Academic Writing Task 1 · bar chart

Total minutes of UK telephone calls by category from 1995 to 2002

The chart below shows the total number of minutes (in billions) of telephone calls in the UK, divided into three categories, from 1995-2002.

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

UK telephone calls, by category, 1995-2002 (billions of minutes)

Local - fixed line
National and international - fixed line
Mobiles (all calls)

View the data

	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Local - fixed line	72	79	85	89	90	85	79	72
National and international - fixed line	37	41	45	48	50	56	60	61
Mobiles (all calls)	3	5	7	9	13	24	39	45

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 total duration of telephone calls in the UK, categorised by type, between 1995 and 2002. Overall, local fixed-line calls remained the most popular category for the majority of the period, despite a downward trend in the final years. Conversely, mobile calls and national/international fixed-line calls showed a steady upward trajectory.

Local fixed-line calls began at 72 billion minutes in 1995 and rose steadily to reach a peak of 90 billion minutes in 1999. Following this, the figures declined, returning to 72 billion minutes by 2002. In contrast, national and international fixed-line calls grew consistently from 37 billion minutes in 1995 to 61 billion minutes by the end of the period.

Mobile calls started at a negligible 3 billion minutes in 1995. Although growth was initially slow, the usage accelerated significantly after 1999, jumping from 13 billion to 24 billion in 2000. By 2002, mobile usage reached 45 billion minutes, narrowing the gap with fixed-line services. While local calls dominated the early years, the combined growth of mobile and national/international calls highlights a significant shift in UK telecommunication habits over the seven-year period.

187 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.

trajectory: the path or direction something is following
negligible: so small or unimportant that it is ignored
accelerated: to increase in speed or rate of change
downward trend: a general tendency for values to decrease
narrowing the gap: reducing the difference between two or more values
dominated: to have the most influence or largest share

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

While local fixed-line calls peaked in 1999 before declining, both national/international fixed-line and mobile calls experienced consistent growth throughout the period.

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.