HAVINA Writing Task 1 Bar Chart

[MODEL ANSWERS FOR WRITING TASK 1 BAR CHART] HAVINA Language Academy
Writing task 1: bar graphs

You will be given one or more bar graphs. Your task is to describe the information given in
the graph by writing a 150 word report. You are not asked to give your opinion. You
should spend around 20 minutes on the task.
What is being tested is your ability to:
objectively describe some graphic information

compare and contrast
report on an impersonal topic without the use of opinion
use the language of graph description
Sample task
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information in the graph below.
Write at least 150 words.
IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 1

Your task
Complete the task one report writing exercise above. Spend only 20 minutes. Then look at the
guidelines and the sample answer below.
Guidelines for a good answer
Does the report have a suitable structure?
Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?

Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within sentences and
paragraphs?
Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?
Does it include a variety of sentence structures?

Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?
Does the report meet the requirements of the task?
Does it meet the word limit requirements?

Does it describe the whole graph adequately?
Does it focus on the important trends presented in the graphic information?
Now read sample answer one. How well does it follow the guidelines?

Sample answer
The graphs compare the number of deaths caused by six diseases in Someland in 1990 with the
amount of research funding allocated to each of those diseases. It can be clearly seen that the
amount of research funding in many cases did not correlate with the seriousness of the disease in
terms of numbers of deaths.
In 1990 there were around 0.2 million deaths from AIDS, 0.1 million deaths from leprosy, 0.3
million deaths from tropical diseases, 0.5 million deaths from diarrhoea, 0.4 million deaths from
malaria and 1.8 million deaths from TB. These figures can be contrasted with the amount of
funding allocated for each disease. In 1990 AIDS received 180 million dollars in research
funding, leprosy 80 million dollars in research funding, tropical diseases 79 million dollars in
research funding, diarrhoea 60 million dollars in research funding, malaria 50 million dollars and
TB 20 million dollars in research funding.
In conclusion it is clear that funding allocation for disease research in Someland is not wholly
determined by the number of deaths for which each disease is responsible in a given year.
Strategies for improving your IELTS score
Selecting information
In completing this task, it is important that you fully describe all of the graphic information
given. However, this does not mean that you should note every detail. In most cases there will be
too much information for you to mention each figure. You will therefore need to summarise the
graph in meaningful segments. In other words, you will describe the significant trends in your
report.
Report structure
Like the line graphs, your report should be structured simply with an introduction, body and
conclusion. Tenses should be used appropriately.
Use two standard opening sentences to introduce the graph and your report. These opening
sentences should make up the first paragraph. Sentence one should define what the graph is
about, that is, the date, location, what is being described in the graph etc. For example:
The graphs compare the number of deaths caused by six diseases in Someland in 1990 with the
amount of research funding allocated to each of those diseases.

Notice that in the single line graph we said that the graph shows but with two bar graphs we
can more accurately say the graphs compare .
Notice that the Simple Past tense used. Even though it describes information from the past, the
graph shows the information in the present time.
Notice that the sample opening sentence does not simply copy the words used on the graphic
material. Copied sentences will not be assessed by the examiner and so you waste your time
including them.
Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend. For example:
It can be clearly seen that the amount of research funding in many cases did not correlate with
the seriousness of the disease in terms of numbers of deaths.
Notice the tense used. Here we are talking about 1990.
The body of the report will describe the graph or graphs in detail. You will need to decide on the
most clear and logical order to present the material. In this case it might be best to work through
the diseases one by one.
Ideally your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your report or draw a
relevant conclusion.
Grammar and vocabulary
You will receive a higher mark if your writing uses a range of structures and vocabulary
correctly rather than a limited number.
When describing some bar graphs you will sometimes use the same language as the line graphs.
This will be the case if one axis of the bar graph gives a time scale. In that case, your report will
generally describe the information in terms of time from the earliest event to the latest. For
example:
In 1990 X fell.
In 1990 there was a rise in X.
Look at the following graph and read the description.

In this graph of Electro Incs television sales between 1996 and 1999, we can see that purchases
of televisions went up in 1996 and continued to rise steadily until 1998 when they dropped
slightly.
In some cases, however, it will not be appropriate to describe the bar graphs in terms of time and
different language will need to be used. For example, in the following graph we could not say:
In 1990 there was a rise in holiday makers from Indonesia.
because the word rise implies that the graph also shows a lower number of holiday makers at
an earlier time, which in fact it doesnt.
In this case we can say:
Someland was the most popular destination for holiday makers from Indonesia.

