Academic Writing
Bar graphs are another of the most common types of questions asked
during the IELTS Academic Writing test.
For this type of question, you
will be presented with an image of a bar chart and asked to describe the
main features of this graph within a formal report of at least 150 words.
As with any
other IELTS Writing Task One, you have around 20
minutes for this task and it’s worth
one third
of your IELTS Writing test
score.
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The bars are colored or symbol-marked rectangular blocks
representing certain variables that can be compared, like in the following
example:
They can be placed in a horizontal or vertical position.
These types of graphs usually represent the rate of change of
certain variables concerning time.
The information presented in bar
charts is not necessarily
dependent on any other variables and the data on the x-axis
can be grouped by category. For example:
Spending Type,
Disease Type
etc.
So it’s important to use effective vocabulary to express these
trends in words. You might
have to describe periods of
sudden changes (both upwards and downwards) or periods of
stability.
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