Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Percentages of male and female US citizens who never married

The graph below shows the percentages of male and female US citizens who never married.

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

Percentages of male and female US citizens who never married (%)
01020304050199020002005200820092010
  • Male
  • Female
View the data
199020002005200820092010
Male262728292929.5
Female1920.521222224.5

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 bar chart illustrates the percentages of US citizens who remained unmarried between 1990 and 2010, categorised by gender. Overall, it is clear that the trend for both males and females was upward, with men consistently showing a higher propensity to remain single compared to women throughout the two decades.

In 1990, 26% of males had never married, a figure that rose steadily to 28% by 2005. This upward trend continued, albeit more gradually, reaching 29% in 2008 and 2009, before peaking at 29.5% in 2010.

Similarly, the percentage of females who never married began at 19% in 1990. This figure experienced a consistent rise, reaching 20.5% in 2000 and 21% by 2005. Growth continued over the following years, with the rate reaching 22% in both 2008 and 2009. By the end of the period in 2010, the proportion of unmarried females saw a more pronounced increase to 24.5%. Despite this growth, the gender gap remained evident, as the percentage of never-married males remained consistently higher than that of their female counterparts across all surveyed years.

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

How to write about bar charts

propensity
a natural tendency to behave in a particular way
upward trend
a general direction in which something is developing
consistently
in every case or on every occasion
pronounced
very noticeable or marked; conspicuous
gender gap
a difference between the way men and women are treated
counterparts
people or things that have the same function

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, the proportion of both genders who never married increased throughout the period, with males consistently recording higher figures than females.

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.

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