Academic Writing Task 1 · mixed chart

Oil consumption and employment trends in a small country 1950-2010

Chart A below shows the rate of oil consumption (in millions of barrels) in a small country from 1950 to 2010. Chart B shows the number of people employed in the oil industry in that country, and also the rate of unemployment throughout the country over the same time.

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

Annual consumption in million barrels (million barrels)

View the data

	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010
Consumption	20	23	19	30	35	40	50

Oil employment and national unemployment

Year	000 people employed in oil industry	% unemployment rate nationally
1950	1	4
1960	1.2	4.1
1970	1	3.9
1980	1.8	3.1
1990	2.2	2.8
2000	2.7	2.2
2010	3.1	1.6

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 annual oil consumption, the number of people employed in the oil sector, and the national unemployment rate in a small country between 1950 and 2010.

Overall, oil consumption and industry employment grew significantly over the sixty-year period, whereas the national unemployment rate showed a steady decline. Notably, the growth in oil-related jobs appears to correlate with the broader reduction in national unemployment.

In 1950, oil consumption stood at 20 million barrels, rising slightly to 23 million by 1960 before dipping to 19 million in 1970. From 1970 onwards, consumption grew consistently, reaching 30 million in 1980 and climbing to 50 million by 2010. Similarly, employment in the oil industry began at 1,000 people in 1950, remained stable until 1970, and then increased steadily to reach 3,100 by 2010.

Conversely, the national unemployment rate started at 4% in 1950, peaking at 4.1% in 1960. From 1970, when unemployment was 3.9%, the rate fell consistently throughout the following decades. By 2010, the national unemployment rate had dropped to 1.6%, representing a significant improvement compared to the figures recorded at the start of the period.

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

How to write about mixed charts

Write one overview sentence that links the two visuals.
Give each visual its own detail paragraph.
Point out where one chart explains the other.

trajectory: a path or direction followed by a trend
correlate: a mutual relationship or connection between two things
dipping: a brief or temporary decline in a value
consistently: acting or occurring in the same way repeatedly
conversely: introducing a statement that reverses a previous one
significantly: in a sufficiently great or important way

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

While oil consumption and industry employment both experienced a general upward trend over the period, the national unemployment rate followed a consistent downward trajectory.

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 mixed charts?

Write one overview sentence that links the two visuals. Give each visual its own detail paragraph. Point out where one chart explains the other.