IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample Bar Chart

Below, you will find a sample answer to an IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 question. The task presents a bar chart showing the number of university graduates by gender and marital status over a three-year period. This sample response demonstrates how to describe data accurately, make meaningful comparisons, and use a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical structures appropriate for a high band score. You can study this example to learn how to structure your response, identify key trends, and maintain a clear, formal tone throughout your writing.

The chart shows the number of university graduates by gender and marital status in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Line Graph

The bar chart illustrates the number of university graduates (in thousands), categorized by gender and marital status, over a three-year period from 2022 to 2024.

Overall, it is evident that single people consistently outnumbered their married peers in graduation figures throughout the period, with unmarried women comprising the largest group. Additionally, the total number of graduates exhibited a slight downward trend over time.

Focusing on unmarried individuals, single women accounted for the highest proportion of university graduates with about 5200 in 2022. This population experienced a marginal decline to 5000 in 2023, and further decreased to approximately 4800 in 2024. The figures for single male graduates followed a similar trend, starting at around 4500 in 2022 and decreasing steadily in the subsequent years.

Turning to married graduates, their graduation rates were substantially lower across all three years. In 2022, both married women and married men recorded their highest graduation figures, with roughly 2000 graduates each, before experiencing a slight decline in 2023. However, in 2024, the percentage of married women saw a modest recovery, whereas the number of married men continued to fall, reaching the lowest point of all groups at around 1300.