IELTS Task 1 - writing About two bar charts

Question

The charts below give information about USA marriage and divorce rates between 1970 and 2000, and the marital status of adult Americans in two of the years.

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

Write at least 150 words.

The two bar charts give some marriage and divorce and also marital status information in the USA in the period of years 1970-2000. One of them gives the number of marriages and divorces for years. The other one shows the marital status of adult Americans for only the years 1970 and 2000. It could be seen divorce rate reached its maximum in 1980 and the proportion of married adults in the USA in 2000 is less than in 1970.

One of the bar charts show the number of marriage and divorces in the US in terms of millions of people between 1970 and 2000 with ten-year intervals. It can be seen that although the number of marriages decreased gradually in that period of time, the number of divorces had not a decreasing trend. It increased and reached to its maximum value (more than half of the marriages) in 1980 and then declined gradually.

The other chart shows the percentage of the marital status of adult Americans including never married, married, widowed, and divorced for only the years 1970 and 2000. It is obvious that percentage of married people is maximum compared with the other groups and this value fell from 70% in 1970 to 60% in 2000. Never married, widowed and divorced adults shared just remaining 30 and 40% in 1970 and 2000 respectively and the number of never married people was more than the other two groups. What is more, the divorced proportion rose considerably from 19700 to 2000 (about 2% vs approximately 9%).

So, the population of married and divorced people dropped steadily from 1980 to 2000 and a high percentage of people was married in both 1970 and 2000.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Please read my advice for Task 1 essays. IELTS TASK 1: Hints, Tips And Advice

Your essay is not organized very well. Here is a suggestion.

Paragraph 1: Describe each figure, in this case the two bar charts.
Then for the essay body, you can choose between two approaches.

1. You can write one paragraph about the numbers of marriages and divorces and another about marital status. (Two body paragraphs)

2. You can write about the most important observations on both charts in paragraph 2, and then some details in paragraph 3. (Two body paragraphs)

The two bar charts give ~~some~~ the numbers of marriages and divorces and marital status information in the USA in the period ~~of years~~ 1970-2000. One of them gives the number of marriages and divorces for ~~years.~~ The other one shows the marital status of adult Americans for only the years 1970 and 2000. ~~It could be seen divorce rate reached its maximum in 1980 and the proportion of married adults in the USA in 2000 is less than in 1970~~.

( The paragraph is very repetitive. Try not to repeat the same information over and over. The last sentence belongs in the second paragraph.

Here is an example opening paragraph.

The first bar chart gives the numbers (in millions) of marriages and divorces in the USA in each decade between 1970 and 2000. The second bar chart gives the marital status for that same population in the years 1970 and 2000. The options for marital are: never married, married, widowed and divorced.

One of the bar charts show the number of marriage and divorces in the US in terms of millions of people between 1970 and 2000 with ten-year intervals. (repetitive. You already wrote this in the first paragraph.) ~~It can be seen that~~ Although the number of marriages decreased gradually in that period of time, the number of divorces had no consistent / discernable ~~not a decreasing~~ trend. It increased and reached to its maximum value (more than half of the marriages) in 1980 and then declined gradually.

The other chart shows the percentage of ~~the marital status of~~ adult Americans in each category of marital status including never married, married, widowed, and divorced for only the years 1970 and 2000. (This is repetitive. You should describe the chart in the opening paragraph.) ~~It is obvious that~~ percentage of married people is the highest of the ~~maximum compared with the other~~ groups and this value fell from 70% in 1970 to 60% in 2000. Never married, widowed and divorced adults shared just remaining 30 and 40% in 1970 and 2000 respectively and the number (wrong word) of never married people was more than the other two groups. What is more, the divorced proportion rose considerably from 19700 to 2000 (about 2% vs approximately 9%).

Suggested sentence:

In terms of marital status, the majority of American adults were married in both 1970 and 2000, although the percentage declined by about 10% to 60%. The percentages of widowed and divorced adults were in the minority, both accounting for less than 10%, with those never married making up the difference, 15% in 1970 and 20% in 2000.

So, the population (wrong word) of married and divorced people dropped steadily from 1980 to 2000 and a high percentage of people was married in both 1970 and 2000.

This sentence belongs in the second paragraph. It is also repetitive. Remember that Task 1 essays do not need a summary/conclusion. Task 2 essays require a summary / conclusion for your argument. You are not arguing any position in Task 1.

IELTS Task 1 - writing About two bar charts

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