The three pie charts below show the changes in annual spending by a particular UK school in 1981, 1991 and 2001.

Question

The pie charts illustrate the comparison between yearly expenditure of a specific school in Britain in three different years: 1981, 1991, 2001.

Generally, it is obvious that all categories listed on the charts suffered a substantial fluctuation.

Particularly, looking at the 1991 and 2001 charts, a lot of fluctuations could be observed. Firstly, spending on salaries of teachers, which was always the highest compared with other categories, immensely increased from 40% to 50% in 1991 although it suffered a minimal fall to 45% in 2001 while the lowest expenditure was on insurance which rose gradually from 2% to 8% in 2001. Additionally, the spending on other staffs’ salaries, which had a downward trend, significantly declined from 28% (1981) to only 15% (2001). Meanwhile, the proportion of total money diverted to furniture and equipment decreased sharply from 15% to 5% in 1991 before it reached a peach at 23% in the next 10 years. With regard to the final category, spending on resources e.g. books suffered an enormous drop to 9% in 2001 after it increased negligibly from 15% to 20% of total expenditure in 1991.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

You did not read my advice. You misused the "frequently misused words".

IELTS TASK 1: Hints, Tips And Advice

Vocabulary Words For Task 1: Reference Post

The (how many?) pie charts illustrate (misused word. Read my advice.) the comparison (wrong word - comparisons are not plotted.) between yearly expenditure of a specific school in Britain in three different years: 1981, 1991, 2001.

Generally, ~~it is obvious that~~ (you did not read my advice about such clauses) all categories listed on the charts suffered (wrong word. Only sentient beings can suffer.) a substantial fluctuation. (misused word. Read my advice. This is not an interesting observation. Everything changes, especially over two decades. )

Particularly, looking at the 1991 and 2001 charts, a lot of fluctuations (misused word. Read my advice. There is no way to see fluctuations on a pie chart!) could be observed. ~~Firstly~~, First, spending on salaries of teachers, which was always the highest compared with other categories, ~~immensely~~ increased by 25% from 40% to 50% in 1991 although it suffered (wrong word) a minimal (use mathematical, not descriptive terms) fall to 45% in 2001 while the lowest expenditure was on insurance which ~~rose gradually~~ (wrong word. Gradual changes can only be seen on line graphs..) quadrupled from 2% to 8% in 2001. Additionally, the spending on other staffs’ salaries, ~~which had a downward trend, significantly~~ declined by about 50% from 28% (1981) to only 15% (2001). Meanwhile, the proportion of total money diverted to furniture and equipment decreased sharply from 15% to 5% in 1991 before it reached a peach (A peach is a delicious summertime fruit. If you meant "peak", you have misused this word. Read my advice.) at 23% in the next 10 years. With regard to the final category, spending on resources e.g. books suffered an enormous (misused. Read my advice.) drop to 9% in 2001 after it increased negligibly from 15% to 20% of total expenditure in 1991.

Example writing: The is much too long for a task essay, but it will give you examples of sentences and vocabulary words.

When describing budgets, it is very useful to know the words discretionary and non-discretionary. Discretionary spending is for categories which are not absolutely necessary. Non-discretionary categories are required spending.

Note the very useful vocabulary word "relative." The opposite of "relative" is "absolute." These are extremely useful for task 1 essays if you learn to use them correctly. The words "double" "triple" and "quadruple" are also useful words.

Paragraph 1: Describe the figure:

The three pie charts, dated 1981, 1991 and 2001, compare the percentage of yearly spending in one UK school on five budget categories. These are teacher’s salaries, other salaries, furniture and equipment, resources (e.g books), and insurance.

Paragraph 2: Point out 2-3 main features:

Overall, the highest proportion of spending, over two-thirds, went to the non-discretionary spending categories: salaries and insurance. The category with the largest relative increase over this 20-year period was insurance. The proportion of discretionary spending categories ( resources, furniture and equipment) did not change much.

Paragraph 3: Describe some interesting details. Normally, I would select only a few details for paragraph 3, so the total would count would add up to 170-190.

The greatest proportion of this school's budget went to paying employees. In 1991, salaries made up just over two-thirds of the school's budget (68%), with teachers taking 40% and other staff 28%. This had risen slightly to 72% by 1991, with the 10% rise in the teacher's salaries offset by a 6% decline in that of the other workers. In that year, teachers' salaries took up half of the budget, the largest proportion of all three years. In 2001, the total percentage devoted to salaries had dropped to 60%, 45% for teachers and 15% for non-teaching staff.

The two categories representing discretionary items, furniture and equipment and resources, had a large variation individually, i.e. ranging between 5% to 23% for the former and 9% to 20% for the latter. But when taken together, the sum was relatively consistent, 30% in 1981, 25% in 1991 and 32% in 2001. The relative cost of insurance, the smallest category, increased much more than any of the others. It required only 2% of spending in 1981, and quadrupled to 8% in 2001.

The three pie charts below show the changes in annual spending by a particular UK school in 1981, 1991 and 2001.

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