The chart below shows the average monthly expenditure by British households in three years.
Sample Response
The bar chart illustrates how much money households in Britain spent per monthin an average month on utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment and groceries in 1990, 2000 and 2010. Units are measured in pounds sterling.
Overall, the largest expenditure by far was on rent, whereas the smallest amounts were spentthe least amount of money spent was on utility bills and entertainment. Although there was a significant rise in spending on rent, transport and utility bills, there was little change in the amount spent on entertainment and groceriesthe two other items.
Expenditure on rent increased from around £450 per month in 1990 to £600 by 2010. Likewise, money spent on transport and utility bills climbed by approximately £80 and £70climbed by almost £100 to about £250 and £150 respectively.
On the other hand, the typical amount of money spent on groceries in the UK barely changed, remaining at just over £300 over the three-year periodthree year period. The money spent on entertainment decreased marginally by approximately £20 to £100showed marginal change dropping only by approximately £10 to £100 in the final year.
Why this response received Band 8.5
The response is clear, concise, and very well organized, with an effective overview and accurately selected comparisons supported by relevant figures. The only limitations are minor: the reference to a three-year period is imprecise because the chart spans twenty years, and a few phrases could be polished. Maintain this strong selective approach while checking time-span wording and punctuation for complete precision.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report presents a clear overview and accurately selects the principal trends and figures across all five expenditure categories.
Refine the time-span reference by describing the three data years as points within a twenty-year period.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is sequenced logically from overview to rising categories and then stable or falling categories, with cohesive devices used naturally.
Keep this structure while making the final contrast between groceries and entertainment even more explicit.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, precise, and well suited to quantitative comparison, with only slight repetition and occasional less exact phrasing.
Polish minor phrasing by varying repeated references to money spent without sacrificing precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is controlled accurately, and the few punctuation or phrasing lapses do not impede communication.
Add punctuation around the participial phrase in the final sentence and proofread for similarly minor refinements.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The chart below shows the average monthly expenditure by British households in three years.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.