IELTS Writing Task 1 - Bar Chart and One Pie Chart (Charity Donations)
The bar chart gives amounts (dollars per person) and the pie chart gives shares of a total (percent). Use the right unit for each, compare instead of describing trends because both show one year, and give one main feature from each chart in your overview.
Key points
The example question and chart from the video
The bar chart shows the average amount given to charity per person by age group in one country in 2024, and the pie chart shows which causes the money went to. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
Band 9 model answer from the video (193 words)
The bar chart illustrates how much money people of different ages in one country donated to charity on average in 2024, while the pie chart breaks down the total donations by cause.
Overall, average donations generally increased with age, peaking among people aged 60 to 74. As for the causes, health and children's charities received the largest shares of the money.
The youngest group, aged 18 to 29, gave the least, at $95 per person. This figure almost doubled to $180 for those aged 30 to 44, and rose again to $260 for the 45 to 59 age group. The highest figure was for people aged 60 to 74, who gave $310 each, more than three times as much as the youngest group, before the amount fell to $240 among those aged 75 and over.
Turning to the pie chart, health charities received the largest share, at 30%, followed by children's charities with almost a quarter. Together, these two causes accounted for over half of the total. Animal charities attracted 16%, whereas the environment and disaster relief received similar proportions, at 12% and 11% respectively, and the remaining 7% went to other causes.
Chapters in this video (15)
- 0:00Introduction
- 0:56Example Question
- 1:53How a Bar Chart and Pie Chart Are Different
- 2:46How to Read the Charts
- 3:41Finding the Overview
- 4:46Grouping the Information
- 5:34Words for Amounts and Proportions
- 6:47Answer Structure
- 7:20Writing the Introduction
- 8:30Writing the Overview
- 9:36Body Paragraph 1 (The Bar Chart)
- 10:55Body Paragraph 2 (The Pie Chart)
- 12:10Three Common Mistakes
- 12:44Final Answer
- 13:11Outro
Words for comparisons and proportions
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| almost doubled | became nearly two times as much | This figure almost doubled to $180 for those aged 30 to 44. |
| more than three times as much | over 3 × the amount | People aged 60 to 74 gave more than three times as much as the youngest group. |
| peaking | reaching the highest point | Donations increased with age, peaking among people aged 60 to 74. |
| almost a quarter | a little under 25% | Children's charities received almost a quarter. |
| accounted for over half | made up more than 50% | Together, these two causes accounted for over half of the total. |
Practice task: Time spent exercising
The bar chart shows the average number of minutes per week that people in different age groups in one country spent exercising in 2023, and the pie chart shows how this exercise time was divided between different activities. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
Check the units: the bars are minutes per person each week, and the pie is percent of all exercise time.
Both charts show one year, so compare the age groups and activities. Don't use trend words like "rose over time".
Overview: one main feature from each chart, with no numbers.
Show model answer (try first!)
The bar chart shows the average number of minutes per week that people of different ages in one country spent exercising in 2023, while the pie chart shows how this exercise time was divided between different activities.
Overall, exercise time generally fell with age until the 50 to 64 age group, before rising again among people aged 65 and over. As for the activities, walking was by far the most popular, accounting for more than a third of the total.
The youngest group, aged 16 to 24, exercised the most, at 300 minutes a week. This figure dropped to 240 minutes for those aged 25 to 34 and fell further to 160 minutes for the 35 to 49 age group. People aged 50 to 64 exercised the least, at 150 minutes, which was half as much as the youngest group. However, the figure rose again to 210 minutes among those aged 65 and over.
Turning to the pie chart, walking made up the largest share of exercise time, at 35%, followed by going to the gym with just over a fifth. Together, these two activities accounted for over half of the total. Team sports represented 15%, whereas swimming and cycling each made up 10%, and the remaining 8% went on other activities.
212 words
This practice task and its model answer were written for the website. The video teaches the method with its own example (charity donations), shown above.
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