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 percentage of trains arriving late for five rail companies in 2018 and 2023.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Category | 2018 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Northline | 12% | 8% |
| Eastway | 18% | 22% |
| Capital | 9% | 7% |
| Valley | 25% | 14% |
| Coastal | 15% | 19% |
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 percentage of trains that arrived late for five rail companies in 2018 and 2023.
Overall, punctuality improved for three of the five companies and worsened for the other two. Capital was the most punctual company in both years, while the biggest improvement was recorded by Valley.
In 2018 Valley had the worst record, with 25% of its trains arriving late, followed by Eastway at 18%, Coastal at 15% and Northline at 12%. Capital performed best, with only 9% of trains late. By 2023 Valley's figure had dropped to 14%, a fall of 11 percentage points, which meant it was no longer the worst performer.
Northline and Capital also improved, although by smaller margins. Northline fell from 12% to 8%, and Capital from 9% to 7%.
The remaining companies moved in the opposite direction. Eastway's rate of late trains rose from 18% to 22%, making it the least punctual company in 2023, and Coastal's increased from 15% to 19%. Both of these companies therefore saw a rise of 4 percentage points.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| punctuality | arriving on time |
| arrive late | reach a destination after the scheduled time |
| improve | get better |
| deteriorate | get worse |
| the biggest improvement | the largest positive change |
| the least punctual | the one most often late |
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