IELTS Essay Bank · Task 1 Academic · Pie chart
Household Spending Pie Charts: Band 7 Sample Answer
169 words · Topic: Money & economy, Society ·
The question
The two pie charts below show how an average household divided its spending across five categories in 1995 and in 2023.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
Chart data (summarised):
- 1995: Housing 25%, Food 30%, Transport 15%, Leisure 10%, Other 20%.
- 2023: Housing 35%, Food 18%, Transport 17%, Leisure 20%, Other 10%.
Band 7 sample report
Highlighted = useful vocabularyThe pie charts compare the way an average household divided its spending between five categories in 1995 and 2023.
Overall, the most significant change was that housing replaced food as the largest area of expenditure. In addition, the share spent on leisure rose considerably, whereas the proportions for food and other items fell.
In 1995, food accounted for the largest proportion of household spending, at 30%, followed by housing at 25%. Other items made up a fifth of total, while transport and leisure represented 15% and 10% respectively.
By 2023, the picture had changed considerably. The proportion of money spent on housing were 35%, which made it biggest category by a clear margin. Spending on food, by contrast, fell sharply to 18%, a drop of twelve percentage points. The most dramatic rise was in leisure, it doubled from 10% to 20% and therefore overtook food. Meanwhile, the share for other items halved to 10%, and transport remained relatively stable, increasing only slightly to 17% compare to 15% in 1995.
Word count: 169
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Why this is Band 7: criterion by criterion
Task Achievement
Band 7The report gives a clear overview that identifies the main change (housing replacing food at the top) and the other key movements. All the figures are accurate and well chosen, and there are useful comparisons such as "a drop of twelve percentage points" and the point that leisure "overtook food". Key features are clearly presented, but they could be more fully extended: the writer does not point out, for example, that food and leisure ended with almost equal shares, or that housing and food together still took more than half of the budget. That missing extension is what separates this from Band 8.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 7Information is logically organised into an overview, a 1995 paragraph and a 2023 paragraph, and each has a clear central topic. A range of cohesive devices is used ("followed by", "by contrast", "Meanwhile", "therefore"), and the time phrase "By 2023, the picture had changed considerably" makes an effective transition. The final paragraph is rather long and packs four changes together, so the most important ones are less prominent than they could be — solidly Band 7.
Lexical Resource
Band 7There is sufficient range for flexibility and precision: "accounted for", "by a clear margin", "a fifth" and "percentage points" are accurate and appropriate for describing proportions. The writer paraphrases the categories ("area of expenditure", "the share for other items"). There is some repetition ("considerably" appears twice, "proportion" three times) and one word-form error: "compare to 15%" should be compared with/to. Occasional errors of this kind fit Band 7.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 6The writer attempts a good variety of structures — the past perfect ("had changed"), non-defining relative clauses ("which made it…") and participle phrases ("increasing only slightly") — but errors are noticeable and recurring, which is why grammar is Band 6 while the other criteria are 7. There is a subject–verb agreement error ("The proportion of money spent on housing were"), two missing articles ("a fifth of total", "made it biggest category") and a comma splice ("The most dramatic rise was in leisure, it doubled"). The meaning is always clear, but Band 7 needs more frequent error-free sentences.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- accounted for
- the key verb for pie charts; also made up and represented.
- by a clear margin
- shows how far ahead one category is, not just that it is the largest.
- fell sharply
- combines direction and degree; useful for the biggest decrease on a chart.
- percentage points
- the accurate unit for a change between two percentages (30% to 18% is a fall of 12 percentage points).
- remained relatively stable
- precise for a very small change, here only two points.
How this report could reach Band 8
- 1Fix the recurring grammar slips: The proportion … was, a fifth of the total, the biggest category, and join clauses with which or a full stop instead of a comma.
- 2Extend one or two key features with a sharper comparison, e.g. leisure (20%) ended slightly ahead of food (18%).
- 3Split the long final paragraph so the rises (housing, leisure) and the falls (food, other items) are grouped separately.
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