IELTS Task 1 Pie Chart Tutorial
Pie charts show shares of a whole. The trap is writing as if the amounts changed, when only the proportions did. This tutorial shows you the language of shares and fractions.
About the figures on this page
Every figure, place and diagram on this page is invented by RCF English for practice. Nothing here describes a real country, town or dataset, and it must not be quoted as fact. The language you learn is exactly what real Task 1 questions need.
The task
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The pie charts below show how an average household in one country divided its monthly spending in 2000 and in 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Practice data invented by RCF English. Not real statistics.
Show the figures as a table
| Category | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 45% | 30% |
| Housing | 20% | 28% |
| Other | 17% | 15% |
| Transport | 10% | 15% |
| Education | 8% | 12% |
Step by step: how to answer this task
Spend the first five minutes on steps 1 to 3. Candidates who start writing straight away usually miss the overview.
Understand what the visual shows (1 minute)
- What is measured? The share of spending, in per cent. Each pie adds up to 100.
- What is not shown? How much money was spent. You cannot say spending on food went down, only that its share did.
- What time? 2000 and 2020, both past: use the past simple.
Find the key features (2 minutes)
Ask what a person would notice from across the room. These become your overview and your body paragraphs.
- Largest slice: food, in both years, but its share fell by 15 percentage points.
- Closing gap: housing rose from 20 to 28 per cent, almost level with food.
- Same pattern: transport and education each grew by half.
- Little change: other expenses fell slightly, from 17 to 15 per cent.
Plan four paragraphs (2 minutes)
- Introduction: paraphrase the task.
- Overview: food stays largest but shrinks; housing, transport and education all take a bigger share.
- Body 1: food and housing, the two largest slices, and the closing gap.
- Body 2: transport and education together; other expenses as the contrast.
Write, then check (15 minutes)
- Write about 170 to 190 words. Under 150 is penalised.
- Start the overview with Overall so the examiner can find it.
- Support each point with one or two figures, not every figure.
- Leave three minutes to check tense, articles, prepositions and units.
Writing the introduction: paraphrase the question
Change the words, not the meaning. Language copied from the question is not counted in your word total.
| In the question | In your introduction |
|---|---|
| The pie charts below show | The two pie charts compare |
| how an average household divided its monthly spending | the proportion of a typical family's monthly budget spent on five categories |
| in 2000 and in 2020 | at the beginning and end of a twenty-year period |
Percentages as fractions: say it two ways
| Percentage | Fraction or phrase | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | half | Half of the budget went on food. |
| 45 to 48% | almost half, just under half | In 2000, food accounted for almost half of all spending. |
| 33% | a third, one in three | A third of the budget went on housing. |
| 28 to 30% | just under a third, nearly a third | By 2020, housing made up nearly a third of spending. |
| 25% | a quarter, one in four | A quarter of households owned a car. |
| 20% | a fifth, one in five | Housing accounted for a fifth of spending in 2000. |
| 10% | a tenth, one in ten | Transport took up a tenth of the budget. |
| 65 to 70% | roughly two thirds | Food and housing together made up roughly two thirds of spending in 2000. |
Share language that keeps you accurate
| Say this | Not this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Food accounted for 45 per cent of spending. | Food was 45 per cent. | Food is not a percentage; its share of spending is. |
| The share of spending on food fell. | Spending on food fell. | The total is not shown. The household may have spent more money on food. |
| fell by 15 percentage points | fell by 15 per cent | 45 to 30 is a fall of 15 points, but a fall of a third in the share. |
| made up, constituted, represented, took up | was, had | Precise verbs raise your vocabulary score. |
Model answer
Read it once for meaning, then again to see how each paragraph does its job.
Question: The pie charts below show how an average household in one country divided its monthly spending in 2000 and in 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The pie charts compare how an average household's monthly spending was divided among five categories in 2000 and in 2020.
Overall, food remained the largest single expense in both years, but its share fell considerably, while housing, transport and education all took up a greater proportion of the budget.
In 2000, food accounted for almost half of all spending, at 45 per cent, more than twice the share of housing, which stood at 20 per cent. By 2020, however, the proportion spent on food had dropped by 15 percentage points to 30 per cent, while housing had risen to 28 per cent, leaving the two categories almost level.
Transport and education followed a similar upward pattern, each growing by half: transport from 10 to 15 per cent and education from 8 to 12 per cent. By contrast, the share of other expenses changed little, falling slightly from 17 to 15 per cent, so that by 2020 it was equal to the share spent on transport.