Sample 1
The bar chart shows the number of overseas students enrolled in a third year Computer
Science course at a Canadian college.
Summarise the information by selecting and report in the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words
Model answer:
According to the bar chart, students from four Asian countries (China, Singapore, Malaysia and
Sri Lanka) and one European country (France) are taking Computer Science at the college. Some
students are enrolled in the Database core option; the others are taking Networking.
Overall, the China has the largest number of enrolled students (1) and France has the smallest
(5). Singapore and Sri Lanka both have 12 students; Malaysia has 11. It is noticeable that
Singapore and Sri Lanka have similar profiles.
Students from all five countries are enrolled in Database, but more males are taking this option
than females (21 and 9 respectively). For each nationality, the males taking Database outnumber
the females, except in the case of French students with 3 females to only 1 male. The China has
the most students studying Database (9); Sri Lanka is next with 7, while Singapore has 6.
Malaysia and France have 4 Database students each.
As for Networking option, more females than males are enrolled from every country except
France. In fact, no female French students are taking Networking. Only 1 male from each
country is enrolled in Networking, except for 2 males from Sri Lanka.

Sample 2
The bar chart below shows the percentage participation of men in senior development in
three companies between 1980 and the year 2010.
Summarise the information by selecting and report in the main features, and make
Write at least 150 words
Model answer:
The bar chart shows the percentage of men in senior development position in three companies
from 1980 to 2010.
While more men were in senior positions at Apple than other two companies in 1980 at 15%, the
trend was fairly erratic with a 2% drop to 13% in 1985, followed by a rise of 1% five years later.
In 1995, men held 7% more top development jobs than in 1990. After a slight drop back to 19%
in 2000, by 2010 25% of top posts were filled by men.
By contrast, at IBM men fared much better. In 1980, 2% of senior posts were occupied by men
with no change five years on. By 1990, the figure had increased to 13%, doubling to 26 per cent
in 1995. Five years afterwards, there was a 6% increase in male senior development jobs with a
near twofold jump in 2010 to stand at 63%, the highest for the three companies.
The situation was less remarkable at Microsoft than the other two firms except for the year 2010.
In 1980, the percentage of senior posts held by men was 8% climbing at the rate of 2% in each
subsequent period until 2000, after which it leapt to 45%. From the data, it is clear that men
dominated senior posts at IBM by 2010.

Sample 3
The bar chart compares the number of incidents and injuries for every 100 million passenger
milestravelled on five different types of public transport in 2002.
It is clear that the most incidents and injuries took place on demand-response vehicles. By
contrast,commuter rail services recorded by far the lowest figures.
A total of 225 incidents and 173 injuries, per 100 million passenger miles travelled, took place
on demand-response transport services. These figures were nearly three times as high as those
for the second highestcategory, bus services. There were 76 incidents and 66 people were injured
on buses.
Rail services experienced fewer problems. The number of incidents on light rail trains equalled
the figurerecorded for buses, but there were significantly fewer injuries, at only 39. Heavy rail
services saw lowernumbers of such events than light rail services, but commuter rail passengers
were even less likely toexperience problems. In fact, only 20 incidents and 17 injuries occurred
on commuter trains.
(165 words, band 9)

Sample 4
The chart shows British Emigration to selected destinations between 2004 and 2007.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons
where relevant.
The bar chart shows the number of British people who emigrated to five destinations over the
period 2004 to 2007. It is evident from the chart that throughout the period, the most popular
place to move to was Australia.
Emigration to Australia stood at just over 40,000 people in 2004, which was approximately
6,000 higher than for Spain, and twice as high as the other three countries. Apart from a jump to
around 52,000 in 2006, it remained around this level throughout the period.
The next most popular country for Britons to move to was Spain, though its popularity declined
over the time frame to finish at below 30,000 in 2007. Despite this, the figure was still higher
than for the remaining three countries. Approximately 20,000 people emigrated to New Zealand
each year, while the USA fluctuated between 20-25,000 people over the period.
Although the number of visitors to France spiked to nearly 35,000 in 2005, it was the country
that was the least popular to emigrate to at the end of the period, at just under 20,000 people.
(Words 179)

