Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Top ten countries with the highest spending on travel in 2014

The chart below shows the top ten countries with the highest spending on travel in 2014.

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

Top ten countries with the highest spending on travel in 2014 (Billion USD)

View the data

	China	United States	Germany	United Kingdom	Singapore	South Korea	Hong Kong	India	Malaysia	Taiwan
Spending	110	85	85	55	25	20	20	15	12	10

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 travel expenditure of the top ten countries globally in 2014, measured in billion USD. Overall, it is evident that China led the rankings by a substantial margin, while there was a clear divide between the top four nations and the rest of the list.

China recorded the highest travel spending at 110 billion USD. The United States and Germany followed, both sharing the second position with an identical expenditure of 85 billion USD. The United Kingdom occupied the fourth spot, with its citizens spending 55 billion USD on travel. These four countries clearly dominated the chart, with each figure significantly higher than the remaining nations.

In contrast, the spending levels for the bottom six countries were considerably lower. Singapore ranked fifth with 25 billion USD, followed by South Korea and Hong Kong, which both recorded 20 billion USD. India’s travel expenditure stood at 15 billion USD, while Malaysia and Taiwan rounded out the top ten with 12 billion USD and 10 billion USD, respectively. Overall, the data highlights a marked disparity in international travel spending between the leading economic powers and the other nations listed.

190 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.

expenditure: The total amount of money spent on something
substantial: Of considerable importance, size, or worth
identical: Exactly the same in every detail
dominated: To have a commanding influence over something
disparity: A great difference between two or more things
rounded out: To complete a group or list of items

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

China was the highest spender by a significant margin, while the top four nations accounted for the vast majority of total travel expenditure compared to the remaining six countries.

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.