Why this answer works
- The overview answers the two key questions: did the largest slice change (no, food stayed largest) and which way did the other shares move.
- Share language is used throughout: accounted for, the share of, the proportion spent on. Nothing suggests that the amount of money changed.
- Percentage points are used correctly for the fall in food, and by half is correct for transport (10 to 15) and education (8 to 12).
- The categories are grouped: food and housing together, transport and education together, and other as the contrast.
- No reasons are given. The chart does not say why housing took a bigger share.
From Band 5 to Band 7: sentences compared
Each weak sentence below shows a common type of mistake. The Band 7 version says the same thing accurately.
| Band 5 sentence | The problem | Band 7 version |
|---|---|---|
| In 2000 food 45%, housing 20%, other 17%, transport 10%, education 8%. | A list with no comparison and no verb. | In 2000, food accounted for almost half of all spending, more than twice the share of housing. |
| Food spending decreased from 45% to 30%. | Suggests the amount of money fell. Only the share is shown. | The share of spending that went on food fell from 45 to 30 per cent. |
| Food decreased 15%. | A change between two percentages is measured in percentage points. | The proportion spent on food fell by 15 percentage points. |
| Education is 8% and in 2020 is 12%. | Wrong tense, and the change is not described. | The share spent on education rose by half, from 8 to 12 per cent. |
Common mistakes with pie charts tasks
Do
- Check that each pie adds up to 100 before you start
- Compare the same slice across both pies
- Say whether the largest and smallest slices changed
- Use fractions as well as percentages to vary your language
- Match slices by the legend: they may be in a different order in each pie
Avoid
- Write as if the total amount changed
- Describe one pie completely, then the other, with no comparison
- Write 15 per cent when you mean 15 percentage points
- Describe every slice with a separate sentence
- Guess at reasons for the changes
Your turn: a new task to try
Now write your own answer before you look at the model. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
The task: The pie charts below show the sources of electricity in one country in 2010 and the proportions predicted for 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
Watch the tense. 2010 is past, but 2025 is a forecast: use is expected to, is predicted to, is projected to and will.
Practice data invented by RCF English. Not real statistics.
Show the figures as a table
| Category | 2010 | 2025 (predicted) |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 48% | 30% |
| Oil | 22% | 12% |
| Hydroelectric | 20% | 22% |
| Wind | 6% | 16% |
| Solar | 4% | 20% |
Check your answer
1. The key features you should have found
Your overview should contain the most important of these.
- Coal is the largest source in both years, but its share is predicted to fall from 48 to 30 per cent.
- Solar is predicted to grow fivefold, from 4 to 20 per cent, and wind from 6 to 16 per cent.
- Oil's share is expected to fall by almost half, from 22 to 12 per cent.
- Hydroelectric power hardly changes. Solar and wind together (36 per cent) are predicted to overtake coal (30 per cent).
2. Model answer (195 words)
The pie charts compare the sources used to generate electricity in one country in 2010 with the proportions predicted for 2025.
Overall, fossil fuels are expected to lose much of their share of electricity production to renewable sources, particularly solar and wind power, although coal is forecast to remain the single largest source.
In 2010, coal and oil together produced 70 per cent of the country's electricity, with coal alone accounting for almost half, at 48 per cent. By 2025, however, coal's share is predicted to drop to 30 per cent, and oil's is expected to fall by almost half, from 22 to 12 per cent. Hydroelectric power, which generated a fifth of all electricity in 2010, is likely to remain almost unchanged, at 22 per cent.
The most dramatic changes are forecast for solar and wind energy, which together made up only 10 per cent of production in 2010. Solar power is projected to rise fivefold, from 4 to 20 per cent, while wind is expected to grow from 6 to 16 per cent. As a result, these two sources combined are predicted to supply a larger share of electricity than coal by 2025.
3. Mark your own answer
Answer yes or no to each question. Every no is a place to improve.
- Did you paraphrase the question rather than copy it?
- Is there a separate overview paragraph starting with Overall?
- Does the overview give the main features without figures?
- Did you select the important figures instead of listing them all?
- Did you compare, using words such as whereas, while and by contrast?
- Is every tense right for the dates shown?
- Did you avoid giving reasons and opinions?
- Did you write at least 150 words?
More Task 1 tutorials
Line graph
Change over time: trends, peaks and sudden falls.
Bar chart
Comparing categories, and how they change.
Table
Many figures: select, group and compare.
Process diagram
Stages in order, in the passive voice.
Maps
What has changed in a place, and where.
Task 1 overview and language
The overview, the four-paragraph structure, tenses and the grammar of change.