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  4. Describing charts

Describing charts

Describing charts

Learn how to write about charts.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

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Reading text

Describing charts

The first chart illustrates the percentage of the population who owned a smartphone from 2011 to 2016, and the second breaks the percentages down by age for 2011 and 2016.

Overall, smartphone ownership increased during the six-year period. In general, the younger people were, the more likely they were to own a smartphone. However, the most significant increases in smartphone ownership between 2011 and 2016 came from people aged 45 to 54, from 46% to 84%; from those in the 55 to 64 category, from 9% to 59%; and from those aged 65 to 74, from 5% to 50%.

The percentage of people who owned a smartphone rose steadily, starting at around 35% in 2011 and reaching about 77% by 2016. People aged 16 to 24 represented the greatest percentage of smartphone ownership in both 2011 and 2016. 75% of people aged 25 to 34 and 72% of those aged 35 to 44 owned a smartphone in 2011, rising to 88% and 86% respectively by 2016.

Although almost nobody in the 75+ age category owned a smartphone in 2011, 15% of this group owned smartphones in 2016. 

Please note: This page was designed for writing practice only. Information and statistics in the charts may not be accurate. 

Tips

  1. If you are doing an exam task, read the instructions and make sure you write according to the word and time limits.
  2. Start by saying what the charts show. In an exam, change the words in the question to write the first sentence of your answer, e.g. These charts show = These charts illustrate.
  3. The second paragraph should provide an overview of the key features of the information.
  4. The other paragraphs should describe the patterns or trends in more detail. However, only select the most important ones to write about, and don't write about your own ideas.
  5. Use linking words and a range of vocabulary to describe what you see in the charts. (You can write % or per cent, but be consistent.) 
  6. Be careful to use the correct tenses to describe the time periods shown.

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Task 3

Exercise

Discussion

Do you ever have to write about charts at work or for your studies?

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Language level

B1 Intermediate
Average: 4.1 (45 votes)
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Submitted by M19 on Thu, 05/03/2020 - 12:33

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It's a mandatory thing of the university, you can't graduate without having done that

Submitted by M19 on Thu, 05/03/2020 - 09:24

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It is a common thing to do at the University where I study. In fact it's mandatory and a significant part of the curriculum.

Submitted by shahhoseini on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 16:35

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Yes, I did. I have written some charts about the share of renewable energies to produce total power electricity in my country.

Submitted by cittàutopica on Mon, 02/12/2019 - 18:08

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I wrote about charts for my studies, when I attended a specialisation course in growth of interior areas of my country.