IELTS Writing - Task One - charts & graphs

On our Facebook page yesterday, we featured a grammar-and-vocabulary quiz based on a map. If you haven’t taken the quiz, start today’s blog by clicking on the post here:

In this blog, we’ll use these 7 sentences to study an important part of IELTS Writing Task 1: describing graphs and charts. We’ll try to understand the correct and incorrect answers to this quiz, and then learn how we can use sentences like these to achieve a high mark in IELTS.

Firstly, however, let’s quickly look at the answers:

1) The map shows how many countries in the world have McDonald’s.

2) In central Africa there are no McDonald’s restaurants.

3) Norway is the country with the most expensive McDonald’s.

4) There are more McDonald’s outlets in Germany than there are in the UK.

5) McDonald’s is far less  popular in China than it is in Canada,

6) The price of McDonald’s fluctuates among the countries in Europe...

7) ...but the price rises when you look at European countries which are outside the Eurozone.

Graphs And Charts In IELTS
Roughly 80% of exams in IELTS Writing Task 1 display a graph or chart, and a brief explanation of the chart. This means that studying this kind of exam is well worth it – you are very likely to have to discuss a graph or chart when you do your IELTS exam.
As we’ve said before, a great IELTS score requires great vocabulary and severalother aspects. There are also some methods and key words which will help you get the best possible mark in IELTS Writing Task 1.
We will use the examples from the McDonald’s map to illustrate these methods. Let’s take a look.

Grammar and IELTS

1) The map shows how many countries in the world have McDonald’s.

GRAMMAR ADVICE: Technically, it would be ok to use the word “most” – although it’s true and grammatically correct to use the word “most”, it’s far too informal for a high IELTS score.
It’s untrue to use the word “all”. Although the grammar is ok, it’s simply not correct – many African countries and other countries around the world are coloured blue, meaning that no McDonald’s restaurants exist there.
So, the correct sentence is: “The map shows how many countries in the world have McDonald’s.”

IELTS ADVICE: The first sentence of your Task One essay should paraphrase the description which is given in the exam. If you look at these samples of Task One graphs (SAMPLE 1, SAMPLE 2 ) you’ll see that each contains some text, usually in a box, which describes the graph.
“To paraphrase” means “to repeat a message with different words”. Here are two sample paraphrases:

“The chart below shows the number of men and women in further education in Britain in three periods and whether they were studying full-time or part-time.”

PARAPHRASED:  “The chart displays information on how many males and females studied in third-level education in the UK during three periods of time. It also shows the difference between full-time and part-time courses which they took.”

“The bar chart below gives information about the percentage of the population living in urban areas in the world and in different continents.”

PARAPHRASED: “The chart illustrates the percentage of people who live in cities worldwide, according to various continents.”

2) In central Africa there are no McDonald’s restaurants.

3) Norway is the country with the most expensive McDonald’s.

GRAMMAR ADVICE: In sentence 2), we must choose the correct grammar. It’s absolutely incorrect to say “In Central Africa, can see no McDonald’s”: no English speaker will understand this. (You could say, “we can see no McDonald’s”. This is not very good English, but it can be understood)
We say “there is / there are” to describe what exists. In this sentence, “there are” is correct because of the plural noun “restaurants”. Many English speakers use “there is” in this sentence. It’s technically not correct English, however.

In sentence 3), we must also use the correct grammar. Here, we use the word “most” to show that Norway’s McDonald’s restaurants are more expensive than any other country in the world. “All expensive McDonald’s” is completely incorrect English.

IELTS ADVICE: You may see in the sample tests that all graph-related tasks ask you to

“Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features."

You don’t need to describe some parts of the graph, and you shouldn’t waste your time by describing them. The colour of different bars; the minimum and maximum numbers or the gaps in between them – these are examples of unnecessary information. The information which you should describe is what the chart tells you. This can usually be expressed in a simple sentence:

SAMPLE 1
Urban population in 1950 is coloured orange.

In 2007, 49% of the world’s population lived in urban areas.

SAMPLE 2
A dotted line separates men and women in further education.
Around 900,000 men were in part-time further education in 1990/91.

MCDONALD'S MAP
In central Africa there are no McDonald’s restaurants.
Norway is the country with the most expensive McDonald’s.

