Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Percentage of children participating in various home activities across four countries: 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.
  • 180 words
  • Bar charts
  • Academic
  • 20 minutes

The question

The graph below shows the different home activities among young children in four different countries.

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

Home activities among young children in four countries (Percentage of Children)
020406080100MalaysiaChinaNigeriaSudan
  • Computer Games
  • Reading
  • Board Games
  • Watching TV
View the data
MalaysiaChinaNigeriaSudan
Computer Games50406050
Reading20151010
Board Games25252030
Watching TV30303030

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 8180 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of children engaged in four distinct home-based activities—computer games, reading, board games, and watching TV—across Malaysia, China, Nigeria, and Sudan.

Overall, computer games emerge as the most prevalent activity in every country, while reading is the least favoured pastime. Notably, the percentage of children watching television remains constant at 30% across all four nations.

Regarding computer games, Nigeria reports the highest engagement at 60%, followed by Malaysia and Sudan, both at 50%, while China records the lowest figure at 40%. In contrast, reading shows a downward trend across the countries; Malaysia has the highest participation at 20%, followed by China at 15%, with Nigeria and Sudan both recording the lowest at 10%.

For board games, Sudan exhibits the highest interest at 30%, followed by Malaysia and China at 25%, and Nigeria at 20%. As noted, watching TV shows no variation, maintaining a steady 30% across all regions. While computer games dominate the leisure time of children in these countries, the popularity of other activities varies, with reading consistently trailing behind other forms of entertainment.

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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.
  • prevalent

    widespread in a particular area at a time

  • proportion

    a part or share of a total amount

  • engagement

    the action of participating in an activity

  • constant

    occurring continuously over a period of time

  • exhibit

    to manifest or display a specific quality

  • trailing

    to be behind others in a competition

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?+

Computer games are the most popular activity in all four nations, whereas reading consistently records the lowest participation rates.

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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