IELTS Writing Task 1 bar chart: how to describe it, with Band 7 and Band 9 samples

A bar chart uses bars of different heights to compare amounts. In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, you describe the chart in your own words. You do not explain why the numbers changed, and you do not give your opinion.

Our practice question ends with this instruction: “Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.” Summarise means write a short report, not a list. Main features are the biggest, smallest and most changed bars. Comparisons means saying how the bars differ.

Some bar charts show one moment in time. Others, like the practice chart below, show two or more years, so you also describe change. The museums, the city and the numbers are invented for practice. They are not real statistics.

IELTS says you should spend no more than 20 minutes on Task 1, and Task 2 counts twice as much. So keep to a simple plan like this one.

Minutes 1 to 3: read and group. Find the main features of the bar chart and decide which items go in each detail paragraph.

Minutes 4 to 6: introduction and overview. Write one sentence that paraphrases the question and two sentences of overview.

Minutes 7 to 16: two detail paragraphs. Add the figures for the main features and compare them.

Minutes 17 to 20: check. Check every number against the bar chart. Then look for small errors, such as “less” for “fewer”, a missing “the” or the wrong tense.

You cannot describe every bar in about 150 words, and you do not need to. Look at the chart for one minute before you write, and ask three questions.

Which bars are highest and lowest? Here, Science was highest in both years and Toy was lowest. What changed most? Science gained the most visitors, while Art and Toy grew fastest.

What goes against the pattern? History fell, and Transport stayed almost the same.

Then group the bars. Grouping means putting bars that behave in a similar way in the same paragraph. For this chart, one paragraph can compare the two big museums and the next can cover the three smaller ones. For a step-by-step method, read how to describe a graph or chart.

To compare two bars: “Science attracted more visitors than History”, “Art was almost as popular as History”, “Toy had the fewest visitors”. Use “fewer” for things you can count, like visitors, and “less” for things you cannot count, like time.

To describe size and change: “rose from 120 to 250”, “more than doubled”, “fell to 220”, “stayed almost unchanged”. A change from 70 to 150 is “more than doubled”, which is more precise than “increased a lot”.

To link ideas: “whereas”, “while”, “by contrast”, “similarly” and “respectively”. “Respectively” matches numbers to things in the same order: “Science and History had 310 and 290 visitors respectively.” Our list of IELTS linking words has more.

Tense: the years in this chart are in the past, so use the past simple: “rose”, “fell”, “was”. Use “by 2025, … had doubled” to describe a change that was complete by a date. If a chart shows future years, use “is expected to” or “is predicted to”.

Here is a Band 7 answer to the museum task. It is a good answer, but read the notes to see what holds it back.

Here is a Band 9 answer to the same task. Notice how the overview names the exception, and how each paragraph groups the museums.

Both answers use the same structure and correct numbers. The difference is in quality. The Band 9 overview names the main pattern and the exception. The Band 7 overview is clear but misses the fastest growth.

The Band 9 answer also groups the museums, so each paragraph has one idea. It uses precise words, such as “more than doubled” instead of “increased a lot”, and a range of grammar with no errors. The table below shows how the public band descriptors describe these two levels. How IELTS Writing is scored explains all four criteria.

In plain words: Task Achievement is how well you report the main points. Coherence and Cohesion is how easy your answer is to follow, including linking words. Lexical Resource is your vocabulary, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy is your grammar.

IELTS asks for at least 150 words in Task 1. To check your length, paste your answer into our IELTS word counter and choose Task 1. Aim a little above 150 words, and keep time for Task 2, which counts for more.

No overview. An answer that only lists numbers misses the most important part. Write your overview first, before the details.

Every bar, one by one. “Science had 310, History had 290, Art had 120…” is a list, not a report. Group the bars and compare them.

Reasons and opinions. Do not write “because people like science” or “this is a good change”. Report only what the chart shows.

Wrong units. Check what the numbers measure. Here they are visitors per day, not visitors per year or per cent.