IELTS Writing Task 1: Weekly Leisure Hours by Age Group

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Writing Prompt

The bar chart below shows the average number of hours per week that people in three age groups spent on four leisure activities in one country in 2021. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The vertical axis shows hours per week from 0 to 20, and the horizontal axis groups the activities of watching television, using social media, exercising and reading, each with three bars for people aged 18 to 29, 30 to 49 and 50 and over. Adults aged 50 and over watched the most television at about 18 hours, compared with 10 hours for the youngest group. Social media use was highest among 18 to 29 year olds at roughly 15 hours and lowest among the oldest group at 4 hours. Time spent exercising was similar across all groups at around 5 hours, while reading rose steadily with age, from 2 hours in the youngest group to 8 hours in the oldest.

Show Band 8–9 model answer

The bar chart compares weekly time spent on four leisure activities by three age groups in a particular country in 2021.

Overall, older adults devoted far more time to traditional, solitary pastimes such as watching television and reading, while the youngest group spent substantially longer on social media. Exercise, by contrast, accounted for a relatively small and stable share of leisure time in all age categories.

People aged 50 and over watched by far the most television, at about 18 hours per week, almost double the 10 hours recorded for 18–29-year-olds. Those in the 30–49 bracket occupied an intermediate position, at roughly 14 hours.

A reverse pattern is evident for social media. Young adults spent around 15 hours a week on this activity, almost quadruple the 4 hours among the oldest group, with 30–49-year-olds again in between at about 9 hours.

Exercise showed minimal variation by age, with all three groups allocating approximately 5 hours weekly. Reading, however, increased steadily across the age range: the youngest adults read for only 2 hours, compared with 5 hours for the middle group and 8 hours for those aged 50 and above.

Why this response works

This response achieves a high band by providing a clear overview that highlights key trends rather than isolated data. The report is well organised, moving logically from general comparisons to specific activities. All main features are selected and compared accurately, with appropriate grouping of age categories and activities. Figures are reported using varied, precise language (e.g. "roughly," "almost double," "intermediate position") without overloading with numbers. Lexical resource and grammar are strong, with a wide range of structures, accurate tense use, and no noticeable errors, while fully satisfying the required word limit.