Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

A comparison of physical and cyber bullying across different age groups

The chart below provides information about bullying and the types of bullying (physical and online) experienced by people of different ages.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Bullying- Physical vs Online (%)

cyber
phyiscal

View the data

	14	15	16	17	18	19+
cyber	33	9	20	27	10	16.5
phyiscal	33	9	53	40	30	33

Chart redrawn by BandLadder from the data in the original IELTS practice task. Many IELTS practice tasks come from the Cambridge IELTS series (Cambridge University Press & Assessment); all rights in the original tasks remain with their owners.

Band 8 sample answer

The bar chart illustrates the percentage of individuals experiencing physical and cyber bullying across six distinct age categories, ranging from 14 to 19+. Overall, physical bullying is more frequently reported than cyber bullying in the majority of age groups, with the exception of 14 and 15-year-olds, where both forms are equally prevalent.

At age 14, both physical and cyber bullying affect 33% of the population, representing the highest level of cyber bullying recorded. By age 15, these figures drop significantly to 9% for both categories. However, a sharp increase is observed at age 16, where physical bullying peaks at 53%, while cyber bullying rises to 20%.

For those aged 17, physical bullying remains dominant at 40%, compared to 27% for cyber bullying. Among 18-year-olds, the incidence of physical bullying declines to 30%, while cyber bullying falls to 10%. Finally, in the 19+ age group, physical bullying experiences a slight uptick to 33%, whereas cyber bullying increases to 16.5%. In summary, while physical bullying consistently remains a significant issue, cyber bullying shows more volatility, peaking early and fluctuating thereafter.

178 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

How to write about bar charts

Compare the biggest and smallest bars before anything else.
If the bars show years, describe change; if they show places, describe rank.
Round sensibly and say 'just over' or 'nearly' rather than guessing decimals.

prevalent: widespread or common in a particular area or group
incidence: the occurrence or rate of a particular event
fluctuate: to rise and fall irregularly in number or amount
volatility: the tendency to change rapidly and unpredictably
uptick: a small increase in the level of something
distinct: recognizably different in nature from something else

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Physical bullying is generally more prevalent than cyber bullying across most age groups, with the highest overall incidence of bullying occurring among 16-year-olds.

How long should an IELTS Task 1 answer be?

At least 150 words; 170 to 200 is the safe range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

How do I describe bar charts?

Compare the biggest and smallest bars before anything else. If the bars show years, describe change; if they show places, describe rank. Round sensibly and say 'just over' or 'nearly' rather than guessing decimals.