Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Adolescent perceptions of age-related rights and responsibilities across five countries

The figure shows the results of a survey of 1000 adolescents in five different countries. The participants were asked at what age they believed certain rights and responsibilities should be granted to young people.

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

Age at which rights and responsibilities are granted (Age (years))

Marriage
Voting
Criminal responsibilities*

View the data

	USA	UK	Mexico	Japan	Egypt
Marriage	18	21	16	22	16
Voting	18	16	16	20	18
Criminal responsibilities*	12	15	15	18	14

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 findings of a survey involving 1000 adolescents regarding the appropriate age for specific rights and responsibilities in the USA, UK, Mexico, Japan, and Egypt. Overall, Japan consistently records the highest age thresholds across all three categories, while the USA reports the lowest age for criminal responsibility.

Regarding marriage, Japan sets the highest requirement at 22 years, followed by the UK at 21. In contrast, Mexico and Egypt share the lowest age for marriage at 16, while the USA sits at 18. For voting rights, Japan again requires the highest age at 20, whereas the UK and Mexico permit voting at 16. The USA and Egypt both set the voting age at 18.

In terms of criminal responsibility, Japan maintains the highest age at 18, followed by the UK and Mexico at 15. Egypt sets this threshold at 14, while the USA reports the lowest age at 12. Notably, in the USA, the age for marriage and voting is identical at 18, whereas in Japan, there is a clear hierarchy where marriage is permitted at 22, voting at 20, and criminal responsibility at 18.

188 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.

threshold: a point of entry or beginning of something
consistently: acting or done in the same way over time
hierarchy: a system where items are ranked by importance
in contrast: used to show a difference between two things
permitted: allowed to do something or to happen
notably: especially important, interesting, or typical

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, Japan consistently records the highest age thresholds across all three categories, while the USA reports the lowest age for criminal responsibility.

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.