Bar Graph

Things that you should know in order to write successful bar graph are below:
1 comparatives
2 linking devices
3 superlatives
4 ways numbers are described
5 not as + adjective + as

 Making Comparisons

IELTS writing task 1 will often require you to make comparisons between data sources, groups
and times. Here are five grammatical structures you can use to make comparisons.

1. More/few/less + noun + than

Example: Overall, more people preferred public transport than taxis.

2. of one syllable -er + than

Example: A higher number for people preferred public transport than taxis.

3. More/less + adj. of more than one syllable + than

Example: Taxis were more popular than public transport.

4. of one syllable -est.

Example: The highest % of commuters preferred taxis.

5. The most/least + adj. of more than one syllable.

Example: The least popular mode of transport was buses.

More comparative structures

Another important way to write about comparatives is to use the structure 'x is not as +
adjective + as y’.

Cofee in France is not as expensive as in the UK.

Becoming confident using this structure will make your writing more flexible.

A further way to increase your range of language for describing comparatives is to use "not +
verb + as + noun phrase + as.

Crooners plc did not sell as many CDs as Monster Hits Records in 1990, with 225,000
compared to 230,000.

Coffee in France does not cost as much as in the UK, at £2 and £2.90 respectively.

1 Monster Hits Records sold 230.000 CDs in 1990, whereas Crooners pic sold 225.000.

Crooners plc was not as successful as Monster Hits Records in 1990.

2 A hundred couples chose the name James in 2000, while just 20 couples opted for the name
Peter.

The name Peter was not as popular as the name James in 2000.

3 It costs an average of £95 to spend a night in a hotel in Paris, as opposed to over £150 in
Zurich.

A night in a hotel in Paris is not as expensive as a night in a Zurich hotel.

4 The temperature ni Rawai Island was much lower than ni Phuket, at 15 degrees and 25
degrees respectively.

The temperature in Rawai Island was not as high as in Phuket.

Useful phrases to express big difference or small changes .

1 X is/was nowhere near as expensive as Y. for big diference

2 X is/was not quite as expensive as Y. for small difference

3 X is/was not nearly as expensive as Y. for big diference

4 X is/was almost as expensive as Y. for small difference

Examples:

1 Monster Hits Records sold 230.000 CDs in 1990, whereas Crooners plc sold 225.000.

-Crooners plc was not quite as / almost as successful as Monster Hits Records in 1990, selling
225,000 CDs compared to 230,000.

2 A hundred couples chose the name James in 2000, while just 20 couples opted for the name
Peter.

- The name Peter was nowhere near as / not nearly as popular as….

3 It costs an average of £95 to spend a night in a hotel in Paris, as opposed to over £150 in
Zurich.

-A night in a hotel in Paris is nowhere near as / not nearly as expensive as .

4 The temperature ni Rawai Island was much lower than ni Phuket, at 15 degrees and 25
degrees respectively.

-The temperature in Rawai Island was nowhere near as / not nearly as high as ...
Linking devices

a Monster Hits Records sold 230,000 CDs in 1990, while Crooners plc sold 225.000.

b Monster Hits Records sold 230.000 CDs in 1990, as opposed to Crooners plc, who sold
225,000.

c A hundred couples chose the name James in 2000, whereas just 20 couples opted for the name
Peter.

b A hundred couples chose the name James in 2000, compared to 20 who opted for the name
Peter.

Describing numbers

When writing a Task 1answer, ti si important ot describe numbers and data in diferent ways to
avoid repetition. You wil be given credit for doing this, as it wil show you have a wider range
of vocabulary.
Percentage Similar Phrase

10 % A tenth/ one in ten

20% A fifth/ one in five

25% A quarter/ one in four

33% A third/ one in three

50% A half/ half/ one in two

66% Two-thirds

75% Three-quarters
Write these percentages in words and add an idea to create a sentence.

