IELTS writing task 1

Summarize the information by describing the main features of the charts and making comparisons where appropriate.. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features,

1 The pie charts below show the percentage of housing owned and rented in the UK in 1991 and 2007 Summarize the information by describing the main features of the charts and making comparisons where appropriate

Write at least 150 words

The pie charts compare home ownership and renting for 1991 and 2007 in percentage terms In

1991, home owner were the most popular type of housing, accounting for 60%, or more than over half of all homes The next largest sector was social rented homes, amounting to 23% or nearly one-third of homes The remaining homes were mostly privately rented (11%) with a tiny fraction being social housing (6%)

Sixteen years later, in 2007, the number of home owners had risen to 70%, or almost three quarters

of all homes This was an increase of 10% compared with 1991 Much of the increase in home ownership can be explained by the decrease in social rented homes, which had dropped from 23%

to 17%

The percentage of privately rented homes had remained unchanged at 11% However, there were

5 million more homes in 2007 compared with 1991 so the number of rented homes had increased despite the same percentage Social housing has decreased three-fold from 6% in 1991 to 2% in

2007, and it remains the least popular type of housing

(180 words)

2 The graph gives information about drinking habits of the US population by age Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant

Write at least 150 words

The bar chart shows information about people’s drinking behavior by age group in the US Several trends are evident

The highest proportion of those who never drink (nearly two-thirds) was in the 16 to 24 years group The proportion tended to decrease with age Only 40 per cent of people age d 65 to 74 had never drink

On the other hand, the percentage of those who had quit drinking tended to increase with age Only 5 per cent of those in the youngest age group (16 to 24) were ex-drinkers, as opposed to roughly 40 per cent of those aged 65 to 75

The percentage of those classed as heavy drinkers also showed a distinct pattern People in middle age (35 to 54) tended to be the heaviest drinkers – approximately 13 per cent of the total A relatively small proportion of those in the youngest age group, and an even smaller percentage of those in the oldest group (roughly 3 per cent) drink heavily

Overall, age appears to be a significant factor in patterns of drinking behavior

(177 words)

3 The table shows the average length of YouTube video adverti sements and average length

of time viewers spend watching them Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features

Average YouTube Video ad length and time viewed

Write at least 150 words

The table shows the average length of YouTube video advertisements by sector and average length

of time viewers spent watching these advertisements

The average length of the advertisements varied from a low of 21.8 seconds for pharmaceuticals

to a high of 66.7 for public service advertisements With the exception of government- and

technology- related advertisements, in general, products and services which required a large financial commitment tended to have longer advertisements Entertainments, financial services and travel advertisements, for example, were all twenty eight seconds on average or longer Less expensive products, on the other hand, such as consumer electronics, clothing and medicines, tended to have shorter advertisements

Adverts for more expensive products or services also tended to be watched for longer than adverts for less expensive items Viewers on average watched more than 50 per cent of advertisements for entertainment, travel, business and finance In contrast, viewers tended to watch less of government advertisements and advertisements for cheaper goods such as consumer electronics, clothing and medicines

Overall, length of YouTube video advertisements and length of time spent viewing such advertisements appears to be associated with the perceived cost of the product or servi ce being advertised

(195 words)

4 The bar graph below shows the numbers of male and female research students studying six computer science subjects at a US university in 2011 Summarise the information by selecting and report in the main features, and make comparisons where relevant

Write at least 150 words

The bar chart shows the gender distribution of students doing computer scientific research across

a range of disciplines at a US university in 2011

In five of the six disciplines, males outnumbered females Male students made up a particularly large proportion of the student group in subjects related to the study of programming objects: mathematics, programming, and engineering The gender gap was particularly large in the field

of mathematics, where there were five times as many male students as female students

Men and women were more equally represented in subjects related to the study of computer science: natural sciences, psychology, and linguistics In natural science, there were nearly as many women [approximately 200] as men [approximately 240] This was also true of psychology Linguistics was the only discipline in which women outnumbered men [roughly 110 women vs

90 men] Overall, the chart shows that at this university, computer science subjects continue to be male-dominated; however, women have a significant presence in fields related to psychology and the computer sciences (169 words)

