An IELTS Writing Task 1 bar chart at Band 6, 7 and 8
Quick answer
This page describes one invented bar chart three times, at Band 6, 7 and 8, with the same overview and the same key features, and marks the phrases that earn or lose marks. For a bar chart, the thing that most often separates the bands is whether the report compares the groups activity by activity with correct ratios, or walks through the bars one at a time.
In the app, a Task 1 report is marked with a band range for each criterion and a Data Accuracy card, so you can see whether a lost mark came from the chart or from the language.
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On this page
This page takes one invented bar chart and describes it three times, at Band 6, Band 7 and Band 8. The three reports have the same overview and pick out the same key features. Only the writing changes, so the differences you see belong to the bands and not to what was noticed in the data. How to plan a report on a chart like this is explained in the guide to line graphs, bar charts, pie charts and tables; the bar chart is a label from practice material, not an IELTS category.
The three answers were written for this site. They are not from a real paper, they were not marked by IELTS, and they are illustrations to compare against, not answers to memorise. IELTS.org penalises memorised and plagiarised content, and the visual in your exam will be different, so the use of this page is to see what each band looks like.
Key takeaways
- All three answers state the same overview and use the same features. What changes is how exact the overview is, how well the comparisons fit the figures and how accurately the sentences are built.
- The Band 6 answer has an overview, but it only says that the groups differ, it lists bars in chart order, and one ratio is wrong.
- The Band 7 answer names the contrast and the leading activity for each group, then compares the groups activity by activity.
- The Band 8 answer gathers the smaller activities under one heading and makes every comparison with the figures that prove it.
The task
This task is invented for practice and is not from a past paper. The figures are round and are not real statistics.
The bar chart shows the average number of hours per week that people in two age groups spent on four leisure activities in one country in 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The data behind the chart, in hours a week:
| Activity | Aged 16 to 24 | Aged 65 and over |
|---|---|---|
| Internet use | 14 | 4 |
| Watching television | 8 | 20 |
| Reading | 3 | 9 |
| Sport and exercise | 6 | 3 |
All three answers rest on the same reading of the chart:
- Overview: the two groups spent their leisure time in almost opposite ways, the younger group led by internet use and sport, the older group by television and reading.
- Feature one: internet use, 14 hours against 4, the widest gap.
- Feature two: television, 20 hours against 8, the largest item for the older group.
- Feature three: reading (9 against 3) and sport (6 against 3), the same split on a smaller scale.
The same bar chart at Band 6, 7 and 8
Hover or tap a marked phrase to see what a marker would note. The legend names the criterion for each colour, and orange marks a slip that loses marks.
Band 6
The bar chart shows how many hours per week young people and older people spent on four leisure activities in one country in 2025.
Overall, the two groups spent their leisure time in different ways, and young people did more of some activities and older people did more of othersAn overview is there, but it says only that the groups differ and never names which activities lead for each group.
Young people aged 16 to 24 spent 14 hours on the internet, and this was the most bigWrong word form: should be “biggest” activity for them. They spent 8 hours on watching television, 6 hours on sport and 3 hours on readingFigures listed in chart order with no selection, so a reader cannot see which ones matter. Older people, aged 65 and over, spent only 4 hours on the internet. On the other handUsed as a link, but nothing is being contrasted with the sentence before it, they watched television for 20 hours, which was more twiceWrong structure: should be “more than twice” the figure for young people.
Older people also read for 9 hours, which was double the figure for young people9 against 3 is three times, so the comparison misreports the chart. Young people did more sport, with 6 hours against 3 hours for older people. This is a big difference and it shows that the groups have different habits. In conclusionRepeats the overview in other words and adds no new point, the two groups spend their time in different ways.
Band 7
The bar chart compares the average number of hours per week that people aged 16 to 24 and people aged 65 and over devoted toA less common choice than “spent on”, with the right preposition four leisure activities in one country in 2025.
Overall, the two age groups spent their leisure time very differently: the younger group was led by internet use and sport, while the older group spent most of its time on television and readingOverview names the contrast and which activities lead for each group.
Internet use was the clearest difference. Young people spent 14 hours a week online, more than three times the figure for the older group, which was only 4Figure and ratio together, and the ratio is right. By contrastThe link marks a real opposition and sits where it fits, television was the main activity of people aged 65 and over, at 20 hours, the largest figure on the chart, against 8 for the younger group.
The same pattern held for the other two activities, on a smaller scale. Older people read for 9 hours, three times as long as the 3 hours that young people recordedA comparative structure that does the work of two sentences, whereas young people did sport for 6 hours, which was twice as much hoursCountable noun: should be “twice as many hours” as the older group managed.
Band 8
The chart shows the average weekly leisure time, in hours, that people aged 16 to 24 and people aged 65 and over spent on four activities in one country in 2025.
Overall, the two groups divided their leisure time in almost opposite ways, with the younger group led by internet use and sport and the older group by television and readingDirection and scale of the contrast in one sentence, with no figures to pre-empt the detail.
The gap was widest for the internet, which took up 14 hours of the younger group’s week but only 4 of the older group’s, a ratio of more than three to oneAn exact summary of the figures instead of a vague “much more”. Television reversed the picture: at 20 hours it was the single largest item for people aged 65 and over, more than double the 8 hours recorded by the younger groupA comparative phrase attached to the figure it measures, for whom it ranked secondRanking language that shows what was selected and why.
