10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

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Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart
Current IELTS exam topics and questions:
November 26, 2014 by Liz 43 Comments

Recent exam questions

A sample introduction and overview for this IELTS chart is given below. The
introduction is the easiest paragraph to write and the overview is the most
important paragraph in your report. Look at the sample paragraphs below for the Post Your IELTS Results
IELTS chart given and fill in the gaps.
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The chart below shows the average monthly expenditure by British
households in three years.
Advanced IELTS Writing Lessons

Techniques for a high score Click here:

Advanced Writing Task 2

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Desertification Reading Exercise & Useful Vocab

The (1) ……………………… illustrates the typical (2) ……………………….. of August 29, 2018
money spent each month on utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment (3)
…………..groceries by households in Britain in three years (1990, 2000 and 2010).
Units are (4) …………………. in pounds sterling. IELTS Extra Information

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Overview
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10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

(5) …………………., the largest expenditure was on rent,, (6) ………………. the Useful Websites for IELTS
least amount of money spent was on utility bills and entertainment. While there
was a significant (7) …………………. in spending on rent, transport and utility
bills, there was li le change in the amount spent on the two other items.

Answers
1. chart / bar chart
2. amount
3. and
4. measured
5. Overall (this is the most correct and appropriate linker to use)
6. whereas or while (it is not possible to use “in comparison to” or any similar
linker due to the grammar structure of the sentence. To use “in comparison
to” the sentence must read “…the largest expenditure was on rent in
comparison to the least amount of money spent which was on …”)
7. increase / rise / growth

Tips & Vocab

Paraphrase the information for the introduction
shows = illustrates
average = typical
expenditure = amount of money spent
monthly = each month
Give the units if necessary
Put key features together in the overview
The overview is usually a separate paragraph
This IELTS chart is considered a simple chart and all students aiming for
band score 6 and above should be able to write this report without many
errors.
Watch the video lesson suggest below to learn about the correct
paragraphing to use in IELTS writing task 1

Recommended Lessons

Writing Task 1 Diagram introduction and overview, click here

Bar Chart Model Band Score 9, click here
IELTS Video Tutorial: Structure and Paragraphs for Writing Task 1, click here

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 1 Tagged With: bar chart, overview

Comments

Mudassar Hussain says:

November 15, 2017 at 6:11 am

It is one of the most useful website for ielts student thank you so much Liz. It is
extremely incredible for any ielts student.

Reply

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10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

Liz says:
November 15, 2017 at 12:11 pm

I’m glad my site is useful

Reply

Emelia says:
September 15, 2017 at 3:31 pm

Hello Liz,

I noticed one more key feature that should be in the overview: more money was totally
spent in 2010 compared to the other two years. Is that correct?

Reply

Liz says:
September 16, 2017 at 12:46 pm

You need to decide not just which points to put in the overview but also
how many.

Reply

Bhavika says:
May 31, 2017 at 6:02 am

The bar chart illustrates the amount of money spent by British household on
expenses like utility bills, transport, rent, entertainment and groceries per month for 3
years. Units are measured in pounds sterling.
Overall, the cost of living expense is seeing an increasing trend in totality except for
entertainment expense. Rent and grocery are the major two expenditure of a British
household in comparison to other expenses.
In a span of 30 years significant increase in expenses like rent , utility bill and transport is
seen. Rent saw consistent rising trend about L450 in 1990 to above L500 in 2000 and
finally reached L600 in 2010. Furthermore, the utility bill expense in first two years were
more or less the same(li le below L100) but shot more than L150 in a span of 10 years.
The transport expense in year 1990 was li le over L150 then it flung to slightly below 250
and then the increase was gradual (approx. 250 in 2010)
The expenses like entertainment and groceries were more or less the same over the years.
As seen entertainment ranged from approx. L120 to L100 a downward trend as compared
to groceries ranging from li le above L300 to L340 showing an upward trend over the
years.

PLEASE CHECK MY ANSWER TO THE BAR CHART USED FOR INTRODUCTION

AND OVERVIEW.

Reply

simran singh says:

June 21, 2017 at 3:31 pm

you are using present sentence form (is, are) in the second body paragraph,
which is wrong i guess, it should be wri en in past because survey was already
conducted.

Reply

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10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

Shradha says:
January 3, 2017 at 1:03 pm

Thank you so much Liz for your useful information

Reply

Rose says:
November 23, 2016 at 6:29 am

You writing task 1&2 practices and lessons are very helpful!

Reply

Bharat Chhabra says:

April 17, 2016 at 6:47 pm

Hi liz,

I just went through your different links of writing task 1.

In every writing task that you have wri en, conclusion comes just after the
introduction,but the ielts book which is authenticated by the cambridge and the ielts have
the conclusion part at the end of the every task.I’m just concerned about this,why so?

Regards Bharat

Reply

Liz says:
April 18, 2016 at 9:39 am

See this video lesson: h p://ieltsliz.com/writing-task-1-report-structure/

Reply

Sneha says:
July 2, 2016 at 11:54 am

Hi,… Can I use pencil for both tasks of writing section. Plz suggest

Reply

Liz says:
July 2, 2016 at 12:03 pm

h p://ieltsliz.com/ielts-pen-or-pencil/

Reply

Sneha says:
July 3, 2016 at 7:09 am

Thank you so much Liz. nd thanks for all the videos..

