cultural activities in the past 12 months.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Participation in cultural activities, by age

All aged 16 and

16-24 25-44 45-74
over
% % % %

Any performance* 35 22 17 22

Undertaking any crafts 11 17 22 19

Cultural purchases 11 17 18 16

Any visual arts 30 16 11 15

Any writing 17 6 5 7

Computer based 10 9 5 6
Model answer
The table shows details of participation in a variety of cultural activities over a year, according to the age
of the participants.

Overall, any performance, which includes dancing, singing, playing musical instruments and acting, had
the highest level of participation, with 22% of respondents participating in the previous 12 months. By
contrast, computer based activities had the lowest level of participation (6 per cent).

People aged between 45 and 74 years old were most likely to undertake any activity to do with crafts (22
per cent), while performances were more likely to be participated in by those aged 16 to 24 (35 per cent).
The differences between age groups were particularly marked in the case of visual arts and writing
categories, where participation rates were around three times higher for younger people than for the older
ones. It is clear from the evidence that age plays a significant role in the popularity of the cultural activities
listed.

(157 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #117

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows the production of electricity using a system called Ocean Thermal
Energy Conversion (OTEC).

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

Write at least 150 words.

 How Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) works
Source: Daily Telegraph - 8th Jan 2008

Model answer
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is a system that converts heat energy into the electric power
using the temperature difference between surface seawater, which can be up to 29 degrees Celsius, and
deep seawater, which is only 5 degrees Celsius.

The main components of the system are an evacuated evaporation chamber, a turbine and a condensing
chamber. The solar energy of the sun heats up the surface water and this warm water is introduced into
the evacuated evaporation chamber, where it boils. As it boils, salt is deposited and water vapour is
generated. This vapour then drives a turbine to generate electricity. After it powers the turbine, the water
vapour enters the condensing chamber, which is cooled by the water from the depths of the ocean. The
water vapour is condensed in this chamber, producing drinking water. Meanwhile, waste salt water is
discharged into the ocean and the process can be repeated.

IELTS Writing Task 1 #118

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The two pie charts below show some employment patterns in Great Britain in 1992.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Employees and self-employed: by sex and occupation, 1992

Model answer
The charts provide information on the proportion of males and females in employment in 6 broad
categories, divided into manual and non-manual occupations. In general, a greater percentage of women
work in non-manual occupations than work in manual occupations, and the reverse is true for men.
In the non-manual occupations, while a greater percentage of working women than men are found in
clerical-type positions, there is a smaller percentage of women than men employed in managerial and
professional positions. The percentage of women employed in other non-manual occupations is slightly
larger than the percentage of men in these occupations.

In manual employment, the biggest difference between the two sexes is in the employment of craft
workers, where males make up 24% of the workforce and females just 3%. Furthermore, the percentage
of women working as general working as general labourers is very small, only 1%. There is not a great
deal of difference between the percentage of men doing other forms of manual work (26%) and women in
other manual work (27%).

In summary, the two charts clearly show that women do not have the same access as men to certain
types of employment.

(194 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #119

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows the percentage of tourists to England who visited four different
attractions in Brighton.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The line graph shows the percentage of tourists to England who visited certain Brighton attractions
between 1980 and 2010. We can see that in 1980 and in 2010 the favourite attractions were the pavilion
and the festival. In 1980 the least popular attraction was the pier but in 2010 this changed and the art
gallery was the least popular.

During the 1980s and 1990s there was a sharp increase in visitors to the pavilion from 28% to 48% and
then the percentage gradually went down to 31% in 2010. The trend for the art gallery was similar to the
pavilion. Visitors increased rapidly from 22% to 37% from 1980 to 1985 then gradually decreased to less
than 10% over the next twenty-five years. The number of tourists who visited the Brighton Festival
fluctuated slightly but in general remained steady at about 25%. Visitors to the pier also fluctuated from
1980 to 2000 then rose significantly from 12% to 22% between 2000 and 2010.

(163 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #120

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagrams below show the changes that have taken place at Queen Mary Hospital since its
construction in 1960.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The diagrams show Queen Mary Hospital at three different stages in its development: 1960, 1980 and
2000.

In 1960, the hospital was built close to a main road and next to a shopping centre. A large area behind
the hospital was turned into a car park, while the area behind the shopping centre was farmland.

By 1980, the shopping centre had been demolished in order to make way for two additional hospital
building which became a pharmacy and a cancer centre. Furthermore, the hospital gained the farmland
and converted it into a nursing school.

