Bar Chart IELTS Task 1 sample essay with detailed and standard solutions

Forms Bar Chart IELTS sample essay is one of the most common and easiest types of questions to write in the exam. IELTS Writing Task 1 in the article IELTS English TestThere are many ways to describe this chart, the article below ETEST English for Study Abroad Share with you some Bar Chart IELTS Task 1 exercises with detailed and easy-to-understand solutions.

1. Bar chart without trend

1.1. IELTS Task 1 Bar Chart Topic:

“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.

1.2. Sample IELTS Task 1 Bar Chart:

The graph shows data between married men and women of the number of hours spent per week on unpaid work.

At first glance at the chart, it is noticeable that from all the three categories (without children, with 1-2 children and with 3 or more children), married women spend more hours involved in unpaid work such as housework, gardening and childcare than expected from men.

Married women with children spend more time for unpaid works than without children as the chart shows. Meanwhile, having more than three children results in investing around 60 hours of unpaid work for them. This is probably due to the extra load of housework and childcare that is evidently needed to run such a big family.

Furthermore, although there are visible variations of the number of hours of unpaid work carried out by married women, there is no significant variation among all three categories for married men in terms of work hours that are not paid (30 or fewer hours). In fact, it is observed that married men with three or more children spent slightly less number of unpaid work hours. This might be due to the high requirement of commitment needed for a paid job to meet financial requirements for a big family.

1.3. Sample analysis:

Bar Chart IELTS Task 1 sample essay structure

Intro

The main purpose of the introduction is to give an overview of what the chart is about. To write an effective and quick introduction, you can paraphrase the summary given in the question.

Note: You are not allowed to copy the summary into your introduction.

The information you need to determine first:

• Topic: Topic of the chart
• Place: Location
• Time span: Time
• Unit of measurement: Unit of measurement

Ideas in the Intro:

• The average hours of unpaid work per week by married men and women;
• By people in different categories.

=> Rewrite: The graph shows data between married men and women of the number of hours spent per week on unpaid work.

Overview

You write an overview to briefly introduce the key information that you will cover in the body of the essay.

Note, the main purpose of Overview is to inform the reader of the details introduced in the body of the article, do not rush to put numbers and figures in this section.

Ideas in the Overview section:

• Married women have more unpaid works in all categories
• Married men have less unpaid works in all categories.

⇒ Rewrite: At first glance at the chart, it is noticeable that from all the three categories (without children, with 1-2 children and with 3 or more children), married women spend more hours involved in unpaid work such as housework, gardening and childcare than expected from men.

Body 1

The two body paragraphs are intended to elaborate on the general information mentioned in the over. In this graph, you can see two striking points: the number of unpaid work hours of married women increases significantly in proportion to the number of children they have.

Main ideas of body 1:

• Women spend more time for unpaid works when having children;
• Reason: more child ⇒ more housework and child care time.

Note: Read the question carefully to see if it asks for your personal opinion. In this exercise, you can see that the question asks: “Suggest reasons for what you see”.

⇒ Rewrite: Married women with children spend more time for unpaid works than without children as the chart shows. Meanwhile, having more than three children results in investing around 60 hours of unpaid work for them. This is probably due to the extra load of housework and childcare that is evidently needed to run such a big family.

Body 2

In contrast, married men's unpaid work hours varied only slightly and tended to be inversely related to the number of children they had.

Key points in Body 2:

• Unpaid work hours for married men don't have significant changes
• More than 3 children ⇒ unpaid work hours less
• Reason: need paid jobs to provide finances for family.

⇒ Rewrite: Furthermore, although there are visible variations of the number of hours of unpaid work carried out by married women, there is no significant variation among all three categories for married men in terms of work hours that are not paid (30 or fewer hours). In fact, it is observed that married men with three or more children spent slightly less number of unpaid work hours. This might be due to the high requirement of commitment needed for a paid job to meet financial requirements for a big family.

