The given pie charts compare the expenses in 7 different categories in 1966 and 1996 by American Citizens.
Sample Response
The pie charts compare how Americans spent on different commodities in 1996 with their spending in 1966in 1996 with that of 1966. The expenses are given as percentages and it is obvious that cars accounted forcars consumed the highest percentagepercentages of American citizens’ expenditure in 1996 while it was food that accounted for the largest share of expenditurerequired the highest ratio of money in 1966. According to the illustration, 44%four-tenths of Americans’ expenses went on food in 1966 and they spentspend almost one-fourth on cars. The smallest share of American expenditureThe lowest spending Americans made was for computers, whichcomputers which was merely 1%. Their expensesExpenses by them in 1966 on furniture and petrol werewas roughly one-tenth each and their budget for books and restaurant meals were 6 and 7 percentages respectively. After three decades, Americans’ expenditure pattern across these categoriesthe expenditure pattern by Americans on those goods changed noticeably. They spent 45% on cars, which constituted their highest ratio of spending on a consumer product and spending on food preparation dropped by 30%. It is interesting to note that spending on books fellthe spending on books reduced to barely 1% while this figure went up to 10% for computers. They spend exactly double for outside meals than they did in 1966 and their share of spending on petroltheir cost for petrol dropped by 1% despite a hike in spending on automobiles. Finally, Americans’ shareAmericans share of spending for purchasing furniture reduced by 2% in 1996 than that of 1966.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response gives a clear overview of the shift from food to cars as the largest expense and accurately covers all seven categories with useful comparisons. Its main limitation is the recurring use of awkward or imprecise expressions alongside several agreement and tense errors, although meaning remains clear throughout. The highest priority is to use more natural data-reporting language while checking verb forms and comparative structures.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response presents a clear overview and accurately reports the major changes and figures across all seven categories.
Distinguish percentage-point changes explicitly, for example by saying food fell by 30 percentage points rather than by 30%.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically divided by year and progresses clearly, with comparisons integrated effectively into the second paragraph.
Use more precise referencing and slightly smoother links between related category changes to make the progression fully effortless.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a reasonably varied range for describing proportions and change, but several collocations are unnatural or imprecise.
Replace phrases such as "ratio of money," "7 percentages," and "outside meals" with natural statistical language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the data clearly, though agreement, tense, possessive, and comparative errors recur.
Proofread past-tense verbs and agreement, then correct forms such as "expenses were," "Americans' share," and "twice as much as."
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The given pie charts compare the expenses in 7 different categories in 1966 and 1996 by American Citizens.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.