In 2000, the main hospital building remained unchanged but the cancer centre was extended to cover the
entire nursing school. As a result of this, the original car park was divided into two so that it provided a
smaller car park and a small nursing school.
During this period, the hospital has increased in size and, in addition to a new nursing school, a cancer
centre has been created and extended. Hence the capacity of the car park has been reduced by a half.

(178 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #121

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the number of books read by men and women at Burnaby Public Library
from 2011 to 2014.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The graph gives information about Burnaby Public Library between 2011 and 2014. It shows how many
library books people read over this four-year period.

As can be seen from the graph, there were different trends for men and women. The number of books
read by men increased steadily between 2011 and 2012, from about 3000 to 4000. After that, the number
rose dramatically to 14000 books in 2014. This was the highest figure in the period.
Women started off reading more books than men, but their numbers followed a different pattern. Between
2011 and 2012, there was an increase of 3000 from 5000 books to 8000 books, and then a gradual rise
to 10000 books in 2013. However, in 2014, their numbers fell back to 8000 again.

Overall, there was a strong upward trend in the number of books read by men. Although women read
more books than men in 2011, their reading fell to below the level of men in 2014.

(162 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #122

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the worldwide market share of the notebook computer market for
manufacturers in the years 2006 and 2007.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Company 2006 % Market Share 2007 % Market Share

HP 31.4 34

Dell 16.6 20.2

Acer 11.6 10.7

Toshiba 6.2 7.3

Lenovo 6.6 6.2

 Fujitsu-Siemens 4.8 2.3

Others 22.8 19.3

Total 100 100

The table gives information on the market share of notebook computer manufacturers for two consecutive
years, 2006 and 2007.

In both years, HP was clearly the market leader, selling 31.4% of all notebook computers in 2006, and
slightly more (34%) in 2007. This is a greater market share than its two closest competitors, Dell and
Acer, added together.

Dell increased its market share from 16.6% in 2006 to 20.2% in 2007. In contrast, Acer saw its share of
the market decline slightly from 11.6% to 10.7%.

The other companies listed each had a much smaller share of the market. Toshiba’s share increased
from 6.2% in 2006 to 7.3% in 2007, whereas Lenovo’s decreased slightly from 6.6% to 6.2%. Fujitsu-
Siemens’ share more than halved from 2006 to 2007: from 4.8% of the market to only 2.3%.

Other notebook computer manufacturers accounted for 22.8% of the market in 2006 – more than all the
companies mentioned except HP. However, in 2007 the other companies only made 19.3% of notebook
computer sales – less than both HP and Dell.

(174 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #123

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar chart below shows the percentage of students who passed their high school competency
exams, by subject and gender, during the period 2010-2011.

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

Write at least 150 words.

 Students passing high school competency exams, by subject and gender, 2010-2011

*includes French, German and Spanish

Look at the graph and complete the following model answer by writing NO MORE THAN
THREE WORDS in each space.

Model answer
The graph shows the percentages of boys and girls who were successful in their high school competency
exams in the period from 2010 to 2011, by subject.

Overall, students of both sexes did/performed best in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Foreign
Languages, including French, German and Spanish. Results for boys and girls were
roughlycomparable/equivalent/equal/the same in Computer Science and Mathematics. In other
subjects,however, there were some significant differences.
Girls achieved by far their best results in Computer Science, with a pass rate of 56.3%, which
was considerably/much/around 14% higher than the boys. The difference was even greater/more
marked in Chemistry, where over/more than 16% more girls passed. The (only/one/single) subject
where boys’ results were better than girls was Geography where they achieved a pass rate of 30.4%,
which was 10% higher than that/the figure/the percentage/the pass rate/the result for girls.

In general, we can (say/see)/the statistics show that during the period in question girls performed better
in most subjects in the competency exams than boys.

IELTS Writing Task 1 #124

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie charts below show the average household expenditures in Japan and Malaysia in the year
2010.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Average Household Expenditures by Major Category

Model answer
The pie charts show the proportion of money spent on various household expenses in Malaysia and
Japan in 2010.
We can see that in Malaysia the greatest proportion of expenditure (34%) was on housing, while in Japan
housing accounted for just 21% of the total. In contrast, in Japan the greatest single expense was other
goods and services at 29%, compared with 26% in Malaysia. Food came in second place in Japan, at
24%, while in Malaysia the actual proportion was higher (27%). In Japan another major expense was
transport, at 20%, but this was much lower In Malaysia (10%). In both countries the smallest percentage
of expenditure was on health care.

