IELTS Writing Pie Chards Academic

7/27/2019 IELTS Writing Pie Chards Academic

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IELTS Sample Charts (IELTS Writing Task 1)

The Writing Task 1 of the IELTS Academic

test requires you to write a summary of at least

150 words in response to a particular graph (bar,line or pie graph), table, chart, or process (how

something works, how something is done).

This task tests your ability to select and report

the main features, to describe and compare

data, identify significance and trends in factualinformation, or describe a process.



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 todescribe two graphs. If this is the case, you

need to compare and contrast the

information and make connections

between the two.



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.



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 theirproportion 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 thattransactions 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.



However, But

On the contrary, On the other hand,

Differ from Nevertheless

Although Though

Otherwise Instead

Alternatively, Even though

Contrasting



Generally, Generally speaking,

Overall, On the whole,

In general, By and large,

It seems to me that I believe

All in all, Basically,

Essentially, As a rule,

All things considered For the most part

Generalizing



Certainly, Undoubtedly,

Doubtless, No doubt,

Definitely, Of course,

Expressing Certainty

More or less, To some extent,

Up to a point, Almost,

In a way, So to speak,

Expressing PartialAgreement



Furthermore In addition

Also And

Moreover Similarly

Likewise As well as

Besides Too

Even What’s more

Adding Information



To summarize In conclusion

Lastly, Finally,

To conclude with, In short,

Concluding



Useful Phrases for IELTS Writing Part One Suggested Answers

Explaining what the task shows

The table/ pie chart/ bar chart/ line graph/ map/ flow chart/ diagram/ illustration/ figures…

… shows/ represents/ gives data on/ presents statistics on/ compares…

The vertical axis/ y axis is…

The horizontal axis/ x axis represents… Explaining the paragraph structure

These two sources of information will be examined in turn.

I will start by explaining…/ First, I will look at…/ First of all, I will focus on…/ Firstly, I will

describe…

In the next paragraph I will…/ and the following paragraph will…/ and then I will…/ … and

after that I will…/ and the final paragraph will be on…

The information will be divided into… and… and looked at in that order. Selecting the most important information/ Giving overall information

… stands out (because…)

The first thing you notice looking at the graph is…

The biggest/ largest/ most noticeable/ most important/ most obvious + difference/

similarity/ trend is…

Overall,…

The main trend…

Over the entire period shown,…

It can be said that in general,…



Mentioning parts of what the page shows

The left-hand column/ first column/ middle column/ second column/ third column/

last column/ right-hand column

The top row/ first row/ second row/ last row/ bottom row

in the North/ Northwest/ Southeast

top right/ bottom left/ middle/ centre

segment

arrow

axis/ axes

Upward trends

To rise/ go up/ increase/ escalate/ climb/ grow/ expand/ soar/ take off

(nearly) double/ triple

A rise/ An increase

Reach a new high

Plateau

Downward trends

To drop/ fall/ dive/ plunge/ crash/ decline/ decrease/ deteriorate/ plummet A drop/ A fall/ A crash/ A decline/ A decrease/ A deterioration

Bottom out

Shrink

(nearly) halve



Going up and down

Fluctuate/ Be unstable

Reach a peak

Recover/ Bounce back/ Pick up

Not changing

Remain stable

Flatten out

Big changes

Significant(ly)/ Substantial(ly)/ Dramatic(ally)/ Considerable(/bly), Sharp(ly)

Dive/ Plunge/ Crash/ Plummet

Rocket/ Shoot up/ Soar/ Take off

Small changes

Slight(ly)/ Gradual(ly)Creep up

Comparing

(far/ much/ substantially/ significantly/ slightly) …er/ more/ less…

(not) as…as…

(very) similar/ almost the same/ almost identical

in some ways similar to…

Comparing the… with/ to…

Contrasting

While…,…

In contrast,…

… shows a rather/ very different pattern/ trend.

We can contrast this with…

… is almost the exact opposite. … is (a/ the) (major) exception…



Sequencing

Some time later…

After that…

The next/ following stage is… This is followed by…

This reoccurs…

In the following hours/ days/ weeks/ months/ years,…

Subsequently,…

…, after which…

As soon as…,… Starting the second main paragraph (= the second paragraph

of the body of the text)

Looking at…

Moving on to…

Turning our attention to…

In contrast to the… above,… Conclusion/ Summary (only if you can’t find another way of

reaching 150 words)

We can therefore see that…

Together, the graph and bar chart show that…



The general idea – avoid the personal pronoun

The idea is that you don’t use “I” unless you are emphasising the

fact that this is your personal opinion.

The impersonal IT

One strategy you can think about is using IT phrases to start your sentences whenyou are about to give an opinion. This has two effects:

- it makes what you say sound more intelligent/plausible

- it gives you some ready-made English to use that is grammatically complex

- you don’t always need to say “Some people say”

- Here are a few alternatives for you:

Th i l THERE



The impersonal THERE

Another alternative is to use a THERE phrase to be more impersonal. This works for

the same reasons as IT does and nearly all these phrases are also for giving

opinions:

ONE and WE



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.

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

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



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 percent.

The number dropped to 25 percent between 2000 and 2010. (40 ->

25)

Y h ld d b t 20 i t thi t k



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 makecomparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Average Household Expenditures by Major Category

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.

http://www.ielts-exam.net/grammar/730/



http://www.ielts-exam.net/IELTS-Writing-Samples/Pie-Chart.html

http://www.ielts-exam.net/IELTS-Writing-Samples/Pie-Chart.html






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 aresome quite significant differences /

some things are significantlydifferent 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 people’s 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.

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 onhealth 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.



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IELTS Writing Pie Chards Academic