Academic Writing Task 1 · mixed chart

UK students' self-reported levels of financial organisation by age group

The diagrams below show UK students' responses to the question of to what extent would they describe themselves as financially organized.

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

UK students' self-reported financial organisation

Not at all organised: 4
Not very organised: 20
Fairly organised: 55
Very organised: 21

View the data

Category	Value
Not at all organised	4
Not very organised	20
Fairly organised	55
Very organised	21

Very organised students by age group

Age group	Very organized %
All students	21
Age up to 22 years	25
Age 23-25 years	26
Age over 26 years	49

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 provided charts illustrate how UK students perceive their own financial organisation, with a breakdown of the 'very organised' category by different age groups. Overall, it is evident that while most students feel reasonably organised, older students are significantly more likely to describe themselves as very organised compared to their younger counterparts.

According to the pie chart, over half of all students (55%) describe themselves as 'fairly organised'. A further 21% claim to be 'very organised', while the remaining 24% admit to being either 'not very organised' (20%) or 'not at all organised' (4%).

The table provides a more detailed look at the 'very organised' segment. While the average for all students is 21%, this figure varies considerably by age. Students aged up to 22 years and those aged 23-25 years report similar levels of high organisation, at 25% and 26% respectively. However, there is a dramatic increase among students aged over 26 years, with 49% of this group identifying as very organised. This suggests that financial discipline tends to improve substantially as students mature.

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

How to write about mixed charts

Write one overview sentence that links the two visuals.
Give each visual its own detail paragraph.
Point out where one chart explains the other.

perceive: the way in which something is regarded or understood
counterparts: people or things that correspond to another in function
segment: a part or section of a larger whole
dramatic increase: a sudden and very large rise in numbers
mature: to reach a more advanced stage of development
correlation: a mutual relationship between two or more things

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

The majority of students consider themselves at least fairly organised, and there is a clear positive correlation between age and the likelihood of being very financially organised.

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 mixed charts?

Write one overview sentence that links the two visuals. Give each visual its own detail paragraph. Point out where one chart explains the other.