Academic Task 1 · Charts and data
Household water use
An original IELTS practice question with a planning route and a sample answer to learn from.
Aim for at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. Suggested practice level: foundation, not a predicted band.
Your writing task
The bar chart shows average daily household water use per person for four purposes in a town in 2005 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Open full-size diagram (new tab)Read the chart data as a table
These figures belong to the original English Test Coach practice visual. They are fictional teaching data, not measured statistics about real places.
| Purpose | 2005 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | 35 | 30 |
| Bathroom | 70 | 60 |
| Laundry | 45 | 40 |
| Garden | 25 | 50 |
The measure is litres per person per day, not total town consumption. Garden use doubles while the other three categories fall; the visual does not supply reasons for those changes.
How to approach this question
Give an overview of the main patterns and support selected comparisons with accurate figures and units.
Bar charts: compare categories and distinguish changes over time →
Overview selection: bathroom use is the largest category in both years, while garden use records the only substantial increase and doubles. The total rises only slightly, so do not describe every category as increasing.
Detail grouping: compare the three indoor categories together before contrasting them with the garden. Use litres per person per day consistently and distinguish a 25-litre rise from a percentage change.
These are possible directions, not required opinions or facts to memorise. Develop your own response and check every claim against the task.
A possible plan
- Introduction: identify what is shown, including the time period or stages where relevant.
- Overview: select the largest changes, main contrasts or overall process without inventing causes.
- Details 1: group related features and support them with accurate data, locations or stages.
- Details 2: cover the remaining main features and make relevant comparisons. Check units, dates and direction of change.
Vocabulary you can use precisely
Choose language that fits your meaning. You do not need to include every phrase.
- daily consumption
- The amount of a resource used during one day.
Daily consumption in bathrooms remained the largest category in both years.
- rose by
- Increased by a stated amount between two values.
Garden water use rose by 25 litres per person per day.
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