Sample 5
The chart below shows the total number of Olympic medals won by twelve different countries.
The bar chart compares twelve countries in terms of the overall number of medals that they have
won at the Olympic Games.
It is clear that the USA is by far the most successful Olympic medal winning nation. It is also
noticeable that the figures for gold, silver and bronze medals won by any particular country tend
to be fairly similar.
The USA has won a total of around 2,300 Olympic medals, including approximately 900 gold
medals, 750 silver and 650 bronze. In second place on the all-time medals chart is the Soviet
Union, with just over 1,000 medals. Again, the number of gold medals won by this country is
slightly higher than the number of silver or bronze medals.
Only four other countries - the UK, France, Germany and Italy - have won more than 500
Olympic medals, all with similar proportions of each medal colour. Apart from the USA and the
Soviet Union, China is the only other country with a noticeably higher proportion of gold medals
(about 200) compared to silver and bronze (about 100 each).
(178 words, band 9)

Sample 6
The bar chart shows the relative electricity consumption and cost per year of various household devices.
Write a 150-word report for a university lecturer explaining the data and making comparisons where
relevant.
Model Answer
The bar chart compares the energy consumption and expense of operating 16 different items of household
equipment. Overall, we can see significant differences in both cost and consumption.
To begin with, there are some common household items which consume relatively little energy. These include
an electric blanket (approx. $10 or 100kwh/year), a microwave oven (approx. $15 or 150kwh/year) and a
television (approx. $17 or 170kwh/year).
By contrast, devices that might be classified as luxury items such as a pool pump or spa are comparatively
expensive and energy-intensive, at nearly $125 or 1500kwh/year and around $190 or 2225kwh/year
respectively.
It is interesting to note that even among household items normally considered alike, such as a microwave and
refrigerator, there are enormous discrepancies in cost and energy use. The former uses only around $15 or
150kwh/year, while the latter consumes at least six times that amount at $90 or 1150kwh/year.
In conclusion, it appears that there is no clear pattern in the relative energy consumption of domestic
equipment, although households had better be aware of the high running costs of luxury items such as a pool
pump and spa.
(187 words, IELTS 8.5)

Sample 7
The diagram below shows the average hours of unpaid work per week done by people in
different categories. (Unpaid work refers to such activities as childcare in the home, housework
and gardening.)
Describe the information presented below, comparing results for men and women in the
categories shown. Suggest reasons for what you see.
You should write at least 150 words.
Sample Answer:
The given column graph shows information on the amount of unpaid works done by men and
women of different categories.
As is presented in the illustration, married women who don't have children do the unpaid-works
(gardening, child care and household works) 30 hours per week whereas married men do the
similar unpaid jobs for about 18 hours per week. Women, who have one or two children do such
work for 50 hours/week but the men from the same category do only 17hours (approximately)
each week. The women who have more than 3 kids seem to work highest amount of unpaid
works per week and that is nearly 60 hours. Surprisingly male from the same category work even
less; amounting only 16 hours (approximately) of unpaid works.
In summary, women do the most of the unpaid jobs compared to men and with the increased
number of children this workload for women increases. This is possibly because more men than
women get busy at paid job and women stay home more than men do. As a consequence, women
have to do more unpaid jobs like childcare, gardening, cooking and household tasks than men.
(Approximately 191 words)

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Sample 8
The chart shows components of GDP in the UK from 1992 to 2000.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main

features and make comparisons where relevant.
Gross Domestic Product in the UK
Model Answer
The bar chart illustrates the gross domestic product generated from the IT and Service Industry
in the UK from 1992 to 2000. It is measured in percentages. Overall, it can be seen that both
increased as a percentage of GDP, but IT remained at a higher rate throughout this time.
At the beginning of the period, in 1992, the Service Industry accounted for 4 per cent of GDP,
whereas IT exceeded this, at just over 6 per cent. Over the next four years, the levels became
more similar, with both components standing between 6 and just over 8 per cent. IT was still
higher overall, though it dropped slightly from 1994 to 1996.

However, over the following four years, the patterns of the two components were noticeably
different. The percentage of GDP from IT increased quite sharply to 12 in 1998 and then nearly
15 in 2000, while the Service Industry stayed nearly the same, increasing to only 8 per cent.
At the end of the period, the percentage of GDP from IT was almost twice that of the Service
Industry.
(Words 182)

Sample 9
The bar chart shows the scores of teams A, B and C over four different seasons.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
Model Answer
The bar chart shows the scores of three teams, A, B and C, in four consecutive seasons. It is
evident from the chart that team B scored far higher than the other two teams over the seasons,
though their score decreased as a whole over the period.
In 2002, the score of team B far exceeded that of the other two teams, standing at a massive 82
points compared to only 10 for team C and a very low 5 for team A. Over the next two years, the
points for team B decreased quite considerably, dropping by around half to 43 by 2004. In
contrast, team As points had increased by a massive 600% to reach 35 points, nearly equal to
team B. Team C, meanwhile, had managed only a small increase over this time. In the final year,
team B remained ahead of the others as their points increased again to 55, while team A and C
saw their points drop to 8 and 5 respectively.
(Words 168)