5 The pie charts show the average consumption of food in the world in 2008 compared to two countries; China and India Write a report to a university lecturer describing the data

Write at least 150 words

The graphs illustrate the consumption of 4 types of food used in the word in 2008 The figures are compared to the amounts of food used in china and India in the same year

As an overall trend, the two countries showed different food consumption from the world average, while processed food consumption still had the largest percentages in all the three charts

In particular, processed food consumption was the highest in the in the world, accounting for 41%, which was followed by vegetables and fruits at 29% and animal food at a quarter Only 4% consisted of nut and seeds consumption

Likewise, China used processed food in the largest proportion of 39% Animal fo od showed the same figure as the world’s average, 25% Vegetable and fruits was used at 23% while nuts and seeds showed less than a half figure

In India, both vegetable and processed food were used the most in the year 2008 with percentages

of 34% and 32% respectively, nuts and seeds used in this country showed the largest proportion

among the three charts given, making up 19% at this time (185 words)

6 The diagram shows the procedure for university entry for high school graduates Write a report for a university or college lecturer describing the information

Write at least 150 words

The flowchart illustrates the various steps that a high school student must follow to enter university

Once the high school has been obtained, students need to complete an application for university entrance This can be downloaded from the university website The completed application should then be sent to the administration

Applicants receive a reply two weeks later which is provisional acceptance, a rejection or an acceptance If a rejection is received, students can either cancel their application altogether or complete an application for an alternative course and send to the administration office

A provisional acceptance means that more documentation is required Applicants in this situation should complete the additional documentation and submit them to the office When an acceptance

is received, the applicant should complete the enrolment form and select which subjects he or she wishes to undertake and register with the dean When all this is complete, the applicant may enter university

The pie charts show changes in UK spending patterns between 1971 and 30 years later, 2001

As an overall trend, increased amounts of money spent on cars, computers and eating out were made up for by drops in expenditure on food and books

In detail, food and car made up the two biggest item of expenditure in both years Together they comprised over half of household spending in the UK Food accounted for 44% of spending in

1971, but this dropped by two thirds to 14% in 2001 However, the outlay on cars doubled, rising from 22% in 1971 to 43% in 2001

Other areas changed significantly Spending on eating out doubled, climbing from 7% to 14% The proportion of salary spent on computers increased dramatically, up from 2% in 1971 to 12%

in 2001 However, as computer expenditure rose, the percentage of outlay on books plunged from 6% to 1%

(151 words)

8 The pie chart below shows the proportion of different categories of families living in poverty in UK in 2002 Proportion of people from each household type living in poverty Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant

Write at least 150 words

Proportion of people from each household type living in poverty

The pie chart examines the different type of families who were living in poor conditions in UK

in the year 2002

As an overall trend, 14% of the entire households in UK at that time were in conditions of poverty

In general, single people struggled more than couples

In particular, as far as people with children are concerned, sole parents showed the highest percentage of 26% among all the given categories while couples with children accounted for a relatively smaller percentage of 15%

When it comes to people with no children, single people made up a large percentage of 24%, which is almost the same figure for single people with children On the other hand, only 9% of the couples without any children suffered from poverty in 2002 In terms of aged people, singles had a slightly higher percentage than couples Only 7% and 5% of the aged population had hardships in their living circumstances

(155 words)

9 The bar charts below give information about the railway system in six cities in Europe Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant

Write at least 150 words

The bar charts illustrate comparable information related to railway systems in six capital cities in Europe; Paris, Stockholm, Lisbon, Rome, Madrid and Berlin

In general, railway systems in different cities vary in terms of the start dates of each system, the sizes, and the numbers of passengers using the systems in a year

As far as the ages are concerned, Paris has the oldest railway system among the six cities It was opened in the year 1863, which is incomparable to the other cities On the other hand, Berlin has the newest railway system which was opened in Europe 2001

In terms of the sizes, Paris, for certain, has the longest route, 394km, which is nearly twice the figure for Stockholm Madrid, in contrast, has the shortest route in its railway system, only 28km When it comes to the numbers of people using the railway system in each, Lisbon shows the largest number of 1927 million passengers in a year while Madrid serves the smallest number of railway users, 45 millions

