Academic Writing Task 1 · table

Time allocation of unemployed individuals in the UK by gender

The table below shows how the UK unemployed spent their time last year.

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

How the Unemployed Spent their Time (UK, last year)

Activity	Morning men	Morning women	Afternoon men	Afternoon women
Housework	19	49	7	21
Shopping	20	26	9	17
Job Hunting	22	16	12	13
Visiting friends or relatives	6	10	12	17
Gardening	14	2	13	3
TV	4	2	14	12
Reading	9	5	8	10
Decorating	7	3	7	2
Walking	5	3	8	2
Nothing / Sitting around	3	3	9	6
Staying in bed	8	8	1	0
Visiting town	5	7	3	4
Playing sport	4	1	4	0
Drinking	2	1	3	1

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 how unemployed individuals in the UK allocated their time during mornings and afternoons last year, categorised by gender. Overall, housework was the most significant activity for women, while men prioritised job hunting in the morning and various leisure activities in the afternoon.

In the morning, housework dominated women's time at 49%, significantly higher than the 19% recorded for men. Conversely, men spent more time job hunting at 22%, compared to 16% for women. Shopping was also more popular among women (26%) than men (20%). Interestingly, gardening was a male-dominated activity, with 14% of men participating in the morning, compared to only 2% of women.

During the afternoon, housework remained the primary activity for women at 21%, though this figure dropped sharply from the morning. Men's engagement in housework fell to 7%. Afternoon leisure activities saw a notable increase; TV viewing rose to 14% for men and 12% for women. Visiting friends or relatives became more frequent for both genders, reaching 12% for men and 17% for women. Meanwhile, job hunting activity declined for both groups, falling to 12% for men and 13% for women.

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

How to write about 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.

allocated: distributed or assigned time for a particular purpose
dominated: had a commanding influence or occupied most space
conversely: introducing a statement that reverses a previous one
prioritised: treated something as more important than other things
notable: worthy of attention or striking in appearance
declined: became smaller, fewer, or less in value

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

Women consistently spent more time on housework and shopping than men, whereas men were generally more active in job hunting and outdoor tasks like gardening.

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.