Academic Writing Task 1 · pie chart

Percentage distribution of students and international arts students at North West University: IELTS Writing Task 1 sample answer

An IELTS Writing Task 1 pie 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 pie charts.
  • 185 words
  • Pie charts
  • Academic
  • 20 minutes

The question

The charts below show the percentage of students joining North West University.

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

Students by Faculty
  • Arts: 23
  • Business: 14
  • Computing: 22
  • Law: 6
  • Medicine: 5
  • Science: 21
  • Engineering: 9
View the data
CategoryValue
Arts23
Business14
Computing22
Law6
Medicine5
Science21
Engineering9
Arts Students (Non-US)
  • South American: 79
  • European: 21
  • Asian: 6
  • African: 2
  • Australian: 4
View the data
CategoryValue
South American79
European21
Asian6
African2
Australian4

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 8185 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

The provided charts illustrate the distribution of students across various faculties at North West University and the regional breakdown of non-US arts students. Overall, it is clear that the Arts faculty attracts the highest proportion of students, whereas South American students dominate the non-US arts demographic.

Regarding the faculty distribution, Arts is the most popular choice, accounting for 23% of the total student body. This is closely followed by Computing at 22% and Science at 21%. Business students make up 14% of the total, while Engineering represents 9%. The smallest faculties are Law and Medicine, which comprise 6% and 5% of the student population, respectively.

In terms of the non-US arts students, the data reveals a significant disparity in regional representation. South American students represent the overwhelming majority, accounting for 79% of this specific group. European students follow, contributing 21% to the total. In contrast, students from Asia, Australia, and Africa represent much smaller minorities, at 6%, 4%, and 2% respectively. These figures highlight a strong regional concentration within the international arts cohort compared to the more balanced distribution across the university's various academic faculties.

Write your own report and get a band

Take a timed Academic writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Write a report, get a band free →

Pie charts

How to write about pie charts: tips and vocabulary

  • →Name the largest and smallest shares in the overview.
  • →Use proportion language: a quarter, just under half, the majority.
  • →With two pies, compare the same slice across both.
  • account for

    to make up a specific portion or percentage

  • dominate

    to have a commanding influence or largest share

  • disparity

    a great difference between two or more things

  • cohort

    a group of people with a shared characteristic

  • constitute

    to be the parts that form something whole

  • demographic

    a particular sector of a population being studied

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?+

Arts is the most popular faculty at the university, while South American students constitute the vast majority of the non-US arts student population.

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 pie charts?+

Name the largest and smallest shares in the overview. Use proportion language: a quarter, just under half, the majority. With two pies, compare the same slice across both.

Keep practising

More pie charts

© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy

Write a report, get a band free