The task
The chart below shows the number of graduates seeking employment in various industries after completing a bachelor's degree at a UK university in 2010 and 2020, and the predicted figures for 2030. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
- 2010
- 2020
- 2030 (predicted)
How to write about a bar chart
How to read it. The labels along the bottom are the things being compared (here, four sectors). Each colour is a year. The striped bars are a prediction, not a real figure.
What the examiner wants. A line graph is about change over time. A bar chart is about comparing: which is the biggest, which is the smallest, and how the order changes. So use ranking language: the most popular, the second most popular, the least popular.
| Paragraph | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The task in your own words. No figures. |
| Overview | Overall + the main trends. All sectors, all years. No figures. |
| Body 1 | One group, e.g. the sectors that fall. Figures here. |
| Body 2 | The other group, e.g. the sectors that rise. Figures here. |
2. Round the figures. You read them off a grid, so write around 290, just under 200, nearly 400.
3. No will for predictions. Write is expected to, is predicted to, is forecast to.
Aim
Students build a bar chart report one part at a time: they try each part on a worksheet first, and only see the model at the end. Then they use the same steps on a new chart.
Timing map
| Stage | Focus | Worksheet | Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the chart | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | Introduction | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | Overview | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | Body 1 | 4 | 15 |
| 5 | Future grammar | 5 | 15 |
| 6 | Body 2 | 6 | 15 |
| 7 | Compare with the model | Model | 8 |
| 8 | A new chart | 7 | 12 |
Procedure
Stage 1: Read the chart
Interaction: Pairs, then whole class
Read How to write about a bar chart together (3 minutes). Ask: What do the colours show? What do the striped bars show? (The years. The prediction.) Then pairs do Worksheet 1 in 4 minutes. Check aloud. Then ask: How can we put the four sectors into two groups? (Falling: agriculture, manufacturing. Rising: healthcare, renewable energy.)
Stage 2: Introduction
Interaction: Individual, then pairs
Rule on the board: same meaning, different words. Students do Worksheet 2. In Part B ask why A and B are wrong (A copies the task. B says students, but graduates are not students).
Stage 3: Overview
Interaction: Individual, then pairs
Checklist on the board: Overall · 4 sectors · 3 dates · no figures. Students do Worksheet 3, then swap and check each other's overview against the checklist.
Stage 4: Body 1
Interaction: Individual, then whole class
On the board: Body 1 = the falling sectors. Body 2 = the rising sectors. Students fill Worksheet 4 from the word box. Check aloud and look at each gap: it shows a word type they need (approximator, ranking, future verb, linker).
Stage 5: Future grammar
Interaction: Whole class, then individual
Write one pattern on the board and do number 1 together:
sector + is expected / predicted / forecast / anticipated + to have + past participle + to [figure] + by 2030
Healthcare is expected to have risen to almost 400 by 2030. Students do the rest of Worksheet 5.
Stage 6: Body 2
Interaction: Individual
Students write Body 2 on Worksheet 6, one sentence per starter. Walk the room and check two things only: a word in front of every figure, and a different future verb each time.
Stage 7: Compare with the model
Interaction: Pairs
Students press Show the model report in the Model report and compare it with their own work. Then they press the buttons in this order: Future language, Approximators, Comparatives and superlatives. Each pair says one thing they will copy.
Stage 8: A new chart
Interaction: Individual
Students write an introduction and overview for the heating chart on Worksheet 7 in 10 minutes. The model is closed. Two students read theirs aloud, and the class checks them against the overview checklist.
Worksheet 1: read the chart
Look at the chart. Answer before you write anything. Sectors: Agriculture · Manufacturing · Healthcare · Renewable energy.
- 2010
- 2020
- 2030 (predicted)
1. Which sector was the most popular in 2010?
2. Which sector was the most popular in 2020?
3. Which sector is predicted to be the least popular in 2030?
4. Agriculture in 2020 was …
5. From 2010 to 2020, renewable energy …
6. Which two sectors go down?
.Worksheet 1 key
| # | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1 | Manufacturing (about 380) |
| 2 | Healthcare (320) |
| 3 | Manufacturing (about 120) |
| 4 | just under 200 (190) |
| 5 | more than tripled (30 to 100) |
| 6 | Agriculture and manufacturing |
Worksheet 2: the introduction
The introduction is one sentence: the task in your own words. Same meaning, different words. No figures.
Part A. Write each phrase from the task in a different way.
| The task says | You write |
|---|---|
| The chart below | 1. |
| shows | 2. |
| the number of graduates | 3. |
| seeking employment | 4. |
| in 2010 and 2020, and the predicted figures for 2030 | 5. |
Part B. Which introduction is best?
A. The chart below shows the number of graduates seeking employment in various industries after completing a bachelor's degree in 2010 and 2020.
B. The bar chart presents how many students looked for work in four fields in 2010 and 2020, together with projections for 2030.
C. The bar chart illustrates how many university leavers looked for jobs in four fields after graduating from UK universities in 2010 and 2020, along with predictions for 2030.
6. The best introduction is:
Part C. Now write your own introduction. Do not copy C.
7.Worksheet 2 key
| # | Accept |
|---|---|
| 1 | The bar chart |
| 2 | presents, illustrates, compares, displays |
| 3 | how many graduates, how many university leavers |
| 4 | applied for jobs, looked for work, searching for jobs |
| 5 | in 2010 and 2020, together with projections for 2030 |
| 6 | C. A copies the task and forgets 2030. B says students: wrong group. |
| 7 | Open. Model: The bar chart presents how many university leavers applied for jobs in four fields upon graduating from UK universities in 2010 and 2020, together with projections for 2030. |
Worksheet 3: the overview
Part A. Which overview follows the checklist?
