# IELTS Writing Task 1 mixed charts A mixed-chart task gives you two different visuals, such as a bar chart and a pie chart, that show related information about the same subject. The examiner looks for one clear overview that covers both charts, key features selected from each, comparisons and links between the charts where relevant, and accurate data throughout. ## Structure 1. **Introduction**: Paraphrase what each chart shows in one or two sentences, linked with "while" or "and". Openers: The bar chart illustrates ..., while the pie chart shows ... / The two charts give information about ... / The bar chart compares ..., and the pie chart breaks down ... 2. **Overview**: Give the single most important point from each chart in the same paragraph. Openers: Overall, ... ; in addition, ... / The main points are that ... / In general, ..., and in 2025 ... 3. **Body 1**: Describe the first chart with its key figures and comparisons. Openers: Looking first at the bar chart, ... / In 2005, ... / According to the bar chart, ... 4. **Body 2**: Describe the second chart and, where the data allows, link it back to the first. Openers: Turning to the pie chart, ... / As for ..., ... / In that year, ... ## Key language ### Linking the two charts - **while the pie chart shows**: The bar chart shows visitor numbers, while the pie chart shows how visitors travelled. - **turning to / as regards**: Turning to the pie chart, the car was the most common choice. - **in that year / in the same year**: In that year, 34% of visitors came by car. ### Moving between numbers and shares - **the number of ... (for counts)**: The number of tourists rose to 175,000. - **the proportion / share of ... (for percentages)**: The share of visitors who cycled was 8%. - **together / in total**: The bus and the train together carried 44% of visitors. ### Comparing groups - **outnumber**: Residents outnumbered tourists in 2005. - **twice as many ... as**: There were twice as many residents as tourists in 2005. - **for the first time**: In 2025, tourists formed the larger group for the first time. ## The task The bar chart below shows the number of local residents and tourists who visited a science museum between 2005 and 2025. The pie chart shows how visitors travelled to the museum in 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. Visitors to a science museum, 2005-2025 (thousands) (thousands) | | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Local residents | 120 | 135 | 140 | 150 | 165 | | Tourists | 60 | 85 | 110 | 130 | 175 | How visitors travelled to the museum, 2025 (%) 2025: Car 34%, Bus 26%, Train 18%, On foot 14%, Bicycle 8% Chart by Testmigo. The data is invented for practice. ## Band 6 to 9 sample answers ### Band 6 The bar chart shows how many local people and tourists went to a science museum from 2005 to 2025, and the pie chart shows how the visitors travelled to the museum in 2025. Overall, the number of visitors increased and the car was the most popular way of travelling there. In 2005 there were 120,000 local residents and 60,000 tourists. The number of local residents increased slowly to 135,000 in 2010, 140,000 in 2015 and 150,000 in 2020. In 2025 it was 165,000. The number of tourists increased faster. It was 85,000 in 2010 and 110,000 in 2015. In 2020 it was 130,000 and in 2025 it was 175,000, so it was more than local residents. In the pie chart, car was the most popular way to travel to the museum with 34%. Bus was 26% and train was 18%. 14% of visitors went on foot and bicycle was the lowest with 8%. In conclusion, both groups of visitors increased, tourists increased more, and car was the most common transport. _This Band 6 report covers both charts with accurate figures and has a basic overview, but it lists every bar value in turn instead of selecting key features, and the two charts are described separately with no link between them. Vocabulary is limited and repetitive ("increased", "it was"), articles are missing ("car was", "Bus was"), and a sentence starts with a figure. For Band 7, select the main changes, compare the two visitor groups directly and give the overview a clear point about each chart._ ### Band 7 The bar chart illustrates the number of local residents and tourists who visited a science museum between 2005 and 2025, while the pie chart shows the means of transport visitors used to get there in 2025. Overall, visitor numbers rose in both groups, but the growth in tourists was much faster, so that they outnumbered residents by the end of the period. In 2025, the car was the most common way of reaching the museum, followed by the bus. In 2005, the museum attracted 120,000 local residents, twice as many as tourists (60,000). Resident numbers increased gradually over the next twenty years, reaching 165,000 in 2025. Tourist numbers, however, grew rapidly and rose almost threefold to 175,000, overtaking residents by 2025. Turning to the pie chart, about a third of visitors (34%) travelled by car in 2025, and around a quarter (26%) took the bus. The train was used by 18% of visitors, while smaller proportions walked (14%) or cycled (8%). This