Academic Writing Task 1 · table

A table comparing native and additional speakers across six major languages

The table below gives information about languages with the most native speakers.

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

Languages with the most native speakers

Language	Number of native speakers	Number of speakers as an additional language	Total number of speakers
Mandarin Chinese	900 million	190 million	1,090 million
Hindi	370 million	120 million	490 million
Spanish	350 million	70 million	420 million
English	339 million	603 million	942 million
Arabic	206 million	24 million	230 million
Portuguese	203 million	10 million	213 million

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 table illustrates the distribution of native and additional speakers for six prominent global languages. Overall, it is evident that while Mandarin Chinese dominates in terms of native speakers, English is the most widely spoken language when including those who use it as an additional language.

Mandarin Chinese leads the list with 900 million native speakers, followed by Hindi and Spanish, which have 370 million and 350 million native speakers respectively. English ranks fourth in this category with 339 million native speakers, while Arabic and Portuguese have the lowest native counts at 206 million and 203 million respectively.

In contrast, the figures for additional speakers reveal a different pattern. English is significantly ahead of all other languages, with 603 million people speaking it as an additional language. This is more than triple the figure for Mandarin Chinese, which has 190 million additional speakers. Hindi follows with 120 million, while Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese have significantly fewer additional speakers, ranging from 70 million down to 10 million. Consequently, English reaches a total of 942 million speakers, second only to Mandarin Chinese, which boasts a total of 1,090 million speakers.

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

How to write about tables

Tables hide the trend: find the highest, lowest and biggest change yourself.
Select; do not list every cell.
Organise paragraphs by row or by column, whichever gives the clearer comparison.

dominates: to have a commanding influence or be largest
prominent: important, famous, or noticeable in a specific field
distribution: the way in which something is shared out
significantly: in a sufficiently great or important way
boasts: possesses something that is a source of pride
consequently: as a result or effect of something else

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Mandarin Chinese possesses the highest number of native speakers, whereas English stands out as having the largest population of non-native speakers.

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 tables?

Tables hide the trend: find the highest, lowest and biggest change yourself. Select; do not list every cell. Organise paragraphs by row or by column, whichever gives the clearer comparison.