(170 words)

10 The bar graph indicates sales figures for reading materials from 2002 to 2012 Write a report to a university lecturer describing the information shown below

Write at least 150 words

The graph shows the changes in the sales of four different types of publications for a decade since

The sales of art books and entertainment books showed a similar pattern of a steady growth The figure for art books increased slowly from around 1500 copies in 2002 to just under 4000 in 2012 while that for entertainment books went through a moderate rise from approximately 1300 copies

in 2002 to 3000 in 2012

On the other hand, the last category, hobbies book, did not show an upward trend The sales of hobbies book showed the lowest sales figures, and the figure generally remained constant at between 500 and 700 copies

(199 words)

11 The graphs show figures relating to hours worked and stress levels amongst professionals

in eight groups Describe the information shown to a university or collage lecturer

Write at least 150 words

Two graphs give different information related to eight professional groups The bar chart indicates the number of weekly work hours done by the groups while the pie graph illustrates the percentages of people suffering from stress related illness in the different professions given

In general, business men work the longest among the eight groups while the smallest amount of time is normally worked by lecturers According to the pie chart, lecturers struggle the most with

work-related stress Although their average working hours is smaller than any other group i n the chart, lecturers suffer from the highest level of stress caused by their job

The bar graph shows that business men and movie producers work the most at about 70 hours and

62 hours per week respectively At the opposite end of the scale, lecturers wo rk only around 25 hours Working hours of other professionals varied with doctors, writers, programmers, lawyers and chefs working approximately 52, 46, 35 and 32 hours per week in the name ordered

The pie graph shows that the professional who has the highest incidence of stress related illnesses

is lecturers at 25% Movie producers and doctors also have high rates with 18% and 15% each The figures for business men, lawyers, chefs and writers can be grouped into percentages between

11 and 8% The lowest rate of stress illness is attributed to programmers at only 5%, which is only

a fifth the figure for lecturers

(239 words)

12 Describe the information in the table and make comparisons where appropriate

Write at least 150 words

The chart illustrates average distance travelled by various modes of transport in Netherland in

2001 and 2006 The figures are given in miles and to show how people’s preference changed over time

In general, people in Netherland travelled more in the year 2006 than in 2001 Cars showed unparalleled figures among the given categories Except walking, using bicycles and taking local buses, most of the categories showed overall increases in the distance travelled

In detail, a person driving his own car travelled 3,199 miles on average in 2001, and the average distance showed a moderate rise to 4,806 miles in 2006 Apart from cars, taking trains, using long distance buses and taxis also experienced an overall growth in their figures from 289 miles to 366, from 54 miles to 124, and from 13 miles to 42 respectively in the order named

On the other hand, walking and rising bicycles were not more favored by Dutch people Both categories showed a moderate decline in their figures Meanwhile, the number of people who used local buses must have dropped significantly as the average distance experienced a dramatic fall from 429 miles in 2001 to 274 miles in 2006

(195 words)

13 The graphs indicate the source of complaints about the bank of America and the amount

of time it takes to have the complaints resolved

Summarise the information by selecting and report in the main features, and make comparisons where relevant

Write at least 150 words

The two graphs depict different information related to complaints within the bank of America The pie graph shows the sources of complaints, while the bar graph illustrates the average time taken between investigation into complaints and final action taken

In general, by far the highest number of complaints against the bank of America originated from the public The bar graph shows the average time period between investigation and action is around 5 months

63% of all complaints against the bank of America are lodged by the public Of the remaining 37% of complaints, the figures can be grouped into percentages between 11 and 8%, which are made up of government agencies, out-of-state agencies, and insurance companies Then interestingly, media and bank employee made up and equal figure, 3% in the chart

The bar graph shows that 2001 had the highest waiting time for complaints of medical misconduct

at 6 months Although there is a significant drop from 6 months in 2001 to 5 months in 2002, all previous and proceeding years display an average waiting period of 5 months Despite this, over time the average waiting period is decreasing

(189 words)

14 Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant

Write at least 150 words

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