Language content used in the article

Analyze the implementation of ideas

Overview: 

At first glance at the chart, it is noticeable that from all the three categories (without children, with 1-2 children and with 3 or more children), married women spend more hours involved in unpaid work such as housework, gardening and childcare than expected from men.

When you look at the chart, the most striking thing that you can immediately detect is that the chart includes 2 main categories: “married women and married men.” Each category is divided into 3 types based on the characteristic “number of children”. When you compare these 2 categories, you can determine a big difference: no matter how many children women have, they will spend much more time doing housework than men.

Body 1:

Married women with children spend more time for unpaid works than without children as the chart shows. Meanwhile, having more than three children results in investing around 60 hours of unpaid work for them. This is probably due to the extra load of housework and childcare that is evidently needed to run such a big family.

In paragraph 1, you will describe in detail a group of married women. Looking at the graph, you can see that the amount of time they spend doing housework increases significantly when they have children. You do not need to quote all the figures. Just evaluate the increasing trend and describe the highest/lowest figures. The question requires you to add a rhyme suggesting the reasons for the change, then you can add your own opinion.

Body 2:

Furthermore, although there are visible variations of the number of hours of unpaid work carried out by married women, there is no significant variation among all three categories for married men in terms of work hours that are not paid (30 or fewer hours). In fact, it is observed that married men with three or more children spent slightly less number of unpaid work hours. This might be due to the high requirement of commitment needed for a paid job to meet financial requirements for a big family.

In paragraph 2, you talk about a group of married men. You can see in the graph that the number of children does not have a big impact on the number of hours of unpaid work for married men. In fact, if we look more closely, we can see that having more than 3 children slightly reduces the amount of time a married man spends doing housework.

Language analysis

Sentence structures used in the lesson

Intro: The graph shows data between married men and women of the number of hours spent per week on unpaid work.

=> Structure: the graph/the chart + show + data + of.

Overview: At first glance at the chart, it is noticeable that from all the three categories (without children, with 1-2 children and with 3 or more children), married women spend more hours involved in unpaid work such as housework, gardening and childcare than expected from men.

=> Structure: It + be + noticeable/considerable + that + something.

Body:

Married women with children spend more time for unpaid works than without children as the chart shows. Meanwhile, having more than three children results in investing around 60 hours of unpaid work for them.

=> Structure: causes + results in + results/consequences.

Furthermore, although there are visible variations of the number of hours of unpaid work carried out by married women, there is no significant variation among all three categories for married men in terms of work hours that are not paid (30 or fewer hours).

=> Structure: there + be + visible/significant variations + of/among.

In fact, it is observed that married men with three or more children spent slightly less number of unpaid work hours.

=> Sentence structure:

It + be + observed + that

S + spent + less/more number of + something

1.4. Vocabulary used in the lesson

• At first glance at the chart: When first looking at the chart ⇒ used before the sentence describing the outstanding features of the chart
• Noticeable/visible/significant: Words that indicate the degree of change
• Variations: Variations

1.5. Comments and reviews of Bar Chart IELTS Task 1 sample essay

• Task achievement

• • The article answers the question of the topic.
  • Have a clear overview
  • Select the notable features of the chart and analyze these features adequately.
  • Describe the data accurately
  • Compare where necessary

• Coherence and Cohesion

• • Effective segmentation with coherent groups of data information
  • There is coherence between sentences and paragraphs, using conjunctions effectively without overdoing it.

• Lexical Resource

• • Diverse and flexible vocabulary suitable for context

• Grammatical Range and Accuracy
  • Sentence structure is used correctly and relatively diversely.

2. Bar chart with trend

2.1. IELTS Task 1 Bar Chart Topic (Bar chart with trend)

“The chart below shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011”.

=> Describe the information presented below.

2.2. Sample IELTS Task 1 Bar Chart (Bar chart with trend)

The bar chart compares the proportion of families who owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales over a 93-year period (1918 – 2011).

