Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Comparison of housework participation and time spent by gender

The first chart below shows the percentages of women and men in a country involved in some kinds of home tasks (cooking, cleaning, pet caring, and repairing the house. The second chart shows the amount of time each gender spent on each task per day.

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

Percentage of males and females who do housework (%)

Males
Females

View the data

	Cooking	Cleaning	Pet care	House repairs
Males	60	40	20	18
Females	82	62	20	8

Average time males and females do housework (minutes) (minutes)

Males
Females

View the data

	Cooking	Cooking	Cleaning	Pet care	House repairs
Males	60	60	45	20	18
Females	85	85	68	20	5

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 provided charts illustrate the percentage of men and women involved in four domestic tasks and the average daily time spent on these activities. Overall, it is evident that women participate more frequently in cooking and cleaning, whereas men are more engaged in house repairs. Cooking stands out as the most time-intensive chore for both genders.

Regarding participation, 82% of females cook, compared to 60% of males. Similarly, cleaning is performed by 62% of women versus 40% of men. Conversely, house repairs show the opposite trend, with 18% of males participating compared to only 8% of females. Pet care participation is identical, with 20% of both genders involved.

In terms of time, cooking requires the most effort, with women spending 85 minutes daily compared to 60 minutes for men. Cleaning also occupies more of women's time at 68 minutes, while men spend 45 minutes. Interestingly, while pet care participation is equal, the time spent is also identical at 20 minutes. Finally, men dedicate 18 minutes to house repairs, significantly higher than the 5 minutes spent by women, reflecting their higher participation rate in this specific category.

186 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.

Conversely: Used to introduce a contrasting or opposite point
Intensive: Requiring a great amount of effort or time
Dedicate: To set aside a specific amount of time
Identical: Exactly the same in every single detail
Engaged: Participating or involved in a particular activity
Illustrate: To provide information through a visual representation

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, females are more involved in domestic tasks like cooking and cleaning, while males spend more time on house repairs, with cooking being the most time-consuming activity for both genders.

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.