# IELTS Writing Task 1 pie chart A pie chart shows how a whole is divided into parts, and IELTS often gives two pies so you can compare the shares at two times or in two places. The examiner looks for a clear overview of the main differences, the largest and most changed shares selected and reported, comparisons made between the pies, and percentages reported accurately. ## Structure 1. **Introduction**: Paraphrase the prompt: what the whole is, how it is divided, and which years or places the pies show. Openers: The pie charts compare ... / The two charts illustrate how ... was divided between ... / The pie charts show the proportion of ... in ... and ... 2. **Overview**: Say which share was largest, which changed most, and whether the overall pattern shifted. Openers: Overall, ... / The most significant change was that ... / In both years, ... , although ... 3. **Body 1**: Compare the largest shares across the two pies with their figures. Openers: In 1990, ... accounted for ... / The largest share of ... went on ... / ... made up almost a third of ... 4. **Body 2**: Cover the smaller shares, grouping those that grew, those that shrank and those that stayed the same. Openers: Among the smaller categories, ... / By contrast, ... / The share devoted to ... remained ... ## Key language ### Proportion verbs - **account for / make up / represent**: Food accounted for 31% of spending in 1990. - **take up / absorb**: Housing took up over a third of the budget in 2020. - **be devoted to / go on**: Only 5% of spending went on clothing in 2020. ### Fractions and approximations - **just over a fifth / almost a third**: Housing represented just over a fifth of spending in 1990. - **more than a third / about a sixth**: In 2020, housing took up more than a third of spending. - **the largest / smallest share**: Clothing had the smallest share in 2020. ### Comparing two pies - **rise / fall from ... to ...**: The share for leisure rose from 9% to 16%. - **replace ... as the largest**: Housing replaced food as the largest category. - **remain unchanged at**: Other items remained unchanged at 12%. - **percentage points**: Transport rose by one percentage point. ## The task The pie charts below show how the average household in one country divided its spending between six categories in 1990 and 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. Average household spending by category in one country, 1990 and 2020 1990: Housing 22%, Food 31%, Transport 14%, Leisure 9%, Clothing 12%, Other 12% 2020: Housing 35%, Food 17%, Transport 15%, Leisure 16%, Clothing 5%, Other 12% Chart by Testmigo. The data is invented for practice. ## Band 6 to 9 sample answers ### Band 6 The pie charts show the spending of an average household in one country in 1990 and 2020. The spending is divided into six categories. Overall, housing and leisure increased but food and clothing decreased. In 1990 food was the biggest part of spending with 31%. Housing was 22% and transport was 14%. Clothing and other were both 12% and leisure was the smallest with 9%. In 2020 there were many changes. Housing increased to 35% and it became the biggest category. Food decreased to 17%, it was about half of the 1990 figure. Leisure increased to 16%, so it was nearly the same as food. Transport was 15%, it was nearly the same as before. Clothing decreased a lot and it was only 5%, which was the smallest. The other category did not change and it stayed at 12%. In conclusion, households spent a bigger part of their budget on housing and leisure in 2020, and a smaller part on food and clothing. _This Band 6 report reports every share accurately and has an overview, but the overview only lists what went up and down and misses the key point that housing replaced food as the largest category. The body describes one pie and then the other, so comparisons are left to the reader, and the language is repetitive ("was", "increased", "nearly the same") with comma splices. For Band 7, compare the two years category by category and use proportion language such as "accounted for"._ ### Band 7 The pie charts compare the proportions of household spending that went on six categories in one country in 1990 and 2020. Overall, the pattern of spending changed significantly over the thirty years. Housing replaced food as the largest category, and leisure also grew, whereas the shares spent on food and clothing fell considerably. In 1990, food accounted for the largest proportion of spending, at 31%, followed by housing at 22%. By 2020, however, the position had reversed: housing rose to 35%, which was more than a third of the total, while food fell to 17%, just over half its 1990 level. Leisure was the smallest category in 1990 with 9%, but it almost doubled to 16% in 2020. Clothing showed the opposite trend to leisure. Its share dropped from 12% to only 5%, making it the least significant