Reading and sport followed the same split, on a smaller scaleGathers the two remaining activities under one heading, so they need no separate introduction. Older people read for 9 hours, three times the younger group’s 3, whereas the younger group did sport for 6 hours, double the older group’s 3. In every case, the larger bar belonged to the group that the overview namesThe detail confirms the overview, so a reader can check it against the chart.
What moved the band
The accounts below follow the public band descriptors, as this site paraphrases them. Each quotation comes from the answer of the band named in its sentence.
Task Achievement
The Band 6 report has an overview and the right features, but it does not select. In Band 6, “They spent 8 hours on watching television, 6 hours on sport and 3 hours on reading” reads the bars in chart order, and “double the figure for young people” gets a ratio wrong, because 9 against 3 is three times. Its overview says the groups spent time “in different ways” and stops there, so a reader still has to find out which activities lead.
Band 7 commits: “the younger group was led by internet use and sport” names the leader for each group. Its ratio, “more than three times the figure for the older group, which was only 4”, is correct, and the comparison is made activity by activity.
Band 8 checks its own overview against the data. Its last sentence, “In every case, the larger bar belonged to the group that the overview names”, shows that nothing in the detail contradicts the summary, and each figure sits beside the comparison it proves. The Task Achievement cell at Band 7 holds the wording this account paraphrases.
Coherence and Cohesion
The Band 6 report has four paragraphs, but the links are mechanical. In Band 6, “On the other hand” joins two sentences that do not contrast, and “In conclusion” repeats the overview instead of adding to it.
Band 7 places its devices where they fit: “By contrast” turns from the younger group’s internet use to the older group’s television viewing, and each paragraph keeps to one pair of activities.
Band 8 arranges by activity and lets the structure carry the logic. “Reading and sport followed the same split, on a smaller scale” gathers two features under one heading, so no extra connector is needed. The Coherence and Cohesion cell at Band 6 describes the mechanical pattern.
Lexical Resource
The Band 6 vocabulary is wide enough for the chart and shows attempts that miss: “most big” has the wrong form of the word, and the report returns to “spent” and “hours” in almost every sentence.
Band 7 is more flexible. “devoted to” replaces a plain verb with a natural pairing, and the report varies how it names the groups.
Band 8 uses words that carry numbers. “a ratio of more than three to one” is exact where a vague phrase would be loose, and “ranked second” tells the reader what was chosen. The Lexical Resource cell at Band 7 describes this control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The Band 6 report mixes simple and complex sentences, and its slips repeat the same area, comparison: in Band 6, “more twice” is the wrong word order for a comparison that needs the word than.
Band 7 handles comparison well in one place and slips in another. “three times as long as the 3 hours that young people recorded” is a clean comparative, while “twice as much hours” puts an uncountable word before a countable noun.
Band 8 keeps its comparatives accurate throughout and widens the structures around them. “more than double the 8 hours recorded by the younger group” attaches the comparison to the figure it measures, and the relative clause that follows it adds the ranking without a new sentence. Compare the Grammatical Range and Accuracy cell at Band 8.
Traps this task sets
These come from the guide to line graphs, bar charts, pie charts and tables, and each is visible in the Band 6 answer.
- Describing every bar in turn. The Band 6 answer goes through the younger group’s four figures in the order of the chart. Group by activity, or by age group, and keep to one choice.
- Getting a ratio wrong. Nine hours against three is three times, not double. A loose ratio is a Task Achievement error, because the figure no longer matches the chart.
- An overview that only says the groups differ. Say which activities lead for each group, so that the overview can be checked against the bars.
- Ending with a restatement. The Band 6 closing sentence repeats the overview. A closing sentence is not needed, and if you write one it should add something.
How to use these answers
Write your own report on the same chart first, in 20 minutes. Then read the three answers against yours, one paragraph at a time, and ask which band your paragraph resembles on each of the four criteria.
Next, mark your own script with the same codes: where you stated the overview, where a link carried the logic, where a figure and its comparison shared a sentence and which slips a marker would circle. Check every ratio you wrote against the table. Do not memorise any sentence from these pages: IELTS.org penalises memorised content, and the visual in the exam will not match this one.
How the app marks it
IELTS Mentor AI marks a Task 1 report with a band range for each of the four criteria, from a strict to a lenient reading, followed by what worked and how to improve for each criterion. A Data Accuracy card separates a misread chart from a language mistake. The editor is timed at 20:00 with a live word count against the 150 minimum.
Where this fits
This page belongs to the guide to line graphs, bar charts, pie charts and tables, which explains how to plan a report, and to the Writing test format guide, which covers the whole test. The same exercise is done for the other visuals: line graph, pie chart, table, process diagram, map and two charts. For the Task 1 practice tool, see Writing Task 1 practice, and for how the Writing score is built, see how the IELTS Writing score is calculated.
Frequently asked questions
Are these IELTS Writing Task 1 bar chart answers from a real paper?
No. They were written for this site, on an invented chart with round figures, and IELTS did not mark them. The band each one illustrates is the site's reading of the public band descriptors, not a score that any examiner gave.
Should I describe a bar chart bar by bar?
No. IELTS.org asks you to include the most important points and allows minor details to be left out. Walking through every bar shows no selection, which is what Task Achievement looks for. Compare the groups on each activity instead.
Does the exam always give a bar chart?
IELTS publishes no list of chart types to expect. IELTS.org says Academic Task 1 may show one or more graphs, charts or tables, or a diagram. A bar chart is a practice shape on this site, not a promised one.
Which tense does a chart with no time period need?
This chart is dated 2025, so the answers use the past. A chart with no date can take the present. IELTS.org does not set a tense, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards the forms the data calls for, used correctly.
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