means that public transport were used by 44% of visitors in total. _This Band 7 report has a clear overview with a key point from each chart, and it selects the main features rather than every value, with comparisons such as "twice as many as tourists" and "almost threefold". There is a subject-verb agreement slip ("public transport were used"), and the two charts are reported separately, with no link between them beyond the year; the closing 44% is a useful combined figure, but it stays within the pie chart. For Band 8, the writer would compare more precisely throughout, for example by measuring the growth in resident numbers as well as tourist numbers._ ### Band 8 The bar chart compares the number of local residents and tourists who visited a science museum from 2005 to 2025, and the pie chart breaks down how visitors travelled to the museum in 2025. Overall, the museum became considerably more popular with both groups, although the rise in tourist numbers was far more dramatic, and by 2025 tourists formed the larger group. In that year, the car was the single most common way of getting there, but public transport accounted for a greater share overall. Local residents were the main visitors for most of the period. Their numbers grew steadily from 120,000 in 2005 to 165,000 in 2025, an increase of less than half. Tourist numbers, by contrast, almost tripled over the same period, climbing from 60,000 to 130,000 in 2020 and then jumping to 175,000, which put them ahead of residents for the first time. As regards transport, just over a third of visitors (34%) came by car in 2025, while the bus and the train together carried 44%, at 26% and 18% respectively. The remaining visitors either walked (14%) or cycled (8%). _This Band 8 report covers both charts in a well-developed overview and selects key features skilfully, such as the jump in tourists after 2020 and the combined share of public transport. Comparisons appear throughout ("an increase of less than half", "almost tripled"), and the language is precise and flexible ("breaks down", "respectively") with no errors. What separates it from Band 9 is the link between the charts and the completeness of the trend: the pie paragraph starts afresh ("As regards transport"), whereas the Band 9 answer ties the pie chart to the bar chart's peak year, and it does not mention that tourist numbers rose in every five-year period._ ### Band 9 The bar chart shows how many local residents and tourists visited a science museum between 2005 and 2025, and the pie chart shows how visitors travelled to the museum in the final year of that period. Overall, attendance grew substantially in both groups, but tourist numbers rose much more sharply and overtook those of residents by 2025. In that year, the car was the most popular single means of travel, although more visitors arrived by public transport than by car. In 2005, local residents outnumbered tourists by two to one, at 120,000 and 60,000 respectively. Resident numbers then rose steadily but modestly, to 165,000. Tourist visits, meanwhile, increased in every five-year period, reaching 130,000 in 2020 before a particularly sharp rise to 175,000 in 2025, almost three times their 2005 level. In that final year, when both groups were at their highest level, just over a third of visitors (34%) came by car. Public transport played an even larger role overall, with the bus carrying around a quarter of visitors (26%) and the train a further 18%. Of the remaining visitors, 14% walked and only 8% cycled, the smallest proportion. _This Band 9 report fully satisfies the task: the overview combines the main point of both charts, and the key features of each are selected, compared and reported with exact figures, including the rise in tourists in every five-year period and the contrast between the car as the single largest mode and public transport as a whole. The pie chart is tied directly to the bar chart ("In that final year, when both groups were at their highest level"), vocabulary is precise and natural, and the wide range of structures is error-free, which is why it reaches the top band._ ## Common mistakes - **An overview that covers only one of the two charts.** Give the main point from each chart in a single "Overall, ..." paragraph, such as tourists overtaking residents and the car leading in 2025. - **Getting the length wrong: writing out every value from both charts, or stopping under 150 words.** Aim for about 170-190 words with the key features of each chart. An answer under 150 words loses marks. - **Mixing tenses between the charts, for example past for the bar chart but present for the 2025 pie chart.** Both charts show the past, so keep to past tenses: "34% of visitors travelled by car in 2025". - **Explaining the data, such as saying tourists came because of new exhibitions, or giving an opinion on car use.** Report only what the charts show. Leave causes and opinions out of Task 1. - **Writing two separate mini-reports with no connection between them.** Use linking phrases such as "Turning to the pie chart" and "In that year", and connect the charts where the data allows.