category at the end of the period. Spending on transport changed very little, it rose by just one percentage point to 15%, and the 'other' category remained the same at 12% in both years. _This Band 7 report has a clear overview that identifies the main change, housing overtaking food, and the body compares the two pies category by category with accurate figures and some useful approximations ("more than a third", "almost doubled"). There is a comma splice ("changed very little, it rose") and some phrasing is general. For Band 8, the writer would select comparisons more sharply across all six categories and use a wider range of proportion language without slips._ ### Band 8 The two pie charts illustrate how the average household in one country allocated its spending across six categories in 1990 and 2020. The most significant change over the period was that housing replaced food as the largest area of expenditure. Leisure also took up a considerably larger share of the budget, while the proportions spent on food and clothing contracted sharply. In 1990, food was the biggest single expense, absorbing almost a third of household spending (31%), with housing in second place at 22%. Thirty years later, housing had risen to 35%, whereas food had fallen to 17%, little more than half of its earlier share. As a result, housing alone accounted for over a third of the total in 2020. Among the smaller categories, leisure grew noticeably, from 9% to 16%, overtaking both clothing and transport. Clothing moved in the opposite direction, shrinking from 12% to just 5% and becoming the smallest category. By contrast, the shares devoted to transport and other items were virtually unchanged, at 14-15% and 12% respectively. _This Band 8 report selects the key features well, opening with the reversal between housing and food and then grouping the smaller categories by how they changed. Comparisons appear throughout ("little more than half of its earlier share", "overtaking both clothing and transport"), and proportion vocabulary is wide and precise ("absorbing", "allocated", "devoted to") with no noticeable errors. To reach Band 9, the overview could cover the stable categories too, and the cohesion between paragraphs could be even more natural._ ### Band 9 The pie charts show how household expenditure in one country was distributed among six categories in 1990 and 2020. Overall, the structure of household spending shifted considerably between the two years. Housing displaced food as the largest expense, and leisure gained substantially in importance, whereas clothing and food both took up a much smaller share of the budget. Transport and other costs remained almost constant. In 1990, food was the main item of expenditure, accounting for 31% of the total, while housing represented just over a fifth (22%). By 2020, this order had been reversed: the share devoted to housing had grown to 35%, more than double that of food, which had fallen to 17%. The changes among the remaining categories were less pronounced but still notable. Leisure, which had been the smallest category in 1990 at 9%, rose to 16%, making it the third-largest area of spending, just ahead of transport at 15%. Clothing, in contrast, declined from 12% to only 5%, ending the period as the smallest share. The 'other' category was unchanged at 12%. _This Band 9 report fully addresses the task: the overview accounts for every category, including those that stayed the same, and key features are compared precisely ("more than double that of food", "just ahead of transport"). The organisation moves naturally from the major to the minor changes, vocabulary is sophisticated and accurate, and complex structures such as "this order had been reversed" are used without error, so it meets every top-band descriptor._ ## Common mistakes - **No overview, or an overview that only lists which slices grew and shrank.** Name the biggest shift between the pies, such as housing replacing food as the largest share, in an "Overall, ..." paragraph. - **Getting the length wrong: describing every slice of one pie and then every slice of the other, or stopping under 150 words.** Aim for about 170-190 words that compare each category across the two pies. An answer under 150 words loses marks. - **Using the present tense for 1990 and 2020 ("food accounts for 31%").** Both years are in the past, so use past tenses: "food accounted for 31% in 1990" and "had fallen to 17% by 2020". - **Explaining the changes, such as rising house prices, or commenting that the change is worrying.** Report the shares only. Reasons and opinions are not in the chart, so they are not part of a Task 1 answer. - **Writing that households "spent more money" on housing when the pies only show shares.** A pie shows proportions, not amounts. Write "a larger share of spending went on housing" or "housing accounted for 35% of spending".