IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar Chart
Bar charts usually compare categories rather than show change over time, so your job is to group and compare: which is biggest, which is smallest, which categories are similar, and where the surprises are.
The trap is going bar by bar. A report that reads "group A was 28%, group B was 45%…" is a list, not a comparison. Organise your paragraphs around patterns.
The chart below shows the percentage of commuters in four age groups who used three types of transport to get to work in one city in 2024. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
- Car
- Public transport
- Bicycle
Data invented for practice.
How to structure it
- 1
Introduction
Paraphrase what the chart compares: people, categories, place, year.
- 2
Overview
The main pattern: the car dominated for older commuters, public transport for the youngest, cycling stayed small and stable.
- 3
Body 1
Car and public transport, which mirror each other across the age groups.
- 4
Body 2
Cycling, and how little it changes.
The bar chart compares the proportions of commuters in four age groups who travelled to work by car, public transport and bicycle in one city in 2024.
Overall, driving was the most common way to commute for everyone over 30, whereas the youngest group relied mainly on public transport. Cycling was the least popular option in every age group, and its share hardly varied.
Half of commuters aged 18 to 29 used public transport, compared with just over a quarter (28%) who drove. Among older age groups this pattern reversed: car use rose to 45% of those aged 30 to 44 and peaked at 52% in the 45 to 59 group, while public transport fell to 35% and 30% respectively. For the over-60s the two figures moved closer together again, at 40% for cars and 38% for public transport.
The figures for cycling, meanwhile, remained remarkably consistent, ranging only from 18% to 22%. It was used by around a fifth of both the youngest and the oldest commuters.
Why it scores Band 8: Organised by pattern rather than by bar, with the reversal between age groups described clearly and figures used selectively. 168 words.
Band is our estimate against the public IELTS Writing band descriptors.
Language that does the work
- the most / least common
- For ranking categories.
- compared with / as opposed to
- For direct comparisons.
- just over a quarter / around a fifth
- Fractions vary your language and show accuracy.
- this pattern reversed
- When the order of two categories changes.
- respectively
- To match two figures to two categories in order.
- remained consistent / hardly varied
- When a category barely changes.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Writing one sentence per bar. Group the data.
- Using "increase" and "decrease" for categories that aren't over time. Say "higher" or "lower".
- Forgetting the overview because there's no time trend. There is always a main pattern.
Practise it: 28 Cambridge tests with a Task 1 like this
Each one opens the full Cambridge Writing test on Langujet, timed, with an AI band for each criterion. 10 free corrections a day.
- Cambridge 20 Test 3
- Cambridge 19 Test 4
- Cambridge 18 Test 2
- Cambridge 17 Test 3
- Cambridge 16 Test 1
- Cambridge 15 Test 1
- Cambridge 14 Test 1
- Cambridge 13 Test 2
- Cambridge 13 Test 3
- Cambridge 12 Test 5
- Cambridge 12 Test 7
- Cambridge 11 Test 1
- Cambridge 11 Test 2
- Cambridge 10 Test 1
- Cambridge 10 Test 3
- Cambridge 9 Test 2
- Cambridge 9 Test 3
- Cambridge 7 Test 3
- Cambridge 6 Test 4
- Cambridge 5 Test 2
- Cambridge 4 Test 3
- Cambridge 4 Test 4
- Cambridge 3 Test 1
- Cambridge 3 Test 2
- Cambridge 3 Test 3
- Cambridge 2 Test 2
- Cambridge 2 Test 3
- Cambridge 2 Test 4