These sentences are fine for an IELTS score of 6.0-7.0. However, to achieve a higher score (7.5 and above), we should use compound sentences. These are complex sentences which contain more than one piece of information.

In central Africa, between South Africa and the border of Egypt to the north, there are no McDonald’s restaurants.

Norway, where a Big Mac costs €7.18, is the country with the most expensive McDonald’s.

4) There are more McDonald’s outlets in Germany than there are in the UK.

5) McDonald’s is far less  popular in China than it is in Canada,

GRAMMAR ADVICE: Both of these sentences use comparatives; the correct sentences are both true and have the correct grammar.
In sentence 4), we need to describe the difference in the number of restaurants in Germany (1,276) compared to the number of restaurants in the UK (1,250). To do this we use the word “more”.
But the choice between “fewer” and “less” is very difficult. Both words are the opposite of “more”. So what’s the difference? Well, it’s small but important: “fewer” is used to compare countable nouns...

In this classroom are fewer men than women.

 Ireland has fewer football clubs than the UK has.

...and “less” is used to compare uncountable nouns or adjectives...

There is less space in your hotel room than there is in mine.

It is less cold in Saudi Arabia than it is in Ireland.

This helps us to choose the correct answer in sentence 5): “far less”. So why do we use the word “far” here? Well, it’s the exact same as “much” or “a lot”. It means there’s a big difference between McDonald’s popularity in China (only 660 restaurants) and its popularity in Canada (1,400 restaurants).
Of course, we can’t use the word “far” (or “much” or “a lot”) in sentence 4), because there’s a small difference between the restaurants in the UK and Germany.

IELTS ADVICE: All graph-related Task One exams require you to “compare and contrast the information where possible”. So there are two important skills which will help you get a high mark in this task: a) finding the information to compare/contrast, and b) using correct and, where possible, advanced language to describe the differences.

6) The price of McDonald’s fluctuates among the countries in Europe...

7) ...but the price rises when you look at European countries which are outside the Eurozone.

GRAMMAR ADVICE: In sentences 6) and 7), which contain advanced English, we have to choose between the same three words. Each word has a completely different meaning:

“To fluctuate” means to go up and down unpredictably. We only use this to describe graphs and abstract nouns. (we can’t use it to describe a boat in a storm, for example)

“To be constant” means to stay the same. Again, we only use it to describe abstract things. It’s often used, for example, to describe the weather.

“To rise” is an a synonym for “to go up”. We can use it to describe physical things (the sun) or abstract nouns (population).

IELTS ADVICE: Using words like “fluctuate”, “constant” and “rise” show that you can combine both of the requirements of Task One: describing and comparing. You’re using advanced language to describe how things change on the graph – and you will get higher marks if you use them correctly.
How do you use them correctly? This requires three skills:

a) Vocabulary: there are many more words besides these three. Other examples are “decrease”/“increase”, “fall”/“skyrocket”, “erratic” / “stable”. Learn the words!

b) Word formation: Each of the words above (except for “erratic” / “stable”) are verbs. Most of them can be transformed into nouns, adjectives and sometimes adverbs. Word formation – transforming verbs into nouns, nouns into adjectives, etc. – is a huge part of IELTS.

c) Use of English: When you learn a new verb, noun, adjective or adverb, it’s essential to use it correctly in a sentence. Many IELTS students lose marks because they can’t use them properly in a sentence. Examples are:

“PC sales are fall.” (It should be “PC sales are falling”)

“Population in Africa was increase after 1950.” (It should be “There was an increase in the population in Africa after 1950.” Or “The population in Africa increased after 1950.”)

“Males in part-time education fluctuated between 1970 and 1991.” (It should be “The number of males in part-time education fluctuated between 1970 and 1991.”

Practicing Your New Skills
Graphs and charts are everywhere, especially if you are studying or working in business. Even if you’re not a business-person, the media (especially the news) in any language is a great source of these diagrams.

ACTIVITY IDEA 1: 

Visit any media site, preferably in English, and find a graph or chart in the news or business section. Write 6-10 sentences to describe the graph/chart, as if you were explaining the information to someone who couldn’t see it.

ACTIVITY IDEA 2:

Test your new skills by answering a sample IELTS task with a full, 150-word essay.