IELTS Writing Exam Tips
When you first see a bar chart, ask yourself the following questions:
- What do the numbers on the vertical/horizontal axis measures?
- How is the information grouped on the other axis?
- What do the different shades of the bars show?
- When was the data collected?
The answers will give you the essential information for understanding it. Make sure you know which units are being used to measure quantities.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The chart below gives information about the most common sports played in New Zealand in 2002.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Model answer
The bar graph provides information about the most common sports played in New Zealand in 2002. It gives figures for both boys and girls and clearly shows that their participation in sports is fairly equal. However, their sporting preferences tend to be different.
According to the graph, the most popular sport among girls is netball, with participation rates reaching 25 percent. A similar percentage of boys prefer soccer, which is clearly their favourite sport. Ten percent of boys also enjoy playing cricket but hardly any girls take part in this game. While swimming is popular among both boys and girls, fewer boys participate in this sport – about 13 percent compared to approximately 22 percent of girls.
Other sports such as tennis, basketball, and martial arts have lower levels of popularity, and a significant percentage of boys and girls say they enjoy sports not referred to on the chart.
(153 words)
