The charts below show the percentage of monthly household income spent on various items by two different groups in one European country.
Sample Response
The pie charts illustrate the proportions of monthly household income spent by two groupsthe proportion of household expenditure by two income groups in Europe. In general, it is clear that house rent and purchase costs are excluded from both chartshouse rent is not included in the two pie charts.
Turning to the figuresFirst of all, the low-income group spends the largest share of incomespends the most money on food and drink which accountsaccounted for 29% of the total income, while the high-income group spends only 15%. It is clearly shown that the high-income grouphigh-income earner spends the largest share of incomethe majority of the income on miscellaneous items (23%) whereas only 18% is allocatedonly 18% allocated them by the low-income groupfor the low-income earner. The low-income group spends a larger share of income on fuel billsThose who earn less money spend more money on fuel bills than the high-income group (24% and 7%, respectively7% respectively). A direct link can be seen between money spent on transport and fuel bills, that is transport makes up a smaller proportion in the low-income group than high-income group (9% for the former and 16% for the latter).
The charts also show thatAnother interesting feature is that the low-income earners spend a smaller share of income on recreational and cultural activitiesless money on recreational and cultural activities compared to the high-income group, with figures of 11% and 21%, respectivelywith figures 11% and 21% respectively). For both the income groups, less money is spent on restaurant and hotel and clothing, that is 4% and 5% for low-income group and 7% and 8% for the high-income group.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response’s strongest feature is its broad coverage of the categories and its generally clear direct comparisons between the two income groups. However, the opening does not provide a meaningful overview of the main spending patterns, and the restaurant/hotel and clothing figures for the high-income group are inaccurate; the priority is to summarise the dominant contrasts first and then verify every percentage against the charts.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response compares nearly all categories and reports most figures accurately, but it lacks a genuine overview and misstates two high-income percentages.
Add an overview identifying the contrasting priorities of the two groups, then check every cited figure against the charts.
Coherence and Cohesion
The report progresses logically through grouped comparisons, although some linking phrases are mechanical and a few sentences connect ideas awkwardly.
Group the categories around clearer comparison themes and use simpler linking where the relationship is already evident.
Lexical Resource
A sufficient range of task vocabulary conveys the comparisons clearly, despite several awkward collocations and imprecise expressions.
Use more precise constructions such as “accounted for” and “was allocated to” while avoiding vague claims such as a “direct link.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, but recurring article, agreement, clause, and punctuation errors reduce control.
Proofread complex comparative sentences for complete clause structure, accurate articles, and balanced punctuation.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The charts below show the percentage of monthly household income spent on various items by two different groups in one European country.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.