IELTS Writing Task 1 Samples for Every Common Chart Type

Overview

Internet access rose sharply over the period, with the fastest growth before 2010 and a slower rise after most households were already connected.

Sample Answer

The line graph compares the proportion of households with internet access in one country from 2000 to 2020. Overall, access increased dramatically throughout the period, although the pace of growth was much faster in the first decade than in the second. In 2000, only about 20% of households had internet access. This figure doubled to roughly 40% by 2005, before climbing again to around 65% in 2010. After that, growth continued but became more gradual. The share reached approximately 78% in 2015 and finished at just under 90% in 2020. In other words, the increase between 2000 and 2010 was about 45 percentage points, compared with just over 20 points during the final ten years. The chart also shows that the most dramatic change happened before access became the norm. The main pattern was therefore rapid early adoption followed by slower growth once internet access had become common in most homes.

Overview

The town changed from a small residential and fishing area into a more developed tourist destination, with new leisure facilities and fewer natural areas.

Sample Answer

The maps compare a coastal town in 1995 with its layout today. Overall, the town has become more tourist-oriented, while several natural and local features have been replaced by leisure facilities. In 1995, the western side contained a forest park and a small housing area, while the eastern coast was occupied by a fishing port and a fish market. At present, the forest park has been removed and replaced by a golf course, and the original housing area has expanded with several new homes. On the eastern side, the fishing port has disappeared and the fish market has been converted into a restaurant. A hotel has also been built near the coast, supported by a new car park for visitors. The beach remains in the same position, but the surrounding area now serves tourism and recreation rather than local fishing activity. This change makes the town look more commercial and less rural than before.

Overview

Online entertainment is most popular among younger adults, while reading becomes more common with age and sport declines slightly.

Sample Answer

The bar chart shows the leisure preferences of adults in three age groups. Overall, online entertainment is the leading activity for the youngest group, whereas older adults spend more of their free time reading. Sport is less dominant than the other two activities in every group. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, online entertainment accounts for about half of leisure time, compared with roughly 30% for sport and 20% for reading. In the 30-49 group, online activities remain highest at around 40%, but reading rises to about one third. For adults over 50, reading becomes the main activity at approximately 45%, while online entertainment falls to 30% and sport drops to 25%. Across all three groups, sport changes the least, remaining between about a quarter and a third of total leisure time. The contrast between the youngest and oldest groups is especially clear: the share for reading more than doubles, while online entertainment declines by about twenty percentage points.

Overview

The country became less dependent on coal and more dependent on renewable sources, while gas changed only slightly.

Sample Answer

The pie charts illustrate how electricity was generated in one country in 2010 and 2020. Overall, coal became much less important over the decade, while renewables gained a considerably larger share. Gas remained a major source in both years. In 2010, coal was the largest source, providing 45% of electricity. Gas accounted for 30%, followed by nuclear power at 15% and renewables at just 10%. By 2020, coal had fallen to 25%, a drop of 20 percentage points. In contrast, renewables tripled to 30%, matching gas, which rose only slightly to 32%. Nuclear power declined modestly to 13%. Gas therefore became the biggest individual source, but it did not grow nearly as much as renewables. The most significant shift was therefore from coal towards renewable energy. Although fossil fuels still produced more than half of all electricity in 2020, the energy mix was clearly more balanced than it had been ten years earlier.

Overview

Glass bottle recycling is a linear process that begins with collection and ends with new bottles being delivered for sale.

Sample Answer

The diagram explains how glass bottles are recycled. Overall, the process has several main stages, beginning with the collection of used bottles and ending with the distribution of newly produced bottles. First, used glass bottles are placed in recycling bins and transported to a cleaning plant. There, they are washed to remove labels and other impurities. The clean bottles are then sorted by colour before being crushed into small pieces. These pieces are heated in a furnace until they melt into liquid glass. Next, the liquid glass is mixed with new raw material and shaped in moulds to produce new bottles. Finally, the finished bottles are filled, packaged, and sent to shops for customers to buy. The most important mechanical stages are sorting, crushing, melting, and moulding, which turn waste glass back into usable containers. The process is cyclical in practice, because these bottles can be used, collected, and recycled again after they are returned to the recycling system.

Overview

Housing and transport took the largest shares in both years, while spending on entertainment rose and food fell slightly.

Sample Answer

The table compares average monthly household spending in five categories in 2015 and 2025. Overall, housing and transport were the two largest expenses in both years, while entertainment showed the clearest increase. In 2015, households spent the most on housing, at $1,100 per month, followed by transport at $620 and food at $520. Entertainment and clothing were lower, at $260 and $180 respectively. By 2025, housing had risen to $1,350 and transport to $700, so both remained the main costs. Entertainment increased sharply to $410, overtaking clothing, which rose only slightly to $210. Food spending, however, slipped to $500. The combined rise in housing and transport was larger than the increase in entertainment, so the overall budget still became more expensive mainly because of basic living costs. This means essential living costs continued to dominate household budgets, but discretionary spending became more noticeable by the end of the period overall.