A Simple Guide To Writing Well On IELTS Writing Task 1 - Questions Type 4: A Pie Chart

Necessary words:
- a sector
- a piece
- a proportion
- a percentage


 
Example Reports:
(These reports would achieve Band 8 &9)

1. The charts below give information about world spending and population.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

 
The first pie chart compares the shares of four major items in global expenditure. It is observed that the most significant amounts are paid for food (almost a quarter of global expenditure) and transport (almost 20%), while housing also accounts for a considerable proportion. The least among the four is spent on clothing (merely 6 per cent) and the remaining 40% is spent on a variety of other items.
The second diagram illustrates how global population is distributed. According to this chart, there is a significant difference between the population of Asia and that of other continents since 3 out of every 5 human beings live in Asia. Europe and the Americas share similar proportions and together are host to roughly one-third of the world’s population, while the inhabitants of Africa form a mere one-tenth.
Obviously, four items are responsible for three-fifths of the overall spending around the world, the most prominent share being that of food. Moreover, the largest group of humans populates Asia, where the population outnumbers that of the rest of the world by 3 to 2.

2. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.
 




The pie charts show changes in American spending patterns between 1966 and 1996. It is visible that increased amounts spent on cars, computers, and eating out were made up for by drops in expenditure on food and books.
Food and cars made up the two biggest items of expenditure in both years. Together they comprised over half of household spending. Food accounted for 44% of spending in 1966, but this dropped by two thirds to 14% in 1996. However, the outlay on cars doubled, rising from 23% in 1966 to 45% in 1996.
Other areas changed significantly. Spending on eating out doubled, climbing from 7% to 14%. The proportion of salary spent on computers increased dramatically, up from 1% in 1996 to 10% in 1996. Yet, as computer expenditure rose, the percentage of outlay on books plunged from 6% to 1%.


3. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information in the two graphs below.


 
The pie charts compare the highest level of education achieved by women in Someland across two years, 1945 and 1995. It can be clearly seen that women received a much higher level of education in Someland in 1995 than they did in 1945.
In 1945 only 30% of women completed their secondary education and 1% went on to a first degree. No women had completed post-graduate studies. This situation had changed radically by 1995. In that year, 90% of women in Someland had completed secondary education and of those, half had graduated from an initial degree and 20% had gone on to postgraduate studies. From the other end of the scale it is visible that by 1995 all girls were completing lower secondary, although 10% ended their schooling at this point. This is in stark contrast with 1945 when only 30% of girls completed primary school, 35% had no schooling at all and 35% only completed the third grade.