IELTS Academic Writing Task 1/ Graph Writing – Bar Graph:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The chart below gives information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
1968 and 2018: average weekly spending by families
Model Answer:
The bar chart illustrates how families in a certain country allocated their weekly income across eight categories. The chart presents a comparison between their spending in 1968 and 2018.
Overall, spending by the citizens in this country on leisure, housing, and transport rose significantly over fifty years, while expenditure on food and various personal goods declined, and spending on household goods remained relatively constant.
In 1968, the largest portion of a family’s weekly income (35%) was allocated to food. By contrast, housing and clothing each accounted for just 10%, and transport, personal goods, and household goods were around 8% each, with fuel and power taking the smallest share (approximately 6%). Their leisure spending was about 9% in 1968.
By 2018, the priorities of these people, and therefore, their spending habits, shifted. They spent roughly 22% on leisure, which was more than double their spending five decades ago, making it the largest spending category in 2018. Their housing expenditure also nearly doubled. Transport spending also grew substantially. In contrast, spending on food dropped sharply to about 17%. They spent less of their income on fuel and power, clothing and footwear, and personal goods, as all of these categories witnessed reduced spending proportions. Meanwhile, their spending on household goods held steady at around 8% of their weekly income.