Overall, the data indicates that in both cases food, housing and other goods and services were
the main expenses, but that in Japan, transport and other goods and services took up a higherproportion
of total expenditure than in Malaysia.

IELTS Writing Task 1 #125

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the number of students living in the UK gaining English language teacher
training qualifications in 2007/8 and 2008/9, and the proportion of male qualifiers.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Qualifications for English Language Teachers obtained 2007/8 and 2008/9, UK

Total Female Male % Male

2007/8 Total 32,930 23,842 8,165 24.7%

TEFL 25,446 18,460 6,870 26.9%

Cambridge UCLES
7,484 5,382 1,295 17.3%
CELTA & other degrees

2008/9 Total 32,945 24,324 7,511 22.7%

TEFL 24,917 18,446 6,545 26.2%

Cambridge UCLES
8,028 5,878 966 12.1%
CELTA & other degrees
Model answer
This report summarises information on the total number of students in the United Kingdom who gained
qualifications for English Language Teachers in two academic years, 2007/8 and 2008/9, with specific
focus on the number of male qualifiers.

In both years, the total numbers of students remained the same, but there was a great difference between
the numbers of male and female students who qualified. In 2007/8, out of a total of 32,930 students, only
24.7% were male. The percentage of males who qualified in 2008/9 was even lower. Out of a total of
32,945 students, only 22.7% of them were male. This is a drop of 2%.

There was also a large difference in the qualifications that students studied for. Most students qualified
with a TEFL certificate; this was true for male students. The number of students who qualified with the
TEFL was roughly three times the number who qualified with a Cambridge UCLES CELTA or other
degrees, although the total number of students qualifying with the TEFL dropped slightly, from 25,446 in
2007/8 to 24,917 a year later. There was a drop of 0.7% in the number of male students who gained this
qualification.

In general it can be seen that the number of males qualifying as English language teachers is vastly
outnumbered by females and that the proportion of male qualifiers is gradually dropping.

(226 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #126

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart below gives information about science qualifications held by people in two countries.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The bar chart illustrates the percentage of people who hold a science qualification in Singapore and
Malaysia. A prominent feature is that a significantly low percentage of people hold science qualifications,
that is Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in science from university level studies in both countries. Less
than 5% of people hold a qualification in science at Master’s degree level in both Singapore and
Malaysia.

There is a significant difference in the percentage of people holding science qualifications at Bachelor
level between the two countries; while this number is 20% in Singapore, in Malaysia it is a mere 10%. The
percentage of people with school leaving exams in science is slightly higher in Malaysia than in
Singapore. 35% of people in Malaysia have a science qualification at this level, whereas the number in
Singapore is 5% lower. Finally, more than half the people in both countries hold no science qualification
at all.

(152 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #127

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows relative price changes for fresh fruits and vegetables, sugars and sweets,
and carbonated drinks between 1978 and 2009.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and represent the U.S. city averages for all urban consumers
in January of each year.

Model answer
The graph shows changes in the price of fresh fruits and vegetables, sugar and sweets, and carbonated
drinks over a thirty-year period in the US between 1979 and 2009. The graph also shows the
general trend in the consumer price index during this time.

While the consumer price index showed a slow and steady increase from 1979 to 2009, the same cannot
be said for the price of carbonated, or soft drinks. After rising briefly between 1979 and 1981,
they remained fairly constant until 1999, when the price did begin to increase slowly.

In contrast, there was a marked difference in the price of fresh fruits and vegetables, which,
despite periodic fluctuations, rose steadily throughout this period. In fact, fresh food prices only levelled
out temporarily between 1990 and 1992 and again from 2000 to 2001. However, by 2008 the price had
increased by more than 300%.

IELTS Writing Task 1 #128

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart below gives information about the most common sports played in New Zealand in 2002.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The bar graph provides information about the most Common sports played in New Zealand in 2002. It
gives figures for both boys and girls and clearly shows that their participation in sports is fairly equal.
However, their sporting preferences tend to be different.

According to the graph, the most popular sport among girls is netball, with participation rates reaching 25
per cent. A similar percentage of boys prefer soccer, which is clearly their favourite sport. Ten per cent of
boys also enjoy playing cricket but hardly any girls take part in this game. While swimming is popular
among both boys and girls, fewer boys participate in this sport - about 13 per cent compared to
approximately 22 per cent of girls.
Other sports such as tennis, basketball and martial arts have lower levels of popularity, and a significant
percentage of boys and girls say they enjoy sports not referred to on the chart.

