Model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Table and Bar Chart — British Exports

Jun 24, 2021 | IELTS, IELTS Test, IELTS Writing

Most IELTS test candidates approach us because they are struggling to get the band score they need with IELTS Writing. For most, the problem is actually with Task 1.

One of the biggest hurdles is the variety of Task 1s. There are five different basic types – and these can be combined to make many more combinations.

The model essay below follows the following format:

1st Paragraph: contains the introduction, which paraphrases the statement given with the task 

1st Body Paragraph: begins with an overview and reports the data for the table

2nd Body Paragraph: –> reports the statistics from the bar chart

The Question

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below gives information about the UK’s top 5 exports in 2020 and the percentage change with the previous year. The bar chart shows the percentage of UK exports sent to the EU between 2000 and 2020.

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

Write at least 150 words. 

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 table and bar graph by Andrew Turner for https://englishwithanexpert.com/

The Answer

  The table shows the highest value exports from the UK in 2020 and how these figures changed in comparison to the previous year. The bar chart shows the proportion of overall UK exports which were sent to the EU between 2000 and 2020.

Overall, sales in the five highest value UK export sectors declined between 2019 and 2020. Exports of cars, still the top export product by overall value, saw a significant fall of 30.7%, to $26.8bn. Only crude oil declined more sharply – by almost a third – to $16.1bn. Exports of gold and turbo-jets fell more gradually and are both now valued at just over $20bn, while overseas sales of medication, conversely, saw a modest increase of 1.6%.

Exports to the EU as a proportion of the UK’s overall international trade have been in steady decline between 2000 and 2020, from a high of roughly 54% at the turn of the century, sinking to around 48% a decade later, and to less than 45% last year. 

What Next?

The best way to improve is to practise. Why not write your own answer to this question and purchase one of our Writing Correction Packages to receive professional feedback.

If you would like to learn more about Academic Task 1, you can purchase a video course by visiting this page.

Or purchase our Academic Task 1 eBook, which gives you many more model essays with detailed explanations and exercises. 

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