1 32% (smokers)

Just under a third of all smokers said they smoked fewer than 20 cigaretes a day.

2 52% (teenagers)

Just over half of teenagers said they owned a laptop.

3 74% (household appliances)

Around three-quarters of household appliances break down after the guarantee expires.

4 64% (doctors)

Just under two-thirds of doctors in the UK also do private work.

5 27% (new roads)

Just over a quarter of new roads need some form of repair within 18 months.

6 75% (IELTS students)

Exactly three-quarters of IELTS students state that writing is

Write a suitable percentage for each of these descriptions.

1 just over three-quarters \ 76%

2 Nearly a third of girls said \ 31%. 32%, etc.

3 Just under a quarter of people asked said \. 23%. 24%

4 around a third of all passengers. \ 31%. 32%. 34%. 35%

5 almost half of students \ 47%. 48%. 49%

6 Approximately two-thirds of parents said \ 64%. 65%. 67%, 68%, etc

 Vocabulary to represent comparison in graphs:

Type Word(s) should be used

Similar about / almost / nearly / roughly /
approximately / around / just about / very
nearly /
Just over just above / just over / just bigger / just
beyond / just across
Just short just below / just beneath / just sort / just
under / just a little

Much more well above / well above / well beyond /

well across / well over

Much less well below / well under / well short / well

beneath

Example:
1. The number of high-level women executives is well beneath than the number of male
executives in this organization where approximately 2000 people works in executive levels.
2. About 1000 people died in the highway car accident in 2003 which is well above than the
statistics of all other years.
3. The number of domestic-violence cases was just below 500 in March which is just a little over
than the previous months.

Words to make a comparison / contrast:

a bit / slightly / a little / only just / approximately / about / almost / precisely / quite / nearly /
considerably / a huge / a great deal / quite a lot / completely / exactly

Example:
» This year population growth of the country is slightly larger than the previous year.
» This year population growt is almost twice than 2007.
» Sale of the company has increased quite a lot this year.

The word respectively is useful in Task 1 for placing data in the order that you write about it.

Cookies and cakes are the next best selers, with around 15 and 10 of these snacks sold
respectively(in turn).

This means: cookie sales 115; cake sales 100

 This bar graph compares the most popular items sold by two bakeries in London on a typical
Saturday in 2010.The graph shows average sales of eight items, including cakes, rolls and
toasted sandwiches, in Bernie's Buns and Lovely Loaves.

Overal, it can be seen that Bernie's Buns is generally the busiest bakery, outselling Lovely
Loaves in six out of eight items. On the whole, savoury foods such as toasted sandwiches, salads
and rolls are not as popular as sweet items like cakes and cookies.

In terms of sales at Bernie's Buns, doughnuts come top of the list, with an average of around
135 sold on a Saturday. Cookies and cakes are the next best sellers, with around 115 and 100 of
these snacks sold, respectively. Savoury foods are less popular. Bernie's Buns sells slightly more
rolls than crisps, with roughly 75 of each leaving the shelves. Toasted sandwiches and salads are
not nearly as popular, with just 25 and 18 sold in turn.

Doughnuts are also the number-one purchase in Lovely Loaves, with just over 120 sold on a
Saturday. Cookies are third, at around 65 sales. Salads come next, with just over 60, three times
as many as are sold in Bernie's Buns. Rolls and fresh loaves are joint fifth, with 50 sales a piece,
followed by crisps at approximately 45. The least popular item in Lovely Loaves is toasted
sandwiches, with around 25 sales.
The chart illustrates the amount of money spent on five consumer goods (cars, computers, books,
perfume and cameras) in France and the UK in 2010. Units are measured in pounds sterling.

Overall, the UK spent more money on consumer goods than France in the period given. Both the
British and the French spent most of their money on cars, whereas the least amount of money
was spent on perfume in the UK compared to cameras in France. Furthermore, the most
significant difference in expenditure between the two countries was on cameras.