Overall, during the first half of the period, the percentage of households in rented accommodation was higher than that of those owning their own home, while an opposite trend was observed over the final 30 years.

Looking at the chart in more detail, in 1918, families renting accommodation accounted for just over 75%, triple that of those in owned accommodation. This figure dropped dramatically to 50% in 1971, despite a period of stability between 1939 and 1953. By contrast, the proportion of households in owned accommodation more than doubled, with the figure standing at just under 25% in 1918, remaining stable at around 30% from 1939 to 1953 before rising to equal those in rented accommodation.

From 1981 to 2001, the proportion of families owning a home continued its rising trend to reach a peak of nearly 70% before dropping by 5% in 2011. The percentage of tenants saw a different pattern, with numbers experiencing a gradual decline to just above 30% in 2001, followed by a small rise of 5%.

2.3. Sample analysis:

Structure Bar Chart IELTS sample essay Task 1

Looking at the question and the chart, you can deduce the key points that are necessary for the essay:

Topic summary: The chart below shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.

The information you need to determine first:

• Topic: Topic of the chart
• Place: Location
• Time span: Time
• Unit of measurement: Unit of measurement

For example:

• Topic: The comparison between the household items in owned and rented
• Place: England and Wales
• Time span: 1918 and 2011
• Unit of measurement: the percentage (%)

Chart Highlights:

• From 1918 to 1961: the proportion of people living in homes that bought was lower than that of people living in rented homes, however the proportion of people living in homes that bought was increasing;
• In 1971, the ratio of people living in rented and owned homes was equal;
• From 1971 to 2011, the rate of home ownership was higher than the rate of home rental.

=> From the above information, the following outline will be given:

Intro: Rented accommodation vs owned accommodation from 1918 to 2011 in England and Wales.

⇒ Rewrite: The bar chart compares the proportion of families who owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales over a 93-year period (1918 – 2011).

Overview

• The first half (1918 ⇒ 1971): rented house > owned house;
• The second half (1971 ⇒ 2011): owned house > rented house.

⇒Rewrite: Overall, during the first half of the period, the percentage of households in rented accommodation was higher than that of those owning their own home, while an opposite trend was observed over the final 30 years.

Body 1

• 1918: renting accommodation was almost 75% but dropped to 50% in 1971;
• In contrast: owning accommodation was 25% in 1918 but raised to 50% in 1971.

⇒ Rewrite: Looking at the chart in more detail, in 1918, families renting accommodation accounted for just over 75%, triple that of those in owned accommodation. This figure dropped dramatically to 50% in 1971, despite a period of stability between 1939 and 1953. By contrast, the proportion of households in owned accommodation more than doubled, with the figure standing at just under 25% in 1918, remaining stable at around 30% from 1939 to 1953 before rising to equal those in rented accommodation.

Body 2:

• 1981 to 2001: owned home is higher than rented home and vice versa.

=> Rewrite: From 1981 to 2001, the proportion of families owning a home continued its rising trend to reach a peak of nearly 70% before dropping by 5% in 2011. The percentage of tenants saw a different pattern, with numbers experiencing a gradual decline to just above 30% in 2001, followed by a small rise of 5%.

Language content used in the article

Analyze the implementation of ideas

Overview

An important thing to remember when doing IELTS Writing Task 1 is that you should not list or describe all the data in the chart. Doing so is both time-consuming and will not help you get a high score.

Instead, compare categories to find common patterns and trends. Using the example, we can see that the proportion of people who rented their homes gradually decreased from 1918 to 1971, while the proportion of people who bought their homes gradually increased, and increased significantly after 1971.

⇒ This is the outstanding feature that can be used for comparison and detailed description in the article.

⇒ Overall, during the first half of the period, the percentage of households in rented accommodation was higher than that of those owning their own home, while an opposite trend was observed over the final 30 years.

Body 1

The body of the essay describes the details, you do not need to include all the figures or detailed changes. Just list the highest/lowest figures for the periods considered. Also, for small changes in between, you just need to talk about the level of change.

