How to Describe an IELTS Table Chart
There are 5 steps to writing a high-scoring IELTS table chart essay:
- Analyse the question
- Identify the main features
- Write an introduction
- Write an overview
- Write the details paragraphs
We want to start by highlighting the importance of steps 1 and 2. It is essential that you learn how to do this planning stage properly if you want to write a high-scoring essay. Many students are reluctant to spend time on the first two steps as they want to use as most of the 20 minutes for writing. In this lesson, we’re going to work through the 5 stages step-by-step as we answer a practice question.
Before we begin, here’s a model essay structure that you can use as a guideline for all IELTS Academic Task 1 questions. Ideally, your essay should have 4 paragraphs:
- Paragraph 1 – Introduction
- Paragraph 2 – Overview
- Paragraph 3 – 1st main feature
- Paragraph 4 – 2nd main feature
We now have everything we need to begin planning and writing our IELTS table chart essay.
THE QUESTION
Here’s our practice question:
The tables below give the distribution of world population in 1950 and 2000, with an estimate of the situation in 2050.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
STEP-1: ANALYSE THE QUESTION
The format of every Academic Task 1 question is the same, with the instruction sentence (highlighted below) identical in every question. Every question consists of:
- Sentence 1 – A brief description of the graphic
- Sentence 2 – The instructions
- The graphic – chart, graph, table, etc.
Sentence 2 tells you what you have to do. You must do 3 things:
- Select the main features.
- Write about the main features.
- Compare the main features.
All three tasks refer to the ‘main features’ of the graphic. You do not have to write about everything. Just pick out 2 or 3 key features and you’ll have plenty to write about.
STEP-2: IDENTIFY THE MAIN FEATURES
Some students find IELTS table chart questions more difficult to interpret than other types of graphic as they are just sets of numbers with no visual representation. However, they are not as complicated as they may at first look. Remember, the IELTS exam is designed to test your language skills, not your mathematics ability.
All you are looking for are the main features. However, this can be a challenge as tables generally contain a lot of information, making it difficult to pick out the key features. Use the following information to help you identify them.
Here are some useful questions to ask:
- What are the units of measurements?
- What are the time periods?
- What can you learn from the title and any labels?
- What is the most obvious trend?
- Are there any notable similarities?
So, what information is contained in this graphic? Here’s our table chart again.
The key to understanding it is to use the clues given in the title, the row and column headings and the units of measurement. For example, the title of the table tells us that it shows changes in world population from 1950 to projected levels in 2050. The world is divided into regions (Africa, Asia, etc.) and data is given for three specific years – 1950, 2000 and projected data for 2050. This is a clue that we will need to use past, present and futures tenses in our essay.
In the first table, the units of measurement are billions of people and in the second table, percentages of the total world population are used. Don’t look at the numbers in detail at this stage. Instead, focus on general trends. What are the most notable changes in data between 1950 and projected figures for 2050? There are a number of different features we could select from this IELTS table chart. Here are the three that we’ve chosen:
Main feature 1: The only region where the percentage is expected to increase by 2050 is Africa.
Main feature 2: Europe is expected to have the greatest drop in percentage contribution by 2050.
Main feature 3: The only region showing a fluctuation in percentage contribution over the whole time period is Asia.
The key features you select will be the starting point for your essay. You will then go on to add more details later. However, with just 20 minutes allowed for Task 1, and a requirement of only 150 words, you won’t be able to include many details. We’re now ready to begin writing our essay. Here’s a reminder of the 4 part structure we’re going to use.
Paragraph 1 – Introduction
Paragraph 2 – Overview
Paragraph 3 – 1st main feature
Paragraph 4 – 2nd main feature
STEP-3: WRITE AN INTRODUCTION
Introduction (Paragraph 1): The tables compare changes in distribution of worldwide population between the six different regions from 1950 to 2000, with predictions for the year 2050.
STEP-4: WRITE AN OVERVIEW
In the second paragraph, you should report the main features you see in the table, giving only general information. Detail come later in the essay. You should also make any clear comparisons you spot. Here are the key features we picked out above.
Main feature 1: The only region where the percentage is expected to increase by 2050 is Africa.
Main feature 2: Europe is expected to have the greatest drop in percentage contribution by 2050.
Main feature 3: The only region showing a fluctuation in percentage contribution over the whole time period is Asia.
Now form these ideas into two or three sentences with a total of around 40 words. State the information simply, using synonyms where possible. No elaborate vocabulary or grammar structures are required, just the appropriate words and correct verb tenses. For example:
STEP-5: WRITE THE FIRST DETAIL PARAGRAPH
Paragraphs 3 and 4 of your IELTS table chart essay are where you include more detailed information about the data in the graphic. In paragraph 3, you should give evidence to support your first 1 or 2 key features. Don’t forget to make comparisons where relevant.
Here are the first two again:
Main feature 1: The only region where the percentage is expected to increase by 2050 is Africa.
Main feature 2: Europe is expected to have the greatest drop in percentage contribution by 2050.
And this is an example of what you could write:
STEP-6: WRITE THE SECOND DETAIL PARAGRAPH
For the fourth and final paragraph, you do the same thing for your remaining key features.
Main feature 3: The only region showing a fluctuation in percentage contribution over the whole time period is Asia.
Here’s an example of what you could write:
FINISHED ESSAY
The tables compare changes in distribution of worldwide population between the six different regions from 1950 to 2000, with predictions for the year 2050.
The only region where the percentage contribution is expected to increase by 2050 is Africa, while Europe is expected to have the greatest drop in proportion over the same time span. The sole continent showing a fluctuation in percentage contribution over the hundred year period is Asia.
From a relatively small contribution of 9% in 1950, the people of Africa are expected to make up a fifth of the total world population by 2050. Conversely, Europe which stood at 22% in 1950, is expected to continue its steady decline to contribute a mere 7% by 2050.
Another notable trend can be seen for Asia which is the only region showing an increase in contribution to the world population over the first fifty years followed by a predicted decrease by the year 2050, albeit small. The remaining regions, North America, Latin America and Oceania each make up less than 10% of the total world population and show only minor fluctuations in contribution over the whole time period.