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 compare the proportion of monthly domestic cost allotted for 7 categories, namely: food and drinks, fuel bill, clothing, transport, miscellaneous, restaurant and hotel and lastly, recreational and cultural activities. The first chart illustrates the expenditures of the low-income group and the second pie chart shows how the high-income group spent their income. Both charts pertained to one of the countries in Europe. It is evident that the low-income group spent the largest proportion of their income on food and drinks while the high-income group allotted the majority of their salary for miscellaneous items. Meanwhile, the tiniest percentage of expenditure for lesser income group was for the restaurant and hotel while for the higher income group, this was for clothing. In detail, poor people prioritised food and drinks and this item demanded 29% of their wages unlike with rich persons, as it was only on their 4th priority with only 15%. Surprisingly, the low-income group spent more on fuel bill compared to the high-income group with 24% and 7% respectively. However, in the remaining categories, rich people had higher expenditures. For instance, rich individuals spent 21% of their wages on recreational and cultural activities while poor individuals allotted only 11% for this category. Interestingly, the high-income group spent an enormous proportion of the miscellaneous category (23%) while the low-income group allotted only 18%. Also, rich individuals spent more on transportation (16%) than poor people (9%). Similarly, both categories have less than 10% spent on clothing.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Keep present tense Original: pertained Suggested revision: relate Why it matters: Use the present tense when describing what the charts show.
- 2. Use concise location Original: one of the countries in Europe Suggested revision: one European country Why it matters: The shorter phrase conveys the same location more naturally.
- 3. Describe largest share Original: allotted the majority of their salary for Suggested revision: allocated the largest share of their income to Why it matters: Largest share is accurate, while majority would mean more than half.
- 4. Use neutral group label Original: poor people prioritised Suggested revision: low-income households allocated the largest share to Why it matters: The chart compares income groups, so a neutral category label is more precise.
- 5. Use proportion language Original: this item demanded Suggested revision: this category accounted for Why it matters: Accounted for is the appropriate verb for a percentage share.
- 6. Improve comparison wording Original: their wages unlike with rich persons Suggested revision: their income, compared with high-income households Why it matters: The replacement uses the chart's group labels and a grammatical comparison.
- 7. Fix ranking phrase Original: on their 4th priority Suggested revision: their fourth-largest expense Why it matters: The original preposition and noun phrase are ungrammatical.
- 8. Report proportions accurately Original: rich people had higher expenditures Suggested revision: high-income households allocated higher proportions Why it matters: The charts show percentage shares, not absolute expenditure amounts.
- 9. Use chart group label Original: rich individuals spent 21% Suggested revision: high-income households allocated 21% Why it matters: This neutral wording accurately identifies the group and its allocation.
- 10. Fix allocation structure Original: poor individuals allotted only 11% for this category Suggested revision: low-income households allocated only 11% to this category Why it matters: Allocate a percentage to a category is the correct construction.
- 11. State ranking objectively Original: an enormous proportion of the miscellaneous category Suggested revision: the largest share to miscellaneous items Why it matters: The original phrase is subjective and treats the category itself as a proportion.
- 12. Compare shares accurately Original: rich individuals spent more on transportation Suggested revision: high-income households allocated a larger share to transport Why it matters: The chart supports a comparison of percentages rather than absolute spending.
Suggested Rewrites
- pertained relate
- one of the countries in Europe one European country
- allotted the majority of their salary for allocated the largest share of their income to
- poor people prioritised low-income households allocated the largest share to
- this item demanded this category accounted for
- their wages unlike with rich persons their income, compared with high-income households
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response gives a clear overview of the largest and smallest spending shares and supports it with accurate, well-chosen comparisons across the two income groups. Its strongest feature is comprehensive, precise coverage of the charts; the main limitation is awkward phrasing and a dense single-paragraph presentation. The priority is to divide the report into clear overview and detail paragraphs and use more neutral, natural comparison language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report accurately identifies the major and minor shares and supports a clear overview with well-selected comparisons covering both groups.
Refine the selection further by adding the exact restaurant-and-hotel contrast while avoiding subjective interpretations such as priority.
Coherence and Cohesion
The comparison develops logically from overview to detailed contrasts, but the entire response is compressed into one long paragraph.
Create a separate overview and divide the details into lower-income priorities and categories where the higher-income group spends more.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, but expressions such as domestic cost, lesser income group, and demanded a percentage are unnatural.
Use neutral chart language such as household spending, lower-income group, accounted for, and allocated.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A useful range of complex comparison structures is evident, though errors in articles, prepositions, tense consistency, and clause construction occur noticeably.
Edit complex comparisons for cleaner structure and maintain the present tense consistently when describing chart data.
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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.