In terms of cars, people in the UK spent about £450,000 on this as opposed to the French at
£400,000. Similarly, the British expenditure was higher on books than the French (around
£400,000 and £300,000 respectively). In the UK, expenditure on cameras (just over £350,000)
was over double that of France, which was only £150,000.

On the other hand, the amount of money paid out on the remaining goods was higher in France.
Above £350,000 was spent by the French on computers which was slightly more than the British
who spent exactly £350,000. Neither of the countries spent much on perfume which accounted
for £200,000 of expenditure in France but under £150,000 in the UK.
The chart below shows the amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women of different
employment status.

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

You should write at least 150 words in 20 minutes for this task.

ANSWER:

The bar chart compares the amount of free time per week that males and females of five
categories of employment status had between 1998 and 1999.

It is clear that men enjoyed more hours of leisure time per week than women in three out of five
categories. However, only figures for women are shown in two categories, namely employed
part-time and housewives.

Regarding the full-time employed, obviously men had slightly more leisure time than women,
with approximately 45 hours of free time per week, compared to around 38 hours for women.
Obviously, unemployed and retired people of both genders enjoyed the most hours of leisure
time. Moreover, the figures for retired males and females were exactly the same as those for the
unemployed, at around 85 and 78 hours of free time per week, respectively.

Housewives enjoyed 50 hours of spare time, a little more than part-time working women who
had just over 40 leisure hours each week. No data is given for men in either of these categories.

169 words.
SAMPLE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The following bar chart shows the different modes of transport used to travel to and from work
in one European city in 1960, 1980 and 2000.

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

Write at least 150 words.

ANSWER:

The bar chart illustrates the information about the proportion of travelers who used different
types of vehicles to commute to work in a European city during a period from 1960 to 2000.

Overall, the percentage of commuters who used cars rose steadily over the period, while the
proportion of people who travelled by other means of transport fell.

In 1960, approximately 35% of people commuted to work on foot, compared to only about 5% of
people travelled by car. The percentage of those who used bikes and buses were around 25% and
18% respectively. However, in 1980 travelling by bus was by far the most popular transport
mode, accounting for over 25% of total travelers, whereas only 17% of people travelling on foot.
The figures for bike and car were around 20% and 22% respectively.

At the end of the period, more than 35% of commuters used cars to commute to work in this city
in 2000, which was much higher than the figure for bus users, at around 16%. The percentage of
those who travelled to work on foot and by bike fell to 9% and 6% respectively.

189 words
 PIE CHART

Introduction
All you need to do in your introduction for an IELTS pie chart question is to paraphrase the
IELTS statement and anything else the charts show, such as the units given ( e.g. 'Units are given
in pound sterling).
Paraphrasing means that you put the statement in your own words whilst keeping the meaning
the same. You can do this in many ways, such as by using synonyms or similar expressions, by
changing the word class (e.g. a verb to a noun), or by changing the sentence structure in some
way so that the sentence is still grammatically correct (e.g. changing the sentence from the active
to the passive voice). You do not have to change every word to paraphrase successfully.

These are some possible ways you could start the introduction of a pie chart:
• The pie chart shows...
• The pie charts give information about...
• The pie charts illustrate...

And here is an example of a paraphrased statement:

Original statement:
The pie charts show a breakdown of the top ten industries in which female and male graduates
gained employment in the USA in 2020.

Paraphrased statement:
The pie charts illustrate what percentage of men and women that graduated from an American
university in 2020 and found a job in a related industry.

These are the main changes that have been made:

• The pie charts show...
• The pie charts illustrate...
• ...which female and male graduates...
• ...what percentage of men and women...
• ..gained employment...
• ...found a job in a related industry....
Overview
Y our overview paragraph of a sample IELTS report is very important as this is where you
summarise the main trends (you are looking for about two or three trends) shown in the pie
charts. Your overview should be about two or three sentences.
You should not go into detail just yet, you only need to summarise information that shows the
highest/lowest proportions in the charts, or biggest changes in the data. There might also be some
exceptions to the main trends that stand out.

