The pie chart below shows the proportion of different categories of families living in poverty in the UK in 2002.
Sample Response
The pie chart shows data on the different family types under the poverty line in the year 2001 in the UK. As is presented in the graph, sole parents and single person without children were the highest in percentages who lived in the destitute condition in the UK in 2002. According to the pie chart, people in the UK who were poor mostly fell under sole parent category in 2002. This was the highest, more than one quarter, among the given categories of families who lived in paucity. The second largest segment who were needy were the single person without any child and their percentage was 24%. Couples with children had 15% poverty rate while it was less than 10% for single aged people, aged couple and couples with children. In this year, 14% of all household in the UK were living in poverty. Interestingly, aged people had less percentage of poverty and couples with children enjoyed better economic condition than the couples without children.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Name chart measure Original: data on the different family types Suggested revision: the proportions of different household types Why it matters: The chart reports proportions for household categories rather than unspecified data.
- 2. Use poverty phrase Original: under the poverty line Suggested revision: living below the poverty line Why it matters: This is the standard expression for households in poverty.
- 3. Correct year Original: 2001 Suggested revision: 2002 Why it matters: The chart reports data for 2002.
- 4. Remove repeated opener Original: According to the pie chart, Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: The source has already been identified twice, so this phrase adds repetition.
- 5. Use category phrase Original: fell under sole parent category Suggested revision: belonged to the sole-parent category Why it matters: Belonged to is the natural verb for membership in a category.
- 6. Name the measure Original: This was the highest Suggested revision: This was the highest proportion Why it matters: The demonstrative needs a clear numerical noun.
- 7. Use exact figure Original: more than one quarter Suggested revision: at 26% Why it matters: The chart gives the sole-parent proportion as 26%.
- 8. Use household types Original: given categories of families Suggested revision: listed household types Why it matters: This is the concise term used for the chart's categories.
- 9. Use correct poverty term Original: paucity Suggested revision: poverty Why it matters: Paucity means scarcity of something and cannot replace poverty here.
- 10. Fix agreement Original: segment who were needy were Suggested revision: group living in poverty was Why it matters: The singular subject group requires was and does not take the relative pronoun who.
- 11. Match category label Original: the single person without any child Suggested revision: single people without children Why it matters: The chart category is plural and refers to people without children generally.
- 12. Use clear figure reference Original: their percentage was 24% Suggested revision: the figure was 24% Why it matters: The figure refers to the household category rather than to the people as possessors.
Suggested Rewrites
- data on the different family types the proportions of different household types
- under the poverty line living below the poverty line
- 2001 2002
- According to the pie chart, Delete
- fell under sole parent category belonged to the sole-parent category
- This was the highest This was the highest proportion
Why this response received Band 5.5
The response correctly identifies sole parents and single adults without children as the two largest groups and accurately reports several headline proportions. Its main limitation is factual reliability: the chart is from 2002, the under-10% list should include couples without children, and the final comparison reverses the 15% and 9% rates. Prioritise matching every label to its slice before drawing comparisons, then simplify awkward poverty-related wording.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A relevant overview and several correct figures are provided, but the wrong year, a mislabeled category, and a reversed comparison materially reduce accuracy.
Use 2002 consistently and distinguish couples with children at 15% from couples without children at 9%.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information generally progresses from the largest groups to smaller shares, but repetition and the absence of paragraphing weaken clarity.
Present one concise overview, then group the two highest categories separately from the remaining household types.
Lexical Resource
The response uses varied poverty vocabulary, but several choices such as "lived in paucity" and "less percentage" are unnatural or imprecise.
Prefer standard expressions such as "living in poverty", "poverty rate", "household category", and "a lower proportion".
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are attempted, but agreement, plural, article, and relative-clause errors recur throughout the report.
Check singular and plural household labels and ensure percentages agree grammatically with the categories they describe.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The pie chart below shows the proportion of different categories of families living in poverty in the UK in 2002.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.