UK Household Spending Pie Charts · 1980 vs 2020
A complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 question with a model answer of 202 words, plus a breakdown of the sentence structures, cohesive devices and vocabulary that answer uses. Write your own version first, then compare.
Written by Manish Sharma · CELTA and DELTA qualified · 8 years teaching IELTS
Score my answer to this questionThe question
You have 20 minutes. Write at least 150 words.
The two pie charts below show the proportion of average household spending across six categories in the United Kingdom in 1980 and 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. [Chart Data] Category | 1980 (%) | 2020 (%) Food & groceries | 30 | 16 Housing & utilities | 18 | 28 Transport | 14 | 14 Leisure & entertainment | 9 | 17 Clothing | 8 | 5 Other (incl. communications) | 21 | 20
How to approach it
- 01Group categories by trend (increased, decreased, unchanged) in your overview
- 02Use proportion language: 'a quarter', 'just under a third', 'nearly half'
- 03Don't describe every category in order — focus on the most significant changes
- 04Make direct comparisons between the two years rather than describing them separately
- 05Use change verbs: 'rose', 'climbed', 'shrank', 'plummeted', 'remained stable'
- 06Conclude with a sentence summarising the overall shift in priorities
Model answer
202 words in 6 paragraphs. Read it after you have written your own, not before: the point of a model answer is to show you what you missed, and you cannot miss anything you have not attempted.
The two pie charts compare the proportion of average household spending across six categories in the United Kingdom in 1980 and 2020.
Overall, housing and leisure absorbed a markedly larger share of household budgets in 2020 than four decades earlier, whereas spending on food and clothing fell significantly. The share devoted to transport remained unchanged.
In 1980, food and groceries accounted for the largest portion of household spending at 30 percent. By 2020, this had nearly halved to 16 percent, suggesting either lower food prices in real terms or shifting consumer priorities. Clothing also shrank, from 8 percent to just 5 percent over the same period.
In contrast, housing and utilities rose dramatically from 18 percent in 1980 to 28 percent in 2020, becoming the single largest expense category. Spending on leisure and entertainment also climbed sharply, nearly doubling from 9 percent to 17 percent, which reflects rising disposable incomes and the expansion of the entertainment industry.
Transport remained steady at 14 percent in both years, while the "other" category, which now includes mobile phones and internet services, dipped marginally from 21 percent to 20 percent.
In summary, essential costs have shifted away from food towards housing, with leisure spending growing considerably.
What this answer actually does
Measured from the text above, and compared against the other 38 answers of the same type in this library. These are counts, not band scores: they describe what the writing does, which is the part you can copy.
5.5 fewer than the median answer for this task type
7 words at the shortest, 29 at the longest
the same as the median answer for this task type
carry a subordinate or relative clause
Sentence rhythm
Sentences average 20.2 words and vary by 6.6 words either side of that, running from 7 words to 29. Variation is the point. Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards a mix of simple and complex sentences, and an answer where every sentence is the same length reads as flat no matter how correct it is. 3 of the 10 sentences here carry a subordinate or relative clause.
The cohesive devices it uses
5 in total, spread across 2 different functions. Range matters more than count: an answer that opens every paragraph with a sequencer signals its structure but never signals a relationship between ideas, and Coherence and Cohesion is marked on both.
in contrast, whereas, while
in summary, overall
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 74 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 63 per cent appear exactly once. Lexical Resource is where repetition costs the most marks, and the usual cause is not a small vocabulary but reaching for the same noun every time the topic is named.
The longest run of words copied straight from the question is 17 words. That is long enough to notice. Copied wording is discounted from your word count, so a run this size is doing less work than it looks like it is doing.
What you are marked on
All four criteria carry equal weight, and your Writing band is their average rounded to the nearest half band.
Task Achievement
Identify all major changes and similarities between the two charts and include a clear overview.
Coherence & Cohesion
Group categories logically by trend rather than listing them sequentially.
Lexical Resource
Use varied vocabulary for proportions and changes, including paraphrasing of categories.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Accurate use of past tenses and comparison structures across two time periods.
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