Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Percentages of students proficient in a foreign language across six 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.
  • 179 words
  • Bar charts
  • Academic
  • 20 minutes

The question

The bar charts below provide information about percentages of students who are proficient in a foreign language in different countries.

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

Percentages of students proficient in a foreign language by country and gender (%)
020406080100ChinaRomaniaThailandIndiaRussiaVietnam
  • Male
  • Female
View the data
ChinaRomaniaThailandIndiaRussiaVietnam
Male174231563537
Female306527674356

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 8179 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

The bar chart illustrates the proportions of male and female students who are proficient in a foreign language across six different countries: China, Romania, Thailand, India, Russia, and Vietnam. Overall, it is evident that female students typically demonstrate higher proficiency levels than their male counterparts, with the notable exception of Thailand. Furthermore, India and Romania stand out as having the highest overall proficiency rates among the surveyed nations.

In terms of the highest proficiency, India leads the group, with 67% of females and 56% of males being proficient. Romania follows closely, where 65% of females are proficient compared to 42% of males. In contrast, China reports the lowest proficiency rates for both genders, at 30% for females and 17% for males.

Regarding the remaining countries, Vietnam shows a significant gender gap, with 56% of females proficient versus 37% of males. Similarly, in Russia, 43% of females and 35% of males possess foreign language proficiency. Thailand presents a unique trend, being the only country where male students outperform females, with 31% of males being proficient compared to 27% of females.

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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.
  • counterparts

    people or things that have the same function

  • proportions

    the relationship of one part to the whole

  • outperform

    to perform better than someone or something else

  • notable

    worthy of attention or notice; quite remarkable

  • significant

    sufficiently great or important to be worthy

  • illustrates

    to provide a visual representation of data

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?+

Overall, females generally show higher levels of foreign language proficiency than males in most countries, with India and Romania recording the highest figures, while Thailand is the only nation where males outperform females.

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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