Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Proportion of people within a 15-minute drive of essential services

The chart shows the information relating to people within a 15-minute drive service in a particular region in the UK. It also compares the people living in urban areas and people living in rural areas.

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

People within 15-minute drive (%)

People living in urban areas
People living in rural areas

View the data

	Doctor	Post office	Primary school	Secondary school
People living in urban areas	100	100	100	100
People living in rural areas	100	80	70	100

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 percentage of people living in urban and rural areas who are within a 15-minute drive of four specific services: doctors, post offices, primary schools, and secondary schools in a UK region.

Overall, it is evident that urban residents enjoy consistent access to all four services, with 100% of the population living within a 15-minute drive. In contrast, rural accessibility is more varied, although it remains high for certain facilities.

Regarding urban areas, the data shows a uniform distribution, as every category reaches the maximum of 100%. For rural areas, the figures for doctors and secondary schools mirror the urban statistics, both standing at 100%. This indicates that these two services are equally accessible regardless of the residential setting.

However, there is a noticeable disparity for the remaining services. Access to post offices for rural residents is slightly lower at 80%. The most significant gap is observed in primary school accessibility, where only 70% of rural inhabitants live within a 15-minute drive. Consequently, while urban dwellers have total convenience for all services, rural populations face reduced proximity to educational and postal facilities.

186 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.

uniform: remaining the same in all cases and situations
disparity: a great difference between two or more things
mirror: to correspond to or be exactly like something
inhabitants: people who live in a particular place
proximity: nearness in space, time, or relationship
varied: incorporating a number of different types or elements

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

While urban residents have universal access to all listed services, rural access varies significantly, with only doctors and secondary schools being universally accessible.

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.