Writing task 1

Bar chart (Comparison)

Practice 1

You should spend 20 minutes on this task. Write at least 150 words.

The chart below shows the number of trips made by men and women in 2005.

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

I. Introduction:

The given bar chart compares two genders .....in terms of............. the percentage of trips by
different purposes in 2005. Overall, commuting was by far the top priority when men and women
used cars.

The given bar chart shows ......how.............. the proportions of car trips made for
different ........purposes............... .....varied.......... according to ..genders....... in 2005. Overall,
commuting was by far the top priority when men and women used cars.

1
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
 o The bar chart shows WHAT + WHERE + WHEN.
o The bar chart compares ... in terms of WHAT WHERE WHEN.
o The bar chart details how WHAT varied according to genders / age groups / regions.

II. Overview: (mention / report the highest values of each category)

III. Body:

In 2005, more than half of car trips made by males were for work-related purposes, slightly higher
than an estimated 40% for females. By contrast, women conducted more trips, in relative terms, for
shopping (nearly 20%) and courses (just over 10%) compared to their male counterparts.

Likewise, women prioritized their vehicles for running errands, visiting friends and banks, with
statistics standing at nearly the same difference of 10% for each reason. Male drivers, on the other
hand, carried out almost 3 times fewer trips than women for the same purposes, approximately
under 3% each to be precise. Similarly, visiting towns and entertainment represented about 10% of
car use for males for each reason, whilst the same purposes made up very negligible percentages
for females.

Suggested structures:

K
A. Describing significant differences

1. Compare using “high / higher”

*The budget of Americans on clothes is considerably higher than that of Koreans
- ... was (markedly) higher than ... (số liệu compared to / in comparison with / as opposed to số liệu).
- ... was (considerably) higher than, standing at số liệu compared to / in comparison with / as opposed to số liệu.
- ... was (nearly/over) three times, four times, 40% + higher than ...
- ... was (nearly/over) one-and-a-half times, twice, 30% + as high as ...
- ... was not nearly as high as ...

The budget of American citizens on books was considerably higher that of British people ($2000 compared
to $300).

2
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
 The budget of American citizens on books was considerably higher that of British people, standing at
$2000 compared to $300.
The budget of British people on books was not nearly as high as that of American citizens.
The figure for A was (nearly/over) three times higher than that for B.
The petroleum output of Middle East was 30% as high as that of Asia.

2. Compare using data

*The budget of A on clothes was nearly four times higher than that of K
*K spend 400$ on clothes while their counterparts used 1500$ for the same purpose
- ... Meanwhile,/ On the other hand,/ Conversely,/ However,/ By contrast,/ On the contrary, ...
- ..., while / whereas ...
- ..., more than / nearly / less than 10 times the figure for boys.
- ... Meanwhile, the corresponding figure for ... was (markedly) higher/ lower.

Spending on computers represented a third of the annual budget of male customers while their female
counterparts spent only 5% on this kind of product.
Spending on computers represented a third of the annual budget of male customers while the
corresponding figure for women was considerably lower.
Male customers spent 90% of their earnings on computers, 10 times more than their female counterparts.
Male customers spent 90% of their earnings on computers. Meanwhile, the corresponding figure for
females was lower.

3. Compare using “more / less / fewer”

- ... (much / far) more / less/ fewer + N ... and the difference / gap was + số liệu. ( số liệu là trừ ra)
- ... (much / far) more / less/ fewer + N ... , with the difference / gap being + số liệu.
- ... a (much/ far) greater number / amount of N ... and the difference / gap was + số liệu.
- ... a (much/far) lower number / amount of N ... ,with the difference / gap being + số liệu.

Doctors earned much more money than teachers in the year 2000 and the difference was $1000.
Doctors earned far more money than teachers in the year 2000, with the difference being $1000.
Doctors eanered a much greater amount of money than teachers did in the the year 2000, with the
difference being $1000.

4. Compare using “gap / difference”

*A spend considerably more money on clothes than K, with the gap being 1100$

- The greatest gap between A and B could be seen in ... (số liệu for the former compared to số liệu for the
3
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
 latter).

The greatest gap between schoolboys and schoolgirls could be seen in the ratings for comic books (100%
for the former compared to 35% for the latter).

5. Compare using “as many / as much” (find a VERB and NOUN)

- S1 V1 + a quarter, one-and-a-half times, twice, three times, etc. + as much/many N + as S2 (does/did).