(153 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #129

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart below gives information about Someland's main exports in 2005, 2015, and future
projections for 2025.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
This bar chart illustrates the performance of Someland's primary exports in 2005 and 2015. It also
indicates future projections for 2025. According to the data, it seems likely that international tourism will
become the dominant industry, although dairy exports will remain strong. In 2005, we can see that
tourism was the greatest exports earner of the three industries, with revenue standing at just over $6
billion.
This figure has increased slightly, so that now, in 2015, it has reached almost $7 billion. It is estimated
that international tourism will continue to grow, so that by 2025, it will be earning around $8 billion for the
country. In 2000, dairy exports were worth around $5 billion, but since then there has been a dramatic
increase, and sales for this year are approximately $8 billion. Experts are predicting that exports in this
area may fall slightly, so a figure of $7.5 billion is expected for 2025. Meat products are the third key
industry in Someland, but sales have dropped since 2000 and now stand at $3.5 billion. It is expected that
sales will continue to decrease in the future.

(187 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #130

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The charts below show the results of a survey about what people of different age groups say
makes them most happy.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
There are several similarities between what younger and older people say makes them most happy.
However, there are several striking differences.

Firstly, let us look at the similarities. It is noticeable that for both younger and older people, the highest
percentage says that achievement at work brings them most happiness: 31% for the younger age group
and 32% for the older group. Doing hobbies is also very important for both groups: the second largest
percentage of both age groups mention doing hobbies as making them most happy.

Turning now to the differences, many younger people regard having a good appearance as extremely
important: 18% of them state this brings them most happiness. This is followed by 15% who state that
travel brings them happiness. Neither of these two factors is mentioned by older people. Instead, 20% of
older people report that having financial security is most important to their happiness and 14% say they
feel most happy when they are with their family.

(163 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #131

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The tables below give information about sales of Fairtrade*-labelled tea and
pineapples in 2010 and 2015 in five European countries.

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

Write at least 150 words.

 Sales of Fairtrade-labelled tea and pineapples (2010 & 2015)

Model answer
The two tables contain sales data for Fairtrade tea and pineapples in 2010 and 2015, in five
nations of Europe.

The first table shows low-level tea sales increasing in all five countries, albeit to widely
varying degrees. In two places sales increased by the same small amount: 2.8-3 million
euros in Germany, and 1.8-2 million in Norway. The increment was slightly larger in
Netherlands, from 2-2.7 million euros. Meanwhile, in Austria sales doubled from 4-8 million
euros. Finally, in France there was an enormous increase, from 2.5-21 million euros.

In the second table, it is Austria which stands out as buying far more Fairtrade pineapples
than the other four countries. The sales figures for Austria jumped from 16-48 million euros
across these five years, while in France and Netherlands sales only grew from 2-6.5 and
from 1.6-5 million euros respectively. Norway and Germany showed a different pattern, with
falls in pineapple sales from 2.8-2 and 3-1.9 million euros.
Comparing the two tables, it is clear that in 2010 Fairtrade tea sales ranged from 1.8-4
million euros in these five countries, while pineapple sales also mostly clustered between
1.6 and 3 million euros, with Austria the outlier at a huge 16 million euros. By 2015, sales
figures for both products had risen across the board, except for Norway and Germany which
recorded drops in pineapple sales.

(225 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #132

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the pollution levels in London between 1600 and 2000.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
(1st paragraph introduces the topic of the graph, explains what the graph shows and
outlines overall trends or patterns.)
The graph shows pollution levels in London between 1600 and 2000. It measures smoke
and sulphur dioxide in micrograms per cubic metre. According to the information, the levels
of both pollutants formed a similar pattern during this period, but there were always higher
levels of sulphur dioxide than smoke in the atmosphere.
(2nd paragraph describes the trends in more detail and illustrates these using data from the
graph.)
In 1600, pollution levels were low, but over the next hundred years, the levels of sulphur
dioxide rose to 700 micrograms per cubic metre, while the levels of smoke rose gradually to
about 200 micrograms per cubic metre. Over the next two hundred years the levels of
sulphur dioxide continued to increase, although there was some fluctuation in this trend.
They reached a peak in 1850. Smoke levels increased a little more sharply during this time
and peaked in 1900 at about 500 micrograms. During the 20th century, the levels of both
pollutants fell dramatically, though there was a great deal of fluctuation within this fall.
(Final paragraph draws a simple conclusion from the data.)
Clearly air pollution was a bigger problem in London in the early 20th century than it is now.

