IELTS Writing: Task-1: Bar Chart: Cambridge 12: Fast Food

The most difficult thing for beginners is to make a descent sentence with a simple subject and verb. Look at the first bar on the left, the black one for 2003. Try to describe what is shows.

In 2003, 4% of Americans ate at a fast-food restaurant every day.

Let’s compare that to the other bars for 2003:

In 2003, 4% of Americans ate at a fast-food restaurant every day, the smallest group for that year.

Or:

In 2003, the group that ate out at fast-food restaurants the least frequently was that which went every day.

Now look at the 2003 black bar for once a week:

In 2003, 31% of Americans ate at a fast-food restaurant once a week.

Let’s compare that to other things in the chart:

In 2003, the group that ate out at fast-food restaurants the most frequently was that which went once a week.

Or:

In 2003, 31% of Americans ate at a fast-food restaurant once a week, which was 27% more than the percentage of diners who went every day.

Or:

In 2003, the group that ate out at fast-food restaurants the most frequently was that which went once a week. This was 27% more than the group of diners who went every day.

Now look at the change over time. The bars for once or twice a month show the biggest difference between them (and hence the biggest change over time).

The biggest increase in diners was seen among those that ate out once or twice a month, increasing from 25% in 2006 to 33% in 2013.

The group that ate out once or twice a month saw the biggest increase — an 8% rise from 2006 to 2013, when the rates stood at 25 and 33 percent respectively.

About Paul Davey

I’m Paul from Bristol, England. I am an IELTS tutor available for face-to-face classes in Taipei and Skype classes anywhere in the world. I'm based in Yonghe, New Taipei City — very close to Taipei. I have been teaching for many years and I am good at it. I’m patient and never tire of correcting students’ mistakes. I know many good ways for students to learn quickly and make a lot of progress in a short time. You won’t be wasting your money. I especially know the difficulties faced by Chinese speakers, and I know how to overcome these difficulties. IELTS is my primary concern and over the years I have taught hundreds of students in the UK, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other spots around the world. I know what the examiners look for and I know how to increase your band and get the grade you need to make your dream come true. I have been blogging about IELTS for about a decade. I started my first website in 2007, before beginning to blog at IELTS Tutor on the Hello UK website. Now I blog only at IELTS in Taiwan and Around the World. I majored in Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, UK, graduating with a bachelor’s degree (2/1 with honours). I obtained my language-teaching qualification in 2006, which is accredited by the Royal College of Teachers. Before I began teaching, I worked in a software company in the UK, writing and selling software solutions. After teaching for many years I took a five-year break to run my own retailing business. Following that adventure, I returned to full-time teaching. For the last 11 years, I’ve been in Taiwan, where in addition to my IELTS work, I have taught corporate classes at Taipei Bank, Pfizer, and Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC, Taiwan). I have interests in many fields including travel, literature, science and history.

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