Sample 10
The bar chart shows the monthly spending in dollars of a family in the USA on three
items in 2010.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.
Model Answer
The bar chart depicts the monthly expenditure on food, gas and clothing of a family living in the
USA in 2010. Overall, it can be seen that levels of expenditure fluctuated over the period.
To begin, in January the most money was spent on food, at approximately $500 per
month. Although expenditure on food increased slightly the following month, it then fell to
account for the lowest expenditure of all the items at the end of the period at just over $300.

Gas appeared to follow the opposite pattern to food spending. It started lower at about $350 per
month, falling in the following month, and then increasing significantly to finish at just under
$600 in April.
Clothing, which at just over $200 accounted for the lowest expenditure at the beginning of the
period, fluctuated dramatically over the time frame. After reaching around the same levels as
food in February (nearly $600), it dropped markedly in March, then jumped to just under $700 in
the final month.
With the exception of an increase in March, average spending decreased slightly over the four
months.
(183 words)

Sample 11
Despite having the second lowest average yearly income, it costs more to buy this car in
Vietnam than in all but one other Asian nation. It also takes significantly longer for
a standard person to buy an automobile in Vietnam than in any other state in Asia. On the other
end of the scale, Singaporeans have to pay nearly three times more for their cars than the
Vietnamese and it takes them the least amount of time to afford a motor vehicle.
It costs $49,944 to buy a Toyota Camry in Vietnam, but this dwarfs the average yearly income
per person at just $1,910. It would therefore take a normal man or woman 26.1 years to save up
for that particular car.
This is in contrast to Singapore where is costs $126,245 for that model of motorcar, however the
average salary is much greater at $55,182. This means that it generally takes just over 2 years for
a typical individual from Singapore to acquire this vehicle.
(200 words, Band 9)

Sample 12
The bar chart below shows the different types of accommodation chosen by the
British when they went on holiday in 2012. Summarise the information by
selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.
This bar chart shows illustrates the holiday accommodation chosen by people in the
United Kingdom in 2010. Generally, it is possible to say that the English, Scottish,
Northern and Welsh made very similar choices and that hotels were much the most
popular form of accommodation.
In all four countries approximately half the people chose to stay in hotels. This figure
was highest in England at around 55%, almost twice the number of people who cooked
for themselves (27% of the sample) and far greater than the number who stayed in
campsites (12%) and finally caravans (6%). A similar pattern was repeated for the Scots
and the Welsh. In each case, around 50% of holidaymakers went to hotels with around
30% in self-catering apartments. The one difference being that caravan holidays at 12%
were twice as popular as camping holidays in Scotland, while the opposite pattern could
be seen in Wales.
The one country that shows a different pattern is Northern Ireland. It is notable how
there just over 30% of the population chose caravan holidays in preference to self-
catering accommodation and camping (both around 12%).
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[MODEL ANSWERS FOR WRITING TASK 1 BAR CHART] HAVINA Language Academy

Writing task 1: bar graphs

What is being tested is your ability to:

objectively describe some graphic information

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 1

Guidelines for a good answer

Does the report have a suitable structure?

Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?

Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?

Does it include a variety of sentence structures?

Does the report meet the requirements of the task?

Does it meet the word limit requirements?

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 2

Strategies for improving your IELTS score

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 3

Notice the tense used. Here we are talking about 1990.

Grammar and vocabulary

In 1990 there was a rise in X.

Look at the following graph and read the description.

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 4

In 1990 there was a rise in holiday makers from Indonesia.

In this case we can say:

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 5

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 6

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 7

(165 words, band 9)

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 8

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 9

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 10

(187 words, IELTS 8.5)

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 11

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 12

FAST TRACK TO IELTS

CAM KT IM IELTS U RA, nu khng at, hc vin c th HC

Thng tin chi tit:

Havina Tri nghim l am m!

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 13

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart shows components of GDP in the UK from 1992 to 2000.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main

Gross Domestic Product in the UK

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 14

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 15

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 16

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 17

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 18

(200 words, Band 9)

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 19

Ti liu c tng hp bi HC VIN ANH NG HAVINA

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 21

Anh ng giao tip quc t

Thng tin chi tit:

IELTS for your FUTURE! Page 22

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