Writing task 1 - Bar chart.

Question

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of houses that were bought and hired by families in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.
Overall, in England and Wales, there was a considerable decline in the percentage of rented accommodation while the figure for the owned houses showed a significant increase over the periods shown. It is also of note that there was a relatively similar figure in households that were bought and rented in 1791.
In 1918, the figure for families accommodation reached a peak of over 75% but decreased and leveled off to under 70% between 1939 and 1953. Then it remarkably dropped to around 32% from 1961 to 1991 and stabilized again until 2001 before there was a slight increase in 2011, at 35%.
Between 1939 and 1953, the proportion of households in owned accommodation level maintained the same level at about 32% after having stood at over 20% in 1918. This figure rose dramatically to 60% in 1981. Subsequently, there was a slight fluctuation that before declining by roughly 3% in 2011, the percentage of families purchasing houses peaked at about 69% in 2001.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

You misunderstood this bar chart. It is a challenging practice test.

The bar chart illustrates (poor word choice) the proportion of houses that were bought and hired (incorrect. The chart does not plot purchases of accommodation, only the status of living arrangements: rented or owned.) by families in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.

(You need to separate the paragraphs more clearly. Add a blank line.)

Overall, in England and Wales, there was a considerable decline in the percentage of rented accommodation while the figure (wrong word) for the owned houses showed a significant increase over the periods (There is only one period: 1918-2011.) shown. ~~It is also of note that~~ there was a relatively similar figure (wrong word) in households that were bought and rented (incorrect - this does not make sense. We do not buy households. It is bad English.) in 1791. (Is there another chart with this date?)

(You need to separate the paragraphs more clearly. Add a blank line.)

In 1918, the figure (wrong word) for families (wrong form) accommodation (I do not understand. Both a house you own or a house you rent is accomodation. Are you talking about both of them?) reached a peak of over 75% but decreased and leveled off to under 70% (Under 70% can be 13% or 69% or 27%. Be more precise.) between 1939 and 1953. Then it ~~remarkably~~ dropped to around 32% from 1961 to 1991 and stabilized again until 2001 before there was a slight increase in 2011, at 35%.

(Your transition from the paragraph above to the next one is not good. You already wrote about the 1939-1953 time period.)

Between 1939 and 1953, the proportion of households in owned accommodation ~~level~~ maintained the same level at about 32% after having stood at over 20% (Over 20% could be 23% or 42% or 88%. You need to be more precise.) in 1918. This figure (wrong word) rose ~~dramatically~~ to 60% in 1981. Subsequently, there was a slight fluctuation (wrong word) ~~that~~ before declining by roughly 3% in 2011, (Did you mash two sentences together here?) the percentage of families purchasing houses (incorrect. ) peaked at about 69% in 2001.

Many students have used this task for practice. It is a difficult one. And not a single student has discovered and written one sentence about the most important feature on this chart. This is the fact that the sum of renters + owners always equals 100%. A household either owns their own home, or rents it. There is no other option.

After writing one sentence in the "overall" paragraph about that relationship, you can focus on either the owners or the renters, because the trends will be exactly the opposite. The data values for one of them are completely determined by the other. If 40% are renting, 60% are owning. If 20% are owners, then 80% are renters. If one is increasing, the other has to be decreasing. If one is constant, the other has to be constant.

Note my green and orange trend lines on the diagram, which I used to describe the information on this chart in the model essay.

In graphs or time-series bar charts with a long time period, look for ways to divide the time into time spans that have a consistent trend.

Sample Essay

This is too long for an actual IELTS essay, but is good for study purposes. You should write a shorter essay, perhaps focusing on the time spans with the most change.

The bar chart plots the percentages of families living in England and Wales who owned their own homes over the 93-year period from the end of World War I (1918) to 2011. It also plots the percentage of families who rented. Nine points in time are shown.

These two series are related to each other by a simple mathematical formula. The total of the two values (renters and owners) adds up to 100% at every time point. Overall, home ownership increased substantially, the renters outnumbering the homeowners in the first four decades, and homeowners dominating in the last five decades. The chart can be divided into five time periods: first,1918-1939, with increasing home ownership, second,1939-1953, a period of stability, third, 1953-1991, with a rapid growth in ownership, fourth,1991-2001, a period of stability and fifth, 2001-2011, with a decline in ownership.

At the beginning of the period, 1918, 78% lived in rented housing, and the remaining 22% owned their own homes. At that time, there began a general upward trend in home ownership, increasing to a peak of 70% in 1991. There was an intervening period (1939-1953) where the percentage hovered around 33%; that is, a third of the households owned their homes and two-thirds rented. In 1953, the increase in ownership resumed. The numbers of owners and renters were equal (50% in each category) in 1971. The steepest rise in home ownership was between 1953 and 1971, increasing at a rate of about 1% per year. After another stable period, 1992-2001, the trends reversed and the percentage of home ownership declined from its peak of 70% to 65% at the end of the period, 2011. The rate of decline in the last decade was 0.5% per year.

Writing task 1 - Bar chart.

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