Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Incidents and injuries per 100 million passenger miles in 2002: IELTS Writing Task 1 sample answer

An IELTS Writing Task 1 bar chart question with a Band 8 sample answer, the chart redrawn with its data, the vocabulary that lifts the report and how to write about bar charts.
  • 182 words
  • Bar charts
  • Academic
  • 20 minutes

The question

The chart below shows the number of incidents and injuries per 100 million passenger miles traveled (PMT) by transportation type in 2002.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Incidents and Injuries per 100 Million PMT, 2002 (No. per 100 million PMT)
050100150200250Commuter RailHeavy RailLight RailBusDemand Respond
  • Incidents
  • Injuries
View the data
Commuter RailHeavy RailLight RailBusDemand Respond
Incidents20507575225
Injuries18353865172

Chart redrawn by BandLadder from the data in the original IELTS practice task. Many IELTS practice tasks come from the Cambridge IELTS series (Cambridge University Press & Assessment); all rights in the original tasks remain with their owners.

Model answer

Band 8 sample answer

Band 8182 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

The bar chart illustrates the frequency of incidents and injuries per 100 million passenger miles travelled (PMT) across five different transportation modes in 2002. Overall, it is evident that Demand Respond services experienced the highest rates of both incidents and injuries, whereas Commuter Rail reported the lowest figures.

Demand Respond stood out as the most hazardous mode of transport, with 225 incidents and 172 injuries per 100 million PMT. In contrast, Commuter Rail was the safest option, recording only 20 incidents and 18 injuries. The remaining three categories—Heavy Rail, Light Rail, and Bus—showed intermediate levels of safety.

Regarding the other modes, Light Rail and Bus both recorded 75 incidents, although the number of injuries differed, with Bus reporting 65 injuries compared to 38 for Light Rail. Heavy Rail saw 50 incidents and 35 injuries. Notably, for every category, the number of incidents consistently exceeded the number of injuries. The gap between incidents and injuries was most pronounced in the Demand Respond category, where the difference reached 53, while the smallest disparity was observed in Commuter Rail, with a difference of only two.

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Bar charts

How to write about bar charts: tips and vocabulary

  • →Compare the biggest and smallest bars before anything else.
  • →If the bars show years, describe change; if they show places, describe rank.
  • →Round sensibly and say 'just over' or 'nearly' rather than guessing decimals.
  • illustrates

    provides a visual representation of the given data

  • frequency

    the rate at which something occurs over time

  • hazardous

    involving a high level of risk or danger

  • intermediate

    coming between two things in time or position

  • consistently

    in every case or on every occasion

  • disparity

    a great difference between two or more things

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?+

Demand Respond services recorded significantly higher rates of both incidents and injuries compared to all other transport types, while Commuter Rail was the safest mode of travel.

How many words and how long for IELTS Writing Task 1?+

At least 150 words; 170 to 200 is the safe range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

How is IELTS Writing Task 1 scored?+

On four criteria: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, vocabulary, and grammatical range and accuracy. A clear overview of the main features is what most separates Band 6 from Band 7 and above.

How do I describe bar charts?+

Compare the biggest and smallest bars before anything else. If the bars show years, describe change; if they show places, describe rank. Round sensibly and say 'just over' or 'nearly' rather than guessing decimals.

Keep practising

More bar charts

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