By the end of this exercise, you can compare figures in a bar chart or table, group what is similar and write an overview.
Free IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 practice: compare figures in a bar chart, use “twice as many” and “just under a third”, write an overview, then describe a table yourself.
In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 you describe one or more graphs, charts or tables, or a diagram, in at least 150 words. The whole Writing test lasts 60 minutes, and about 20 of them are usually spent on Task 1. Task 2 counts twice as much, so do not spend longer than that. Bar charts and tables often show no change over time. Then your job is to compare: find the biggest and smallest figures, group the ones that are similar, and sum up the main differences in an overview.
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Study the bar chart and the table, then choose the word or phrase that matches the data for each gap.
The bar chart below shows how students in four countries travel to university. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. (Invented practice data.)
| Mode | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car (solid) | 48 | 12 | 30 | 24 |
| Public transport (striped) | 30 | 26 | 45 | 36 |
| Bicycle (dotted) | 6 | 44 | 9 | 12 |
| Walking (white) | 16 | 18 | 16 | 28 |
The bar chart compares how students in four countries travel to university, shown as a percentage of all students in each country.
Overall, the car was the most common way to travel in Country A, bicycles were the first choice in Country B. Public transport was popular everywhere and accounted for the highest proportion of journeys in both Country C and Country D.
Almost half of the students in Country A (48%) drove, and the share of car users there was that in Country B, where the figure was only 12%. In Country C, public transport was used by of students (45%), and Country B had of cyclists of the four countries, at 44%.
Only 6% of students in Country A cycled, 44% in Country B. Walking was most common in Country D, where of students (28%) went on foot, while Countries A and C had of walkers, at 16%. Finally, car use in Country C (30%) was in Country D (24%).
Examiners reward reports that turn figures into words, not lists of numbers. Choose the phrase that describes each figure accurately.
A Task 1 report needs an overview: one or two sentences with the main features and no detailed figures. For each chart or table, choose the best overview sentence. Items 5 and 6 review the Describing Trends exercise.
The table below shows the percentage of household spending that went on housing, food and transport in four countries in one year. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. (Invented practice data.)
| Category | P | Q | R | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | 35 | 22 | 30 | 25 |
| Food | 15 | 28 | 20 | 12 |
| Transport | 12 | 10 | 18 | 20 |
P, Q, R and S are four countries.
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