Meghna from Vadodara wrote one sentence for each of the twelve bars in her chart. She did not compare a single pair.

A bar chart compares categories, sometimes at several dates, so your job is to group and compare: the highest and lowest, the biggest differences, and any category that breaks the pattern. Support each point with a few selected figures.

One date or several dates: what changes?

Read the title, axes and key first, because they give you the unit and the dates. A bar chart for one date has no trend to describe, so you compare sizes and rank the categories. A chart with several dates also needs the changes: what grew, what shrank and whether the order shifted.

Either way, the four-paragraph plan in our guide to describing graphs, charts and tables still applies.

How can you group bars?

Pick one of these three groupings before you write. They are advice, not rules.

  • By size: the large categories in one paragraph, the small ones in the other.
  • By type: related items together, such as transport modes or household goods.
  • By change: the categories that grew strongly in one paragraph, the steady or falling ones in the other.

Also look for a bar that breaks the pattern, such as the one category that fell while the rest rose. It deserves its own sentence.

Incorrect: “The first bar shows washing machines at 75%, the second shows dishwashers at 28%, and the third shows microwaves at 60%.”

Correct: In 2005, washing machines (75%) and microwaves (60%) were common, whereas dishwashers (28%) and solar water heaters (12%) were not.

The ✅ sentence groups the bars by what they share, so it already compares.

Practice with invented data

Practice task (written for this post)

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar chart below shows the percentage of households owning four household appliances in Country A in 2005 and 2025.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Invented data for practice:

Appliance 2005 (%) 2025 (%)
Washing machine 75 88
Dishwasher 28 52
Microwave 60 84
Solar water heater 12 45

Model answer (illustrative Band 7)

The bar chart compares the proportion of households in Country A that owned each of four appliances in 2005 and 2025.

Overall, ownership of all four appliances rose over the twenty years, and the gap between the most and least common narrowed. Washing machines were the most widespread in both years, while solar water heaters showed the biggest increase despite starting from the lowest level.

In 2005, three-quarters of households had a washing machine, and this rose to 88% in 2025. Microwave ownership climbed by 24 percentage points, from 60% to 84%, so microwaves remained the second most common appliance and the gap with washing machines narrowed from 15 points to 4.

The other two appliances were less common but grew by a larger proportion. Dishwasher ownership nearly doubled, from 28% to 52%, so more than half of households owned one by 2025. Solar water heaters rose from 12% to 45%, almost four times the 2005 figure, although they remained the least common appliance.

Why it works:

  • Task Achievement: the overview names the general rise, the leading appliance, the biggest increase and the narrowing gap, and the details use selected figures.
  • Coherence and Cohesion: paragraph three groups the two common appliances, and paragraph four groups the two that grew fastest.
  • Lexical Resource: “three-quarters”, “nearly doubled” and “almost four times” put figures into words.
  • Grammatical Range and Accuracy: “so” clauses and comparatives such as “less common” and “a larger proportion” are used accurately.

Which language makes comparisons?

The task instruction asks you to make comparisons where relevant, so a list of separate figures leaves part of the task undone. Structures such as “whereas” and “compared with” link two figures in one sentence, as our post on comparing data shows.

Watch the units too. The 24-point rise in microwaves is a rise in percentage points, a distinction our post on numbers and percentages explains.

Finally, give your Task 1 overview the big picture before any figures.

Tip

In your planning minutes, sort the bars into two groups and write a short reason for each group beside it.

Key Takeaways

  • Group bars by size, type or change, not from left to right.
  • With one date, compare sizes. With several dates, add the changes.
  • Give the highest, lowest and biggest change in your overview.
  • Write “percentage points” for the gap between two percentages.
  • Support each comparison with a few selected figures.

The bottom line: Each detail paragraph needs a name for its group; if you cannot give one, regroup the bars.