Academic Writing Sample Task 1 #13

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information in the two graphs below.
You should write at least 150 words.
Allow yourself 20 minutes for this task.
IELTS Writing Sample

IELTS Writing Sample

model answer:
The pie charts compare the highest level of education achieved by women in Someland across two years,
1945 and 1995. It can be clearly seen that women received a much higher level of education in Someland
in 1995 than they did in 1945.
In 1945 only 30% of women completed their secondary education and 1% went on to a first degree. No
women had completed post-graduate studies. This situation had changed radically by 1995. In 1995, 90%
of women in Someland had completed secondary education and of those, half had graduated from an
initial degree and 20% had gone on to postgraduate studies. At the other end of the scale we can see that
by 1995 all girls were completing lower secondary, although 10% ended their schooling at this point. This
is in stark contrast with 1945 when only 30% of girls completed primary school, 35% had no schooling at
all and 35% only completed the third grade.

In conclusion, we can see that in the 50 years from 1945 to 1995 there have been huge positive
developments to the education levels of women in Someland.

Academic Writing Sample Task 1 #19

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You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The charts below show US spending patterns between 1966 and 1996.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.
Write at least 150 words.
IELTS Writing Sample

Model answer
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The pie charts show changes in American spending patterns between 1966 and 1996.
Food and cars made up the two biggest items of expenditure in both years. Together they comprised over
half of household spending. Food accounted for 44% of spending in 1966, but this dropped by two thirds
to 14% in 1996. However, the outlay on cars doubled, rising from 23% in 1966 to 45% in 1996.
Other areas changed significantly. Spending on eating out doubled, climbing from 7% to 14%. The
proportion of salary spent on computers increased dramatically, up from 1% in 1996 to 10% in 1996.
However, as computer expenditure rose, the percentage of outlay on books plunged from 6% to 1%.
Some areas remained relatively unchanged. Americans spent approximately the same amount of salary on
petrol and furniture in both years.
In conclusion, increased amounts spent on cars, computers, and eating out were made up for by drops in
expenditure on food and books.

Academic Writing Sample Task 1 #56

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
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Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.
You should write at least 150 words.

model answer:
In this analysis we will examine three pie charts. The first one is headed World Spending. The second is
World Population and the third is Consumption of Resources.
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In the first chart we can see that people spend most of their income (24%) on food. In some countries this
percentage would obviously be much higher. Transport and then housing are the next major expenses at
18% and 12% respectively. Only 6% of income is spent on clothing.
In the second chart entitled World Population, it is not surprising to find that 57% of people live in Asia.
In fact China and India are two of the most populated countries in the world and they are both situated on
this continent. Europe and the Americans account for nearly 30% of the total, whilst 10% of people live in
Africa.

Finally, the third chart reveals that the USA and Europe consume a huge 60% of the worlds resource.

To sum up, the major expenditure is on food, the population figures are the highest for Asia and the major
consumers are the USA and Europe.

(182 words)

Academic Writing Sample Task 1 #60

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The two graphs show the main sources of energy in the USA in the 1980s and the 1990s.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the changes which occurred.
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Write at least 150 words.

Model answer
The two graphs show that oil was the major energy source in the USA in both 1980 and 1990 and that
coal, natural gas and hydroelectric power remained in much the same proportions. On the other hand,
there was a dramatic rise in nuclear power, which doubled its percentage over the ten years.

Oil supplied the largest percentage of energy, although the percentage decreased from 42% in 1980 to
33% in 1990. Coal in 1990 was the second largest source of energy, increasing its proportion to 27% from
22% in the previous decade. Natural gas, the second largest source in 1980 at 26%, decreased its share
very slightly to provide 25% of Americas energy ten years later. There was no change in the percentage
supplied by hydroelectric power which remained at 5% of the total energy used. Nuclear power the
greatest change: in 1990 it was 10%, twice that of the 1980s.

(152 words)

Academic Writing Sample Task 1 #78

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The pie charts below show electricity generation by source in New Zealand and Germany in 1980 and
2010.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.
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Write at least 150 words.

Electricity Generation by Source in New Zealand

Electricity Generation by Source in Germany

Model answer
The charts compare the sources of electricity in New Zealand and Germany in the years 1980 and 2010.
Between these years, electricity generation almost doubled, rising from 127 units to 200 in New Zealand,
and from 107 to 214 units in Germany.
In 1980 New Zealand used coal as the main electricity source (56 units) and the remainder was produced
from natural gas, hydro power (each producing 30 units) and petroleum (which produced only 11 units).
By 2010, coal had become the fuel for more than 75% of electricity produced and only hydro continued to
be another significant source supplying approximately 20%.
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In contrast, Germany used coal as a source for only 28 units of electricity in 1980, which was matched by
natural gas. The remaining 49 units were produced largely from petroleum and nuclear power, with hydro
contributing only 7 units. But by 2010 nuclear power, which was not used at all in New Zealand, had
developed into the main source, producing almost 75% of electricity, at 155 units, while coal and
petroleum together produced only 55 units. Other sources were no longer significant.

Overall, it is clear by 2010 these two countries relied on different principal fuel sources: New Zealand
relied on coal and Germany on nuclear power.
(210 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #84

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The pie charts below show the average household expenditures in a country in 1950 and 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
Look at the phrases in italic. Choose the phrase which sounds more formal.
The two pie charts give information about what households spent their money on / household expenditure
on goods and services in 1950 and 2010. It is immediately obvious that there are some quite significant
differences / some things are significantly different between the two charts.
In 2010 the largest proportion of expenditure was / most money was spent on food whereas in 1950 it was
on housing, with food for just 11.2%. There is a great difference in terms of the amount of money
peoples spent on housing / housing expenditure between the two years. In 1950 72.1% of the total
household budget / the total of what households spent went towards housing, compared to only 22% in
2010.

