Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Daily study hours of students at five different universities: 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.
  • 187 words
  • Bar charts
  • Academic
  • 20 minutes

The question

The charts below give information about the number of hours that students study each day at five different universities.

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

Weekdays (hours per day)
048121620ABCDE
View the data
ABCDE
Study hours9.810.110.69.610
Weekends (hours per day)
0246810ABCDE
View the data
ABCDE
Study hours98.67.85.66.2

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 8187 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

The bar charts illustrate the daily study hours of students across five universities, labelled A to E, during weekdays and weekends. Overall, it is evident that students consistently dedicate more time to their studies on weekdays than on weekends. Furthermore, while weekday study patterns remain relatively stable across all institutions, there is significant variation in weekend study habits.

On weekdays, students at all five universities study for between 9.6 and 10.6 hours per day. University C reports the highest figure at 10.6 hours, followed closely by university B at 10.1 hours. Universities E, A, and D follow with 10.0, 9.8, and 9.6 hours respectively. The data indicates a high level of uniformity in academic commitment during the working week.

In contrast, weekend study hours show a downward trend across the institutions. University A leads with 9.0 hours, followed by university B at 8.6 hours and university C at 7.8 hours. Universities D and E show the lowest figures, at 5.6 and 6.2 hours respectively. Notably, university D experiences the most substantial drop in study time, falling from 9.6 hours on weekdays to just 5.6 hours on weekends.

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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.
  • illustrate

    to show or explain something using a visual

  • consistently

    happening in the same way over a period

  • variation

    a change or difference in condition or amount

  • uniformity

    the state of being the same throughout

  • substantial

    of considerable importance, size, or worth

  • downward trend

    a general direction in which something is decreasing

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?+

Students generally study for longer durations on weekdays compared to weekends, with university C recording the highest weekday study time and university A the highest on weekends.

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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