Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Leisure time per week for men and women by employment status

The chart below shows the amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women of different employment statuses. Leisure time in a typical week in hours- by sex and employment status, 1998-99.

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

Leisure time in a typical week in hours by sex and employment status, 1998-99 (hours)

Male
Female

View the data

	Employed (Full Time)	Employed (Part Time)	Unemployed	Retired	Housewives
Male	44	0	85	84	0
Female	37	40	78	78	50

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 weekly leisure hours for men and women across five different employment categories during the 1998-99 period. Overall, it is evident that unemployment and retirement provided the highest amount of leisure time, whereas full-time employment resulted in the lowest figures. Notably, men generally experienced more leisure time than women, except in the part-time employment and housewife categories.

Regarding employment, men working full-time enjoyed 44 hours of leisure per week, which was higher than the 37 hours reported by their female counterparts. Interestingly, while no data was provided for men in part-time employment, women in this category had 40 hours of leisure time. The unemployed group reported the highest leisure figures overall, with men at 85 hours and women at 78 hours.

Similarly, retired individuals also had significant leisure time, with men recording 84 hours and women 78 hours. Finally, the category of housewives, which only included women, showed a leisure time of 50 hours per week. In summary, the data highlights a clear disparity in leisure time based on both gender and employment status, with non-working individuals benefiting from substantially more free time.

187 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.

disparity: a great difference between two or more things
counterparts: people or things that have the same function
illustrates: provides pictures or data to explain something clearly
notably: used to draw attention to a specific fact
recorded: set down in writing or another permanent form
substantially: to a great or significant extent or degree

Write your own report and get a band

Take a timed Academic writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS Academic writing

On your phone? Get the BandLadder app.

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, unemployed and retired individuals enjoyed the most leisure time, while those in full-time employment had the least, with men consistently reporting higher leisure hours than women in most categories.

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.