To make it clear to the examiner that this is your overview, start your first sentence with one of
the following:
• Overall,...
• Broadly, it can be seen that...

To identify the main trends in the charts, consider asking yourself the following questions:
• Which sector was the largest in the given years?
• Which sector was the smallest?
• Did each sector change a lot or a little in the given years?
• Did any sectors increase or decrease over time?

Main Body Paragraphs

Your two main body paragraphs will go into detail about the key features you highlighted in your
overview. You need to refer to the data accurately - always include the units given in the charts
(e.g. %). You should also include the years for each sector you are describing.
Organise your main body paragraphs logically. For instance, one paragraph could focus on the
first chart, and the second paragraph on the second chart. Make sure to include some
comparisons between the charts.

It is also important that you use the correct tense, for example:
• Pie chart in the past: The proportion of energy produced by solar was 20% in 2010.
• Pie chart in the future: The proportion of energy produced by solar will increase by 50% by
2050.
Vocabulary for Ratios
You can use a range of languages to rank the largest and smallest percentages. Here are some
examples:

Vocabulary Example

Least popular The least popular sport chosen by men

was swimming, at 10%

Highest The sector with the highest percentage

of sport chosen by women was hockey,
at
50%

Third place Yoga was in third place with 12%

Bottom Baseball was ranked bottom, at 5%

Ranked second Rugby was ranked second, at 16%

Equally Baseball and basketball were equally

popular, at 25%
Most The most popular sport overall was
football, at 55%

Followed The most popular sport overall was

football, at 45%, followed by rugby at
30%

Came top Football came top of the chart for

women, with 20%

Percentages

The following phrases are useful when writing about percentages of a certain sector (football is
the example sector here):
• Football made up 55% of sports chosen by men in 2010.
• Football accounted for 55% of sports chosen.
• Football comprised /generated 55% of all chosen sports.
Expressing Percentages with Similar Phrases
To avoid repetition, you can express percentages from the pie charts using different phrases
whilst maintaining the same meaning.
See the examples below:

Percentage Similar Phrase

10 % A tenth/ one in ten

20% A fifth/ one in five

25% A quarter/ one in four

33% A third/ one in three

50% A half/ half/ one in two

66% Two-thirds

75% Three-quarters

Grammar for IELTS Writing Task 1 Pie Chart

Tenses for IELTS Pie Charts
You need to determine the date(s) of your pie charts so that you use the correct tense. To do this,
follow the tips below:
• Identify if the given year is before the present year (2022 at the time of writing)
• If the year is before the present (e.g. 2000), you need to use the past tense throughout your
report
• If the year is after the present year (e.g. 2050), you need to use the future tense
• If there is no year, you should use the present simple tense
Whatever the year, you can still start your body paragraph with the present simple tense and then
switch to the past or future, for example:
The data shows that between 2000 and 2010, there was a significant drop in the number of
graduates.
It is evident that in 2050 there will be a huge rise in the number of graduates.
Sample:
The pie charts show information about the percentage of people who studied ten selected
university subjects at a university in New York between 2000 and 2010.

Overall, what stands out from the pie charts is that the most popular subject in both 2000 and
2010 was economics. Another interesting point is that the biggest change was relating to English,
which fell dramatically over the decade.

If we look at 2000, economics was considerably more popular than science, with figures of 24%
and 20% respectively. Engineering and English were equally popular at 15%. Twice as many
people studied mathematics as accounting, with the former being 10% and the latter 5%.
Finally, a slightly larger percentage of people studied art and design (2%) than Mandarin (1%).

Regarding the changes in 2010, economics went up slightly from 24% to 30%. By contrast, the
number of science students dropped slightly from 20% to 16% in 2010. Mathematics stayed the
same percentage in both years at 10%. Finally, in 2000, 15% of sudents studied English; but
by 2010 the figure fell dramatically to just 2%.

