Pick out the main features of this bar chart for your overview, write your report on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model answer.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The chart below shows the number of cars owned per 1,000 people in 2000 and 2020 in six countries.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Category | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| USA | 780 | 830 |
| Italy | 610 | 670 |
| Poland | 330 | 630 |
| Russia | 170 | 400 |
| China | 15 | 200 |
| India | 10 | 30 |
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
An overview names the main trends or differences in one or two sentences, without numbers. These are the features a strong answer picks out:
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 150 minimum
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Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
The bar chart compares the number of cars owned per 1,000 people in six countries in 2000 and 2020.
Overall, car ownership increased in every country. The USA had the highest rate at both dates, but the most dramatic growth occurred in the countries that had started with low ownership, notably China.
In 2000 the USA had 780 cars per 1,000 people, well ahead of Italy with 610 and Poland with 330. Over the next two decades the American figure rose only modestly, to 830, while Italy increased to 670. Poland saw a much larger change, as its rate almost doubled to 630 and came close to the Italian level.
Russia, China and India started from much lower bases. Russia's ownership rate rose from 170 to 400 per 1,000 people. China's figure, which was just 15 in 2000, climbed to 200 in 2020, an increase of more than thirteen times. India had the lowest rates of all, with 10 cars per 1,000 people in 2000 and 30 in 2020. Even so, it remained far behind the other five countries.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| car ownership | the number of cars people own |
| nearly double | increase to almost twice |
| remain the highest | stay at the top |
| a thirteen-fold rise | growth to thirteen times |
| emerging economies | developing countries growing quickly |
| relatively low | small in comparison |
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