Academic Writing Task 1 : Bar Graphs
- Spend one or two minutes studying the bar graphs/chart until you understand what it is showing.
- Explain what the chart is describing in your opening sentence.
- Then identify two or three main features. Don’t describe everything you see. Look for any interesting features, especially surprising or contrasting information.
- Start with an overall description and then move on to use details to support your main points.
- Remember to use expressions such as in addition and however to link your ideas. Remember to leave time to check your work before the end.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The bar graph below illustrates five different industries’ percentage share of Brazil’s economy in 2009 and 2019 with a forecast for 2029.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Model answer
The bar chart shows the actual and projected share of the economy of Brazil held by the five key business sectors for the years 2009, 2019 and 2029.
Beginning with the real figures, the sectors that saw growth between 2009 and 2019 are Finance, Fossil Fuels and Food Processing with rises of around 5 percent for the two former and around 10% for the latter. However, both Tourism and Manufacturing saw falls of around 5% for that period.
Turning next to the projected figures for 2029, only the Finance sector is predicted to see a continued growth in 2029, again by 5%. Of the remaining sectors, tourism stays at 2019 levels with around 21% and both Food Processing and Oil, Coal and Gas return to 2009 levels (11 and 26% respectively). Meanwhile, Manufacturing sees a further drop in its share, falling by a further 10 percent to around 5 percent.
Overall, for the period covered, the Finance sector stands out in terms of having the largest share of brazil’s economy and its share shows continued growth. The big loser is manufacturing, which starts as the joint smallest sector and sees both real and projected falls.
(195 words)