Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Proportions of UK children aged 11 to 16 by school transport

The chart below gives information about the journey to school by children aged 11 to 16 in the UK in a year.

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

Journeys to school (%)

0-1 miles
1-2 miles
2-5 miles
Over 5 miles

View the data

	Walk	Bicycle	Car	Bus
0-1 miles	90	50	10	2
1-2 miles	60	77	20	10
2-5 miles	26	49	31	50
Over 5 miles	0	0	31	68

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 UK children aged 11 to 16 who use different modes of transport to travel to school, categorised by the distance of their journey.

Overall, it is evident that walking is the primary choice for students living within two miles of their school, while bus travel is the most popular option for those travelling longer distances. Conversely, car usage remains relatively low across all distance categories compared to other modes.

For journeys under one mile, walking is overwhelmingly the most popular method, accounting for 90% of trips. This figure drops to 60% for distances between one and two miles, and further to 26% for two to five miles. In contrast, bicycle usage peaks at 77% for the one to two-mile range, while 50% of students living within one mile cycle to school.

Regarding longer journeys, the bus becomes the dominant mode of transport, utilised by 50% of students travelling two to five miles and 68% of those travelling over five miles. Car travel shows a steady increase with distance, rising from 10% for the shortest journeys to 31% for distances exceeding two miles, matching the proportion of students who walk or cycle for those longer trips.

202 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.

overwhelmingly: to a very great degree or extent
primary choice: the most important or main option selected
dominates: to have a commanding influence or presence
conversely: introducing a statement that reverses a previous one
peaks: reaches the highest point or level
exceeding: being greater in number or size than

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Walking is the most common method for short distances, whereas bus travel dominates journeys over five miles.

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.