From 1918 to 1971, the proportion of people living in rented houses decreased significantly: from 75% (3 times the proportion of people living in owned houses) to 50% (equal to the proportion of people living in owned houses). In contrast, the proportion of people living in owned houses was very low (25%) but then increased sharply and reached 50% in 1971.

⇒ Looking at the chart in more detail, in 1918, families renting accommodation accounted for just over 75%, triple that of those in owned accommodation. This figure dropped dramatically to 50% in 1971, despite a period of stability between 1939 and 1953. By contrast, the proportion of households in owned accommodation more than doubled, with the figure standing at just under 25% in 1918, remaining stable at around 30% from 1939 to 1953 before rising to equal those in rented accommodation.

Body 2

In the next body paragraph, you will consider the second half of the period (1918 – 2011). As instructed in body paragraph 1, you only need to describe and give the final comparative figures for the last year (2011) and describe the level of change in the middle part from 1971 to 2011.

⇒ From 1981 to 2001, the proportion of families owning a home continued its rising trend to reach a peak of nearly 70% before dropping by 5% in 2011. The percentage of tenants saw a different pattern, with numbers experiencing a gradual decline to just above 30% in 2001, followed by a small rise of 5%.

Language analysis

Sentence structure used in the lesson:

Intro

The bar chart compares the proportion of families who owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales over a 93-year period (1918 – 2011).

=> Sentence structure: S + compare (present tense) + something + and + something.

Overview

Overall, during the first half of the period, the percentage of households in rented accommodation was higher than that of those owning their own home, while an opposite trend was observed over the final 30 years.

=> Sentence structure:

• S + be higher than
• S + be observed

Body

Looking at the chart in more detail, in 1918, families renting accommodation accounted for just over 75%, triple that of those in owned accommodation. => Sentence structure: S + account for + number.

*This figure dropped dramatically to 50% in 1971, despite a period of stability between 1939 and 1953.

=> Sentence structure: S + drop to + number.

By contrast, the proportion of households in owned accommodation more than doubled, with the figure standing at just under 25% in 1918, remaining stable at around 30% from 1939 to 1953 before rising to equal those in rented accommodation. => Sentence structure: S + double.

From 1981 to 2001, the proportion of families owning a home continued its rising trend to reach a peak of nearly 70% before dropping by 5% in 2011. => Sentence structure: S + continue.

2.4. Vocabulary used in the lesson

• Compare: compare
• Proportion: ratio
• Over a ….period:
• Trend: trend
• Looking at the chart in more detail: Looking at the chart in more detail
• Triple: triple
• Double: double
• Dramatically: indicating a strong degree of change
• Gradual: gradually

See also:

• Full set IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary need to grasp
• Summary of IELTS vocabulary by topic most common

2.5. Comments and reviews of Bar Chart IELTS Task 1 sample essay

Task achievement

• The article answers the question of the topic.
• Have a clear overview
• Select the notable features of the chart and analyze these features adequately.
• Describe the data accurately
• Compare where necessary

Coherence and Cohesion

• Effective segmentation with coherent groups of data information
• There is coherence between sentences and paragraphs, using conjunctions effectively without overdoing it.

Lexical Resource

• Diverse and flexible vocabulary suitable for context

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

• Sentence structure is used correctly and relatively diversely.

Bar charts are a common type of question in IELTS Writing Task 1. You need to have a reasonable strategy for doing the test by analyzing the question to detect outstanding features, creating an outline to ensure coherence in sentences and paragraphs, and accurately applying the necessary tenses and words to describe the information appropriately.

Through the Bar Chart IELTS sample essay that ETEST Study Abroad English has provided hopefully helps you have a solid view of the steps to write a bar chart. Your job is to review IELTS Writing Practice a lot to form a quick reflex when encountering this type of question IELTS Writing This also expands vocabulary and grammar skills when writing IELTS writing Task 1.

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