Academic Writing Task 1 · table

Percentages of the town population who cycled by age and gender in 2011

The table below shows the percentages of the population by age group in one town who rode bicycles in 2011.

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

Percentages of the population by age group who rode bicycles in 2011
Age groupFemaleMale
0-951.450.3
10-1742.224.6
18-3917.19.7
40-5912.38.0
60+18.513.2

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 table illustrates the proportion of the population in a specific town who engaged in cycling in 2011, categorised by age group and gender. Overall, it is evident that cycling was most popular among children aged 0-9, while participation rates generally declined with age, with females consistently outperforming males in every bracket.

In the youngest group (0-9), cycling was highly prevalent, with 51.4% of females and 50.3% of males riding bicycles. For the 10-17 age group, there was a significant gender disparity; female participation remained relatively high at 42.2%, whereas the figure for males dropped sharply to 24.6%.

Regarding the older demographics, the percentage of cyclists continued to fall. Among those aged 18-39, 17.1% of females and 9.7% of males cycled, while the 40-59 age group recorded the lowest participation rates at 12.3% for females and 8.0% for males. Interestingly, there was a slight recovery in cycling activity for the 60+ age group, with 18.5% of females and 13.2% of males participating. Throughout the data, females consistently maintained higher cycling rates than their male counterparts, with the most pronounced gap observed in the 10-17 age category.

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

How to write about tables

proportion
a part or share of a total amount
prevalent
widespread or common in a particular area
disparity
a great difference between two or more things
counterparts
people or things that correspond to another
pronounced
very noticeable, obvious, or strongly marked
demographics
statistical data relating to a specific population group

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Overall, cycling participation was highest among the youngest age group for both genders, and females consistently recorded higher participation rates than males across all age 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 tables?

Tables hide the trend: find the highest, lowest and biggest change yourself. Select; do not list every cell. Organise paragraphs by row or by column, whichever gives the clearer comparison.

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