How to describe pie charts in IELTS
Pie charts are some of the tasks for IELTS writing task 1. Describing pie charts can be tricky but easy with the following tips.
You are required to make some comparisons though at times it might seem hard. Making comparisons not only shows good interpretation of the task bit also a good understanding of language usage. It makes the description of the data more advanced. Make comparisons where relevant.
With this task, a test taker is not expected to give any personal opinions. Just describe what is presented. Test takers at times give personal opinions because they think they know the reasons or causes of the data in the chart. This is wrong. For example, if the data is about the percentages of decrease in buying cars, do not give your personal opinion of why there is a decrease.
It is important to use the appropriate tense (past, present or future).
You need to get all the appropriate data from the pie charts/graphs into your writing.
IELTS Pie Charts Vocabulary
Language usage is the most challenging for IELTS takers, especially the best vocabulary to describe and compare the data presented. Making comparisons is basically hard but at the same time, make comparisons where relevant and use superlatives: the biggest, the smallest, the largest, the most expensive, the least expensive. Every superlative you use is an automatic comparison. Choosing the best adjective is quite important too.
Try to use referencing, for example, which, it, that, to help summarize the data. You can include a superlative with the referencing words – oil, which was the most expensive sources of energy in 2007,.…
Look at the following wording:
It is clear/evident/apparent/exhibited that ____represents the largest/biggest/highest portion of _____, whereas _____ is undoubtedly the smallest/minutest/lowest.
Sales of _____ stood at % in 2000, which is the majority/highest/bigest of___.
(If the percentage is around 60%) – Nearly a third…
(If the percentage is around 52%) – Over a half of all respondents…
For a small fraction…
Exactly 30% of tourists…
(If the percentage is around 25%) Roughly a quarter of tourists
…whereas the number of _____ was just 10%.
In 2003 approximately three quarters were ____, whereas in 1960 this had fallen to just under a fifth.
Percentages and fractions:
a half, 50%, 1/2,
a third, 33%, 1/3,
two thirds, 66%, 2/3,
three quarters, 75%, 3/4,
a quarter, 25%, ¼
However, avoid overusing words to replace the given figures because when you are specific about the figures, it can give you a better way of comparison.
Tense use to describe pie charts in IELTS.
To find the right tense, not the following.
Look for the years given. Some years will be past, a current year or future year.
– if the year is past, that is, all years preceding the present year (i.e. 2008), use the past tense
– if the year is after the present year, this means the chart is presenting future data (i.e 2029), use the future tense
- if it is the current year, then use the present simple tense.
– if there is no year, use the present simple tense.
Avoid switching the tense halfway as you write your response. For example, starting the first part with the past tense and then end the response using the present simple tense. This can only be done if the chart has a past year and future year, or a past year and current year. So to say, the years dictate what tense you use.
You can start your body paragraphs with fixed expressions in the present tense then switch to the past tense. This requires a good ability to know when to change the tense within the sentence. For example:
The graph shows that between 1999 and 2000, there was an enormous decline in the number of tourists. However, it is clear that in the following year, the number tremendously increased.
Pie Chart
2014World Food Consumption
TASK RESPONSE.
This pie chart exhibits the percentages of total world food consumption of seven different food types in 2014.
Overall, as is exhibited in the given pie chart showing the percentage of foods eaten globally, meat was the darling of many while rice was the less preferred and thus least consumed.
A detailed analysis of the pie chart illustrates that meat took the lion’s share of consumption of all the foods, its percentage accruing to 31.4%, with fish being the second-highest consumed food, at 27.9 %, around 3% shy of meat. The consumption of cereals was almost half of that of meat and fish, polling a percentage of 11.7, just slightly aloft the percentage of fruits eaten that accounted for10.6% and vegetables only taking 10.5%, 1 percent less than fruits. The least preferred foods eaten globally were bread 5.5%, and rice taking the tiniest percentage at 2.4, almost half of bread.