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There has been a notable increase in / People have notably increased the amount of money spent on
transportation between the two dates. In addition, the charts show a significant rise in the proportion of
money spent on health care / that people spent more on health care in 2010 compared to 1950.

There are some similarities, however. For example, in both 1950 and 2010 people spent a similar
proportion on education. / the proportion of education expenditure was roughly the same.
Show Answers - Hide Answers

Model answer
Look at the phrases in italic. Choose the phrase which sounds more formal.
The two pie charts give information about household expenditure on goods and services in 1950 and
2010. It is immediately obvious that there are some quite significant differences between the two charts.
In 2010 the largest proportion of expenditure was on food whereas in 1950 it was on housing, with food
for just 11.2%. There is a great difference in terms of housing expenditure between the two years. In 1950
72.1% of the total household budget went towards housing, compared to only 22% in 2010.
There has been a notable increase in the amount of money spent on transportation between the two dates.
In addition, the charts show a significant rise in the proportion of money spent on health care in 2010
compared to 1950.

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There are some similarities, however. For example, in both 1950 and 2010 the proportion of education
expenditure was roughly the same.

Writing Tip
When comparing statistics we usually say: Comparing the figures for 1950 and 2010, we can see some
quite significant differences between the two charts. NOT Compared the figures for 1950. We use
compared to or compared with as follows: Compared to 1950, housing expenditure in 2010 was relatively
low. NOT Comparing with 1950. Or: Housing expenditure in 1950 was quite high compared to/with
2010. NOT comparing to 2010.

IELTS Writing Task 1 #91

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The pie charts below give information about world population in 1900 and 2000.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

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Writing Tip
We can use either present simple tense or past simple tense when describing data in pie charts. Whichever
tense you choose, remember to be consistent throughout your whole answer.

Model answer
The pie charts illustrate changes in the population of different areas of the world between 1900 and 2000.
The major regions are represented as percentages of the total world population.

From 1900 to 2000, the percentage of people living in Africa more than doubled from 4.5% to 10%, while
Latin Americas proportion almost tripled in the same period. On the other hand, the percentage of
population in Europe and Asia decreased over the last century. Europes percentage dropped from 25% to
14%, while Asia declined from 60% to 54%. North Americas percentage however, remained constant at
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5% in 1900 and 2000. The Middle East and North Africa, a new category in 2000, represented 6% of
world population.

Overall, this represents a huge increase in the number of humans on the planet, from 1.6 billion to 6
billion in just one century. Most of this population growth has occurred in developing countries.
(151 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1 #110

IELTS Tip
It is quite common for IELTS Writing Task 1 to involve more than one piece of information relating to the
topic. For example, you may get two or three pie charts that you must compare. The pie charts may
represent different years and show trends over time. In this case, you will have to describe the changes
and similarities/differences between the pie charts.
Related Topic: Comparing pie charts
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
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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.
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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: comparing pie charts

Look at the following pie charts and decide if the sentences are true or false.

1) The pie charts show how many people listened to music in 2000 and 2010. ......

2) The pie charts show the proportion of songs played on different formats in 2000 and 2010. ......

3) More people listened to music on radio in 2010 than in 2000. ......

4) In 2000 nearly a third of songs were played on cassette tape but this amount decreased to about two per
cent in 2010. ......

5) The proportion of people listened to music on CD was about the same in 2000 and 2010. ......
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6) There was a slight increase in the number of people listening to music on MP3 player from 2000 to
2010. ......

7) In 2000 no one used the Internet to listen to music but in 2010 people used the Internet to listen to a
quarter of the total songs. ......

8) In 2010 approximately half of the songs were played using two formats: MP3 player and CD. ......

9) From 2000 to 2010 the number of people listening to music on radio decreased by just over 25 percent.
......

10) From 2000 to 2010 the number of people listening to music on radio decreased to approximately
half. ......

1) The pie charts show how many people listened to music in 2000 and 2010. False

2) The pie charts show the proportion of songs played on different formats in 2000 and 2010. True

3) More people listened to music on radio in 2010 than in 2000. False

4) In 2000 nearly a third of songs were played on cassette tape but this amount decreased to about two per
cent in 2010. True

5) The proportion of people listened to music on CD was about the same in 2000 and 2010. True

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6) There was a slight increase in the number of people listening to music on MP3 player from 2000 to
2010. False

7) In 2000 no one used the Internet to listen to music but in 2010 people used the Internet to listen to a
quarter of the total songs. True

8) In 2010 approximately half of the songs were played using two formats: MP3 player and CD. True

9) From 2000 to 2010 the number of people listening to music on radio decreased by just over 25 percent.
False

10) From 2000 to 2010 the number of people listening to music on radio decreased to approximately half.
True

Show Answers - Hide Answers

Test Tip
Note the way we use prepositions with numbers and dates:

2000 40%
2010 25%

In 2010 the number decreased to 25 per cent. (40 -> 25)

In 2010 the number decreased by 15 per cent. (40 15 = 25)
In 2010 the number decreased from 40 per cent. NOT in 40 per cent.
The number dropped to 25 per cent between 2000 and 2010. (40 -> 25)
By 2010 the number had fallen to 25 per cent.

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IELTS Writing Task 1 #112

IELTS Tip
Write a brief introduction in your own words using information from the question and the headings in
the graph.
Divide the main body of your report into two or three paragraphs describing the key information in the
graph. The first paragraph should list your main points. Secondary points and observations regarding
surprising or interesting information should follow in subsequent paragraphs.
In the exam, you might be asked to describe two graphs. If this is the case, you need to compare and
contrast the information and make connections between the two.
Related Topic: Comparing pie charts
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.
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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)

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