Reply

nixon dominic says:

February 7, 2016 at 1:49 pm

http://ieltsliz.com/ielts-chart-practice-for-writing-task-1/ 4/10
10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

Can we write all listening answers in capital le er

Reply

Liz says:
February 10, 2016 at 8:48 pm

h p://ieltsliz.com/liz-notice-2015-2016/

Reply

wali says:
November 13, 2015 at 4:57 pm

Is that enough for writing task 1? I mean we have to write at least 150 words
for task 1 but there are around 100 words.

Reply

Liz says:
November 13, 2015 at 6:35 pm

This lesson shows the introduction and overview. It doesn’t not give body
paragraphs. See my model answers for full writing task 1 reports.
Liz

Reply

mary says:
November 4, 2015 at 7:52 pm

why groceries not included to overview?

Reply

Liz says:
November 4, 2015 at 8:24 pm

Key features are put in an overview, not all categories. You are being
marked on your ability to select information.
Liz

Reply

Mary says:
November 4, 2015 at 9:37 pm

Ok thank you so much liz..

Reply

Ghssan says:
October 21, 2015 at 8:08 am

Hi dear liz
Can I write (the chart illustrate the medium monthly disbursement. …etc)

Reply

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10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

Liz says:
October 21, 2015 at 9:50 am

No. “medium” is not appropriate as a paraphrase for “average” in this

context.
Liz

Reply

Richy says:
November 30, 2015 at 7:30 am

How about the word mean? Is is acceptable?

Reply

Liz says:
December 1, 2015 at 12:40 pm

h p://ieltsliz.com/liz-notice-2015-2016/

Reply

josna says:
October 17, 2015 at 6:32 pm

Hi,
Thanks for your valuable informations.
Here I would like to ask you about the last sentences is correct or not, because on your
explanation states that “li le changes in the amount spend on the other two items”. But
there are other three items (transport, entertainment and groceries).
Am I right or not?
Thanks
Josna

Reply

Liz says:
October 18, 2015 at 10:32 am

The other two refers to those which are not stated. Read the sentence more
carefully.
Liz

Reply

mona says:
August 30, 2015 at 6:44 am

can we write atypical British family instead of household

Reply

Liz says:
August 30, 2015 at 12:00 pm

Yes, you can write “a typical British family”.

Liz

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10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

Reply

Ziyo says:
August 26, 2015 at 3:48 am

Hello dear Liz,

Can you show us how to discraib 2 charts or 2 lines, because I have seen them many
times.

Thank you,
Ziyo

Reply

Liz says:
August 26, 2015 at 9:23 am

See the model for two charts here: h p://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-

lessons-and-tips/
Liz

Reply

Mico says:
August 12, 2015 at 4:30 pm

thank liz . I just want to know how to make sure that my grammar are correct .

Reply

Liz says:
August 12, 2015 at 4:32 pm

I can only suggest that you find an English teacher to correct your writing.
Unfortunately, I don’t offer that service.
Liz

Reply

Debbie says:
July 30, 2015 at 10:09 am

I wanted to ask if it is right to use “while” in number 6. Thanks

Reply

Liz says:
July 30, 2015 at 1:42 pm

Yes, you can use that as well. I’ve added it into the lesson.
Liz

Reply

Iroda says:
July 19, 2015 at 2:08 pm

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10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

Hi dear Liz! Thank you for useful source of information! I have a question. What will
happen if I do not write overview for task 1? Instead can I just give general information
after introduction and continue to write bodies?

Reply

Liz says:
July 19, 2015 at 4:31 pm

Take a look at this page: h p://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-band-scores/.

You MUST learn more about how your writing is scored. The band scores show that for
one criterion (Task Achievement), you will only get band 5 if there is no clear overview.
You need to put key features in an overview statement.
All the best
Liz

Reply

abhishek says:
May 19, 2015 at 3:29 pm

mam some suggest to write conclusion for task 1.is it necessary?

what conclusion should contain?

Reply

Liz says:
May 19, 2015 at 4:11 pm

Please look at the videos and tips for your answer: h p://ieltsliz.com/ielts-
writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/
Liz

Reply

abhishek says:
May 19, 2015 at 3:18 pm

hello mam ,
thank you so much for your guidance.
can we write the approx value in brackets like for example(around $10)

Reply

Liz says:
May 19, 2015 at 4:11 pm

Yes, you can use brackets in writing task 1.

All the best
Liz

Reply

Debra says:
July 23, 2016 at 3:14 am

This is a really inlentigelt way to answer the question.

Reply

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10/3/2018 Introduction and Overview for a Bar Chart

nazeem says:
April 29, 2015 at 8:23 am

Hello Liz,

Is it necessary to follow the pa ern laid out in the overview paragraph and expand on
that in the body paragraphs. For instance you have mentioned the amount of money
spent on rent, utility and transport increased significantly or can we group rent, groceries
and transport together in one body paragraph.

Thanks.

Reply

Liz says:
April 29, 2015 at 11:46 am

The overview contains all key features. The body contains the detail. While
you might mention some categorise in the overview, there are still not figures given –
all those go in the body paragraphs. Please see my lessons and models in the writing
task 1 section to understand more.
All the best
Liz

Reply

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