- S1 V1 + a quarter, one-and-a-half times, double, three times, etc. + the number/amount of N + as S2
(does/did).

Automatic car washing needs three times as much water as manual car washing (does).
There are twice as many houses in this area as there used to be.
Europeans consumed a quarter the amount of gas as Asians (did).
The British import three times the amount of sugar as the Portuguese (do).

6. Compare using “followed by”

- ............... , followed by ... (số liệu)

- ................ Coming next was ... (số liệu)

90% of the tourists were satisfied with the local people, followed by the cuisine (70%) and weather (50%).
American spent around $500 on food every month and this was followed by the budget on clothes ($400).
The number of people giving favourable ratings for the food was the highest (95%). Coming next was the
positivie evaluations of the culture (80%) and scenery (65%).

B. Describing insignificant differences

1.
- ... was marginally / slightly higher ... (số liệu compared to số liệu)
- ... was nearly as high as ...
- ... were quite similar, ranging from số liệu thấp nhất to số liệu cao nhất.

The budget of American citizens on books was higher than that of British people. ($2000 compared to
$1900)
The budget of British people on books was nearly as high as that of American citizens.
The budgets on books of British, American and Korean citizens were quite similar, ranging from $1900 to

4
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
 $2200.

2.
- ... Likewise, / Similarly, ...
- ... Meanwhile, the corresponding figure for ... was (marginally) higher/ lower/ nearly as high.
- ... but / and this was only five percent more than / higher than ...

Spending on computers represented 8% of the annual budget of male customers. Likewise, their female
counterparts spent only 5% on this kind of product.
Spending on computers represented 8% of the annual budget of male customers while the corresponding
figure for women was marginally lower.
Spending on computers represented 8% of the annual budget of male customers while that (that thế cho
budget) of women recorded a slightly lower figure.
Men spent 8% of their budget on computers and this was only 3% more than women.
Spending on computers represented 8% of the annual budget of male customers but this was only 3%
higher than that (that thế cho budget) of women.

3.
- There was an insignificant gap / difference of + số liệu + in the ...
- There was only a + số liệu + gap / difference in ...
- The gap / difference in ... was insignificant (số liệu)

There was an insignificant gap of 5% in the number of schoolboys and schoolgirls voting for comic books.
There was a 5% gap in the number of schoolboys and schoolgirls voting for comic books.
The gap in the number of schoolboys and schoolgirls voting for comic books was insignificant (5%).

4.
- ... nearly as many / much + N (as ...)
- ... a quite similar amount / number of N ...

Male students received as much homework as their female counterparts.

A quite similar percentage of male and female students borrowed comic books in the library.
The companies eanered nearly as much money in 2010 as in 2000.
Old and young people used nearly as much time for researching on the Internet.

5
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
6
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
Practice 2
You should spend 20 minutes on this task

The graph shows the percentage of male and female academic staff members across the
faculties of a major university in 2012.

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

Write at least 150 words.

- academic staff: instructor / professor / teacher / academic / lecturer / staff

- faculty = department
- university = an educational institution
- teach / work / instruct / to be employed in + the faculty of medicine / the medicine faculty

It is noticeable that male lecturers dominated in almost all categories, except for Art, Education
and Medicine. In addition, most women chose to teach in the Education department.
...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

The percentage of male engineering lectures was more than 4 times that of females / female
teachers, with the gap being over 60.

7
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................
8
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
...............................................................................................................................................................

Practice 3
You should spend 20 minutes on this task

The chart below shows the amount of salt consumed by people in the USA in 2000.

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

Write at least 150 words.

*Suggested vocabulary:

- the amount of salt eaten / consumed = salt intake

- the recommended / suggested / adequate amount

- an excessive salt intake

- to reduce / cut down on salt intake

- people aged 20-39 = 20-t0-39-year-olds = people in the 20-39 age group = people between 20 and 39 =
people from 20-39 years of age

...............................................................................................................................................................

9
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................
10
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
Practice 4
You should spend 20 minutes on this task

The bar chart below shows the amount of money invested in each category from five
organizations.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................
11
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................

12
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
Sample essay
Practice 1:
The given bar chart compares the proportions of car trips made by men and women in 2005.

Overall, commuting, shopping and courses are by far the top priorities for not only men but also
women. The two genders, however, were markedly different, in terms of vehicle use for other
purposes.

