Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales

The chart below shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.

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

Households owning and renting accommodation in England and Wales 1918 to 2011 (%)

households in owned accommodation
households in rented accommodation

View the data

	1918	1939	1953	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2011
households in owned accommodation	23	32	32	41	50	60	68	69	64
households in rented accommodation	77	68	68	59	50	40	32	31	36

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 changing proportions of households living in owned versus rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011. Overall, there was a clear reversal in housing trends over the 93-year period, as home ownership grew substantially while the percentage of rented accommodation decreased.

In 1918, renting was the predominant form of housing, accounting for 77% of households, whereas only 23% owned their homes. This gap narrowed over the following decades. By 1953, the proportion of renters had fallen to 68%, while owners rose to 32%. A pivotal moment occurred in 1971, when the two categories reached parity at 50% each.

From 1971 onwards, home ownership became the majority tenure, peaking at 69% in 2001. Conversely, the percentage of households in rented accommodation continued to decline, reaching a low of 31% in 2001. However, the final decade of the period showed a slight reversal; by 2011, home ownership had dipped to 64%, while the proportion of households in rented accommodation rose to 36%, marking the first increase in renting since the beginning of the study.

179 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.

predominant: the most common or main type of something
parity: the state of being equal in status or value
reversal: a change to an opposite direction or position
tenure: the conditions under which land or buildings are held
peaking: reaching the highest point or level of value
corresponding: related to or connected with another specific thing

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?

The period saw a significant shift in housing tenure, with home ownership rising to become the dominant form of accommodation by the early 1970s, while renting experienced a corresponding decline.

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.