How exact do my numbers need to be if I am reading them off bars?

Approximate is expected and fine. Use hedging language — "around 29 million", "roughly 33 million" — because you cannot read exact values from a bar. What matters is that your figures are clearly in the right range and support your comparisons.

How do I organise a bar chart with several groups and years?

Group the bars by behaviour rather than describing each bar in turn. This model clusters the largest brackets together and the flat middle brackets together, which is far clearer than listing fifteen individual values.

What tense should I use?

Past tenses, because the data covers 2007–2015 and is historical ("the figure rose", "remained flat"). If a chart included future projections, that part would take future forms instead.

How long should a Task 1 answer be?

At least 150 words; a band-9 answer is usually 170–200. This model is 191 words, enough to give an overview and report all five brackets accurately. Spend about 20 minutes on Task 1.

Academic Task 1

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: US Household Income Bar Chart (Band 9 Sample)

This Academic Task 1 asks you to summarise a bar chart showing the number of US households, in millions, across five income brackets in 2007, 2011 and 2015. A band-9 response gives a clear overview and reports the key figures and comparisons accurately. Below is a model answer of roughly 190 words, followed by why it scores 9 on all four criteria.

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01 · The task

The chart below shows the number of households in the US, in millions, by their annual income in 2007, 2011 and 2015. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

A grouped bar chart showing the number of US households, in millions, in five annual-income brackets (less than $25,000; $25,000–49,999; $50,000–74,999; $75,000–99,999; and $100,000 or more) for the years 2007, 2011 and 2015.

02 · Band 9 sample answer

191 words · Band 9

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: US Household Income Bar Chart (Band 9 Sample)

01 · The task

02 · Band 9 sample answer

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: US Household Income Bar Chart (Band 9 Sample)

01 · The task

02 · Band 9 sample answer

03 · Why this scores Band 9

04 · Useful collocations for this task

05 · Frequently asked questions