180 words
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.

ANSWER

The pie charts compare the average household spending in Japan and Malaysia in terms of five
important categories in 2010.

Overall, it is clear that Japanese and Malaysian people spent the largest proportion of their
budget on just three categories, namely housing, food and other goods and services. Moreover,
the expenditures on healthcare and transport in Japan were double the figures for Malaysia.

In Malaysian households, the greatest proportion of spending was on housing, which represented
34% of the total expenditure, while in Japan, the figure for this category was just 21%. Japanese
householders spent the largest amount of their income on other goods and services, at 29%.
Meanwhile, the rate of spending on this category in Malaysia was slightly lower, at 26%. In
terms of food, the percentages of expenses for both nations were relatively similar, at 27% for
Malaysia and 24% for Japan.

In both countries, the smallest proportion of spending was on health care. In Malaysia, this
accounted for 3% of the total household expenses, while the figure for transport represented
10%. These figures were exactly doubled in Japan which were 6% and 20% respectively.

188 words.
The two pie charts illustrate the proportion of five sources of energy production in France in
1995 and 2005.

Overall, in both years, the most significant sources of energy were gas and coal, which together
accounted for over half the production of energy, while nuclear and other kinds of energy
sources generated the least amount of energy in France. In all types of energy production there
was only minimal change over the 10 years period.

Energy produced by coal comprised of 29.80% in the first year and this showed only a very
slight increase of about a mere 1 % to 30.9% in 2005. Likewise, in 1995, gas generated 29.63%
which rose marginally to 30.1% 10 years later.

With regards to the remaining methods of producing energy, there was an approximate 5%
growth in production from both nuclear power and other sources to 10.10% and 9.10%
respectively. Petrol, on the other hand, was the only source of energy which decreased in
production from 29.27% in 1995 to around a fifth (19.55%) in 2005.
TABLE

The table below gives information about the average annual spending of university students in
three different countries.

The given table compares the percentage of expenditure which college students from 3 countries
spend on different living expenses each year.

Overall, the total spending of students in country A was higher than the expenditure of students
in countries B and C. In all the countries, students spent the highest proportion of their budget on
accommodation and food.

In country A, the total spending of students is highest, at 5000$ per year, compared with $4500
and $1500 for students in countries B and C respectively.

Accommodation accounts for 45% of the total expenditure of students in country A, while the
proportions were lower for students in country B at 35%, and country C, at only 30%. However,
in term of food, students in country C spend the largest percentage of their money on it,
accounting for 36%. The figures for country A and B are only 22% and 28% respectively.
Students in country C also spent a high percentage of their budget on books, at 21%, compared
with 9% for students in country B and just 3% for students in country A. By contrast, students in
countries A and B spent 22% and 23% respectively of their budget on leisure, while students in
country C spent only 12% of their total money on this category.

196 words.
The table illustrates the proportion of consumer expenditure in Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and
Turkey on three types of consumer goods in 2002.

Overall, the category of consumer goods that all countries spent most on was food, drinks and
tobacco, which was three times higher than on the other types of goods. The lowest spending
could be seen in the category of leisure and education in all five countries. The outlay of Turkey
was generally higher than the other four countries.

In terms of food, drinks and tobacco, Turkey spent the most at 32.14%. The expenditure of
Ireland was also high (28.91%) compared to Sweden which spent the least (15.77%). Spain and
Italy spent 18.80% and 16.36% respectively. On the other hand, the lowest expenditure was on
leisure and education which accounted for under 5% in all countries. Turkey spent most on
these items at just 4.35% of their national expenditure which is around double that of Spain
(1.98%).

Clothing and footwear was the third category of consumer goods and outlays for those items
were between 9% in Italy and 5.40% in Sweden. The national spending in this area for the
remaining countries averaged around 6.5%.

196 words