Academic Writing Task 1 · pie chart

UAE government expenditure breakdown by sector in the year 2000: 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.
  • 177 words
  • Pie charts
  • Academic
  • 20 minutes

The question

The pie chart gives information on UAE government spending in 2000. The total budget was AED 315 billion.

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

UAE government spending in 2000
  • Law and order: 17
  • Education: 38
  • Industry, agriculture & employment: 13
  • Defence: 22
  • Other expenditure: 23
  • Debt interest: 23
  • Housing heritage and environment: 15
  • Social security: 100
  • Transport: 9
  • Health and personal social services: 53
View the data
CategoryValue
Law and order17
Education38
Industry, agriculture & employment13
Defence22
Other expenditure23
Debt interest23
Housing heritage and environment15
Social security100
Transport9
Health and personal social services53

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 8177 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

The pie chart illustrates the distribution of the UAE government budget in 2000, which totalled AED 315 billion. Overall, it is clear that social security and health services accounted for the majority of the expenditure, whereas transport and infrastructure-related sectors received significantly smaller allocations.

Social security was by far the most significant area of spending, accounting for AED 100 billion, which represents nearly one-third of the total budget. This was followed by health and personal social services at AED 53 billion and education at AED 38 billion. Together, these three sectors constituted more than half of the total government outlay for the year.

In contrast, the remaining categories received much smaller portions of the budget. Other expenditure and debt interest both stood at AED 23 billion each, followed by defence at AED 22 billion and law and order at AED 17 billion. The smallest allocations were directed towards housing, heritage and environment at AED 15 billion, industry, agriculture and employment at AED 13 billion, and finally transport, which received the lowest funding at just AED 9 billion.

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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.
  • accounted for

    made up a specific portion of the total

  • constituted

    formed or made up a part of something

  • allocation

    the action of distributing resources for a purpose

  • outlay

    an amount of money spent on something

  • in contrast

    used to show that something is different

  • totalled

    amounted to a particular number in total

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?+

Social security was the largest area of government spending, while transport received the least amount of funding.

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

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