(176 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #133

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie chart below shows the main reasons why agricultural land becomes less
productive. The table shows how these causes affected three regions of the world
during the 1990s.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The pie chart shows that there are four main causes of farmland becoming degraded in the
world today. Globally, 65% of degradation is caused by too much animal grazing and tree
clearance, constituting 35% and 30% respectively. A further 28% of global degradation is
due to over-cultivation of crops. Other causes account for only 7% collectively.

These causes affected different regions differently in the 1990s, with Europe having as
much as 9.8% of degradation due to deforestation, while the impact of this on Oceania and
North America was minimal, with only 1.7% and 0.2% of land affected respectively. Europe,
with the highest overall percentage of land degraded (23%), also suffered from over-
cultivation (7.7%) and over-grazing (5.5%). In contrast, Oceania had 13% of degraded
farmland and this was mainly due to over-grazing (11.3%). North America had a lower
proportion of degraded land at only 5%, and the main causes of this were over-cultivation
(3.3%) and, to a lesser extent, over-grazing (1.5%).

Overall, it is clear that Europe suffered more from farmland degradation than the other
regions and the main causes there were deforestation and over-cultivation.

(184 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #134

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below gives information about a restaurant’s average sales in three
different branches in 2016.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The table illustrates the performance of three different branches of a chain of restaurants in
three different locations in Vancouver for the year 2016. It is evident that the best performer
is the branch in Georgia Street, which with 854 transactions a day on average has at least
100 more transactions than Dunsmuir Street and more than double from Drake Street.
Georgia Street is also ahead in terms of average transaction value (ATV), with $10.69 per
transaction compared to Dunsmuir Street’s $5.61 and Drake Street’s $9.02.

On average, eat-in and take-away transactions are almost equal in each restaurant, with
take-away transactions ending slightly ahead in two of them. Drake Street is the only
exception, with eat-in transactions surpassing take-away by 10.

The table also gives us information about the most popular item in each branch, revealing
that the eating habit of customers in each area are widely varied: Georgia Street’s best
seller is Chicken Burger, while Dunsmuir Street’s customers favour Chicken Wings, and
Drake Street’s customers prefer Chicken Pasta.

Overall, it is clear that the Georgia Street’s branch is the company’s most profitable branch,
with the highest number of transactions and ATV. Drake Street, on the other hand, lags far
behind, despite the fact that its ATV is higher than Dunsmuir Street.

(212 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #135

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below gives information about languages with the most native speakers.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Languages with the most native speakers

Model answer
The table illustrates the number of native speakers of six languages as well as the number
of speakers of these languages as an additional language. It is noticeable that the number
of speakers of Mandarin Chinese is strikingly higher than the other languages with over one
billion speakers.

People who speak Mandarin largely speak it as a first language (900 million). In comparison
to this only 190 million people speak Mandarin Chinese as an additional language. What is
remarkable about English speakers is that the number of speakers of English as an
additional language is higher than that of native speakers of English (603 and 339 million
respectively).

While the total number of Hindi speakers (490 million) is roughly equal to that of Spanish
speakers (420 million); when it comes to speaking these languages as an additional
language the number for Hindi is much higher (120 million) than that for Spanish (70
million).

Native speakers of Arabic and Portuguese are similar in number with 206 million and 203
million respectively. However, the number of Arabic speakers as an additional language (24
million) is almost 2.5 times higher than speakers of Portuguese as an additional language.

(195 words)
IELTS Writing Task 1 #136
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows population figures for India and China since the year 2000
and predicted population growth up until 2050.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The graph shows how the populations of India and China have changed since 2000 and
how they will change in the future.

In 2000, there were more people living in China than in India. The number of Chinese was
1.25 bill ion, while India's population was about 1 billion. Between 2000 and the present,
there has been a 0.2 billion rise in the number of Indian citizens. Over the same period,
China's population has increased by 0.1 billion to reach over 1.35 billion.

According to the graph, the population in India will increase more quickly than in China, and
experts say that by 2030, both countries will have the same population of 1.45 billion. After
this, China's population is likely to fall slightly to 1.4 billion in 2050, while India's population
will probably increase and reach 1.6 billion.

Thus, over the 50-year period, India is going to experience steady growth in its population
and it will overtake China. On the other hand, China's population will peak in 2030 and then
begin to fall.

(173 words)