In 2005, more than half of car trips made by males were for work-related purposes, slightly higher
than an estimated 40% for females. By contrast, women conducted more trips, in relative terms, for
shopping (nearly 20%) and courses (just over 10%) compared to their male counterparts.

Likewise, women prioritized their vehicles for running errands, visiting friends and banks, with
statistics standing at nearly the same thresholds of 10% for each reason. Male drivers, on the other
hand, carried out almost 3 times fewer trips than women for the same purposes, approximately
under 3% each to be precise. Similarly, visiting towns and entertainment constituted about 10% of
car use for males for each reason, whilst the same purposes took up very negligible percentages for
females. (174 words)

Practice 2:
The bar chart illustrates how the percentages of academic staff in one educational institution varied
according to gender in 2012. Overall, education was female-dominated in the surveyed year while
most male academics taught in the faculty of engineering.

The most striking gender disparity was recorded in the number of engineering instructors, with
males substantially outnumbering females (over 80% compared to approximately 15%). Also
noteworthy is the similar gender representation in the faculty of business and science. To be more
specific, 65% of male academics specialized in these majors as opposed to over a third of their
counterparts. Similarly, a 20% difference could be observed in the ratio of male and female law
teachers.

On the other hand, in the education faculty, the number of female staff (three quarters) was three
times as high as that of male teachers (25%). Besides, the difference in academic staff proportion
was similar but less pronounced in arts subjects while nearly the same number of instructors of both
genders taught in the medicine faculty (around 50%). (174 words)

13
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
Practice 3:
The bar chart compares salt consumption among US males and females across age groups in the
US in a single year.

Generally, the large majority of both genders consumed more salt than the recommended adult
intake. In addition, Americans generally ate more salt as they aged but cut down on it after the age
of 40. Specifically, males took in significantly more salt than females.

Reagrding males, young adults in their 20s and 30s consumed the highest amount of salt, at 4500
milligrams. The figures for adolescents and middle-aged males were slightly lower at around 4000
milligrams. Kids aged 6 to 11 and those over 60 consumed 3500 milligrams, and the intake of boys
under 6 was the lowest, at 2000 milligrams, less than half the figure for young adults in their 20s
and 30s. The youngest group was the only one with a lower intake than the recommended amount.

As for females, those from 6 to 60 consumed approximately 3000 milligrams of salt, a difference
ranging from about 500 milligrams to 1500 milligrams compared to males. Those over 60 were the
only group that consumed 2500 milligrams - exactly the suggested amount. Finally, girls under 6
had the lowest intake across all groups, at approximately 1200 milligrams. (211 words)

Practice 4:
Sample 1: The bar chart compares capital investment in four different sectors from five
organizations.

Overall, investment priorities differ across the five organizations, and while organization B spends
a higher budget, organization D and E invests the lowest amount of money compared to the others.

Organization A and B allocate the highest capital to staff training and building compared to the
other organizations: the former sets aside 1.5 billion for building, and the latter dedicates close to 2
billion to staff training. Organization B is also the one spending the most on research, at 1.6 billion.
For the remaining sectors, with machinery receiving the least attention, the allocation by these two
entities ranges from 0.9 to 1.2 billion euros.

Regarding organization C, the largest investment goes to machinery and research at 1.3 billion,
while around 1 billion is allocated to building and staff training. Investments by organization D
and E are the lowest compared to the others, ranging from 0.6 to 1 billion euros for all categories.
These two organizations prioritize building, investing exactly 1 billion each, but assign the smallest
budget to research, only approximately 60% that of building. (182 words)

Sample 2:

14
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace
The bar chart illustates how five organizations allocated their money to different sectors. Among
the five organizations, B had the highest overall funding while the reverse was true for D and E.

As can be seen, 1,7 million euros were spent on buidling by organization B while the corresponding
figures for the others were significantly lower ( around 0.7 billion euros). Besides, B alloted 1,6
million euros for researching purposes. Coming next was the funding from organization A and C for
the same category (0.8 and 0.7 billion respectively) while conducting research was the least funded
in organization D and E.

Regarding machinery, organization B spent 0.5 billion and 0.6 billion more euros than A and C
while the last two organizations allocated the same amount for this area (0.4 billion euros).
Furthermore, there was a gap of 0.5 billion euros in terms of the investment in organizing traning
sessions for staff of A and B. In the three remaining organizations, E alloted 0.45 billion euros for
this sector, followed by C and D. (172 words)

15
SPACE65PLUS_TheLanguageSpace