A. Overall, the number of graduates applying for jobs in agriculture and manufacturing fell between 2010 and 2020, while healthcare and renewable energy grew. All four trends are predicted to continue to 2030.
B. Overall, manufacturing fell from nearly 400 to around 290, while healthcare rose from 210 to over 300, and these trends are expected to continue to 2030.
C. Overall, between 2010 and 2020 fewer graduates applied for jobs in agriculture and manufacturing, while more chose healthcare and renewable energy.
1. The best overview is:
Part B. Write your own overview. Two sentences. Check it against the checklist.
2.Worksheet 3 key
| # | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1 | A. B has figures and only 2 sectors. C forgets 2030. |
| 2 | Open. Model: Overall, between 2010 and 2020 there was a downward trend in the number of graduates applying for jobs in agriculture and manufacturing, and an increase in healthcare and renewable energy. These trends are expected to continue to 2030. |
Worksheet 4: Body 1
Body 1 is about the two sectors that go down. Fill each gap with a word or phrase from the box. Use each one once.
Worksheet 4 key
| # | Answer | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | nearly | approximator |
| 2 | around 290 | approximator + figure |
| 3 | the second most popular | ranking |
| 4 | predicted | future verb |
| 5 | which | relative clause |
| 6 | although | linker: contrast |
| 7 | just under | approximator |
| 8 | to have decreased | perfect infinitive |
Worksheet 5: future grammar
In Task 1 we do not write will for a prediction. We use this pattern:
Healthcare is expected to have risen to almost 400 by 2030.
Part A. Make one sentence from each prompt.
1. Healthcare / expect / rise / almost 400 / 2030
.2. Agriculture / forecast / fall / around 160 / 2030
.3. Renewable energy / predict / reach / around 270 / 2030
.4. Manufacturing / anticipate / drop / around 120 / 2030
.Part B. Rewrite each one.
5. Join with which: The decrease will continue until 2030. + Manufacturing becomes the least popular sector.
.6. Make it passive: Experts expect these trends to continue.
.Worksheet 5 key
| # | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1 | Healthcare is expected to have risen to almost 400 by 2030. |
| 2 | Agriculture is forecast to have fallen to around 160 by 2030. |
| 3 | Renewable energy is predicted to have reached around 270 by 2030. |
| 4 | Manufacturing is anticipated to have dropped to around 120 by 2030. |
| 5 | The decrease will continue until 2030, which sees manufacturing becoming the least popular sector. |
| 6 | These trends are expected to continue. |
Worksheet 6: write Body 2
Body 2 is about the two sectors that go up. Finish each sentence with the chart. Put a word like around or almost in front of figures, and use a different future verb each time.
- 2010
- 2020
- 2030 (predicted)
1. Healthcare and renewable energy, on the other hand, …
.2. Healthcare was … in 2010, …
.3. Renewable energy also …
.4. Even greater numbers are …
.Worksheet 6 key
Open. The model Body 2:
Healthcare and renewable energy, on the other hand, both saw an increase in application rates. Healthcare was the second least popular sector in 2010, with 210 applicants. However, by 2020 it had become the most popular, with over 300. A further increase is anticipated by 2030, taking the figure to almost 400 and keeping it in first place. Renewable energy also grew between 2010 and 2020, experiencing a more than threefold increase, from 30 to 100. Even greater numbers are expected by 2030, resulting in renewable energy becoming the second most popular sector, with around 270 graduates.
The model report
Open this only when your teacher says. Compare it with what you wrote, then press a button to light up one feature at a time.
The bar chart presents how many university leavers applied for jobs in four fields upon graduating from UK universities in 2010 and 2020, together with projections for 2030.
Overall, between 2010 and 2020 there was a downward trend in the number of graduates applying for jobs in agriculture and manufacturing, and an increase in healthcare and renewable energy. These trends are expected to continue to 2030.
The two sectors that experienced decreasing application rates are manufacturing and agriculture. Manufacturing was the most popular sector in 2010, with nearly 400 graduates. However, a sizeable drop occurred, meaning that only around 290 applied in 2020. As a result, manufacturing went from the most popular sector to the second most popular. The decrease is predicted to continue until 2030, which sees manufacturing becoming the least popular sector, at around 120. Agriculture followed a similar trajectory, although at a less steep rate than manufacturing. It started at just over 250 applicants in 2010 before declining to just under 200 by 2020. Like manufacturing, it is forecast to have decreased by 2030, to around 160.
Healthcare and renewable energy, on the other hand, both saw an increase in application rates. Healthcare was the second least popular sector in 2010, with 210 applicants. However, by 2020 it had become the most popular, with over 300. A further increase is anticipated by 2030, taking the figure to almost 400 and keeping it in first place. Renewable energy also grew between 2010 and 2020, experiencing a more than threefold increase, from 30 to 100. Even greater numbers are expected by 2030, resulting in renewable energy becoming the second most popular sector, with around 270 graduates.
277 words.
Worksheet 7: a new chart
The chart below shows the percentage of households in one country using four types of heating in 2000 and 2020, and the predicted figures for 2040. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
- 2000
- 2020
- 2040 (predicted)
Write the introduction and the overview. Use the checklist from Worksheet 3.
1. Introduction
.2. Overview
.Worksheet 7 key
- Introduction: The bar chart illustrates what proportion of homes in one country relied on four kinds of heating in 2000 and 2020, together with projections for 2040.
- Overview: Overall, between 2000 and 2020 the share of households using gas and oil fell, while electric heating and heat pumps became more common. These trends are expected to continue to 2040, by which time electric heating is forecast to have overtaken gas as the most common type.