The task
The charts below show the share of the supermarket market by chain in one European country in 2018 and 2023. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
Share of the supermarket market by chain in one European country in 2018 and 2023
- Freshmart
- Valora
- Nordkoop
- Pricewell
- Greenline
- Mercato
How to write about pie charts
How to read them. The whole circle is 100%. A slice is a share, not an amount: it tells you how much of the market a chain had, never how many items it sold. Two circles means two years, so the same six chains appear twice and you can watch the slices change.
Ask one question before you write. Why did someone make these charts? Here, for two reasons: to compare the six chains with each other, and to compare 2018 with 2023. Those two reasons are your main features. You do not need to know anything about supermarkets to see them.
What the examiner wants. Not every number. The task says select and report the main features, so a chain that barely moves can be left out entirely. What counts is size, change, and order: a chain can lose share and still move up the ranking, and that is worth a sentence.
| Paragraph | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The task in your own words. No figures. |
| Overview | Overall + the two to four main features. No figures at all. |
| Body 1 | The first group, e.g. the three biggest. Figures here. |
| Body 2 | The second group, e.g. the three smallest. Figures here. |
2. Decide your two groups before you write. Never describe the slices one by one in the order you happen to see them.
3. Say what the slice looks like. 45.4% is almost half, 10.4% is around a tenth, 24.4% is just under a quarter.
Aim
Students build a pie chart report one part at a time: they try each part on a worksheet first, and only see the model at the end. The stage that matters most is Stage 4, where they choose how to group the body paragraphs before writing a word. Then they use the same steps on a new pair of charts.
Anticipated problems
- Figures in the overview. The single most expensive habit. Treat it as a hard rule from Stage 3 and keep pointing at the checklist.
- Listing all six chains in order. Students read the legend top-to-bottom and write a sentence per slice. Stage 4 exists to stop this.
- Writing about every chain. They feel guilty leaving Greenline out. Show them the word select in the task.
- Missing the rank changes. They see Nordkoop fall and stop there, missing that it overtook Valora. Ask who was second, and who is second now?
- Percent and percentage point. Nordkoop fell by 0.9 percentage points. Accept 0.9% in writing, but say the difference once.
Materials
This page. Students join with the room link, so their typing appears on the dashboard. A board for the checklist and the three grouping options.
Timing map
| Stage | Focus | Worksheet | Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the charts, find the purpose | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | Introduction | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | Overview | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | Organise the body | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | Body 1 language | 5 | 15 |
| 6 | Write Body 2 | 6 | 15 |
| 7 | Compare with the model | Model | 8 |
| 8 | New charts | 7 | 13 |
Procedure
Stage 1: Read the charts, find the purpose
Interaction: Pairs, then whole class
Put the charts up and ask first: Do you need to know anything about supermarkets to answer this? (No. Only that shops sell food and that there are different companies.) Then the question the whole lesson turns on: Why did someone make these charts? Take answers until you get both: to compare the six chains and to compare the two years. Write both on the board and leave them there all lesson.
Read How to write about pie charts together (3 minutes), then pairs do Worksheet 1 in 4 minutes. Check aloud.
Stage 2: Introduction
Interaction: Individual, then pairs
Rule on the board: same meaning, different words. Say the thing students need to hear: you do not have to change every word. The stays, 2018 and 2023 stay, and charts to pie charts counts as a change, not a repetition. Students do Worksheet 2. Part B has four introductions and only D is right. Do not just take the letter: make them name the fault in each of the other three, because each one is a different rule.
- A keeps the share of the supermarket market untouched. Enough words have not been changed.
- B says shoppers. The charts show sales, not people, so the meaning is wrong however good the English is.
- C is a clean paraphrase with a main feature added to the end. That sentence belongs in the overview, and this is the trap strong students fall into.
C is the one worth the most time. Ask: is anything in it untrue? (No.) So why is it wrong? Because the introduction has one job.
Stage 3: Overview
Interaction: Individual, then pairs
Open with the stakes: no proper overview, no band 7. Then give them the four ways of finding the main features, one at a time, as Part A of Worksheet 3:
- One thing only. I will give you a million dollars, but you may say one sentence about this data. What is it?
- The purpose. Look at the board from Stage 1. Compare the chains: what do you get? Compare the years: what do you get?
- The headline. A newspaper prints these charts. Write the headline.
- The email. Your manager wants two lines by email, nothing more.
The point to draw out: all four routes give the same answers, and that agreement is how you know they are the main features. Checklist on the board: Overall · 2 to 4 main features · no figures. They then judge the three samples and write their own, swap, and check each other against the checklist.
Finish with the stranger test: cut out your overview, hand it to somebody with the charts, and see whether they understand what happened in five seconds.
Stage 4: Organise the body
Interaction: Pairs, then whole class
Do not let anybody write yet. Put the three options on the board and work through them together on Worksheet 4:
- By year. 2018 in one paragraph, 2023 in the other. Cross it out: the comparison between the years is the whole point, and this splits it in half.
- By rise and fall. Cross it out too: only Freshmart rose, so Body 1 would be two figures long.
- By size. Three biggest, then three smallest. This one survives: it is logical, it is easy to write, and it lets you compare inside each group.
Two questions to leave them with: what is the most logical way? and what is the easiest way for me to write? The examiner marks organisation, so this decision is worth more than any sentence they will write today.
Stage 5: Body 1 language
Interaction: Individual, then whole class
Point at the first words of the model paragraph: The three biggest chains in 2018 were … Ask why it starts that way (it tells the examiner what the paragraph covers). Students fill Worksheet 5 from the word box. Check aloud, and stop on three items:
- respectively: three names, three figures, same order, one sentence.
- almost half: 45.4% seen as a fraction of the circle.
- replaced … as the second largest: Nordkoop fell and still went up. Ask why that is worth reporting.
Stage 6: Write Body 2
Interaction: Individual
Students write Body 2 on Worksheet 6, one sentence per starter. Nothing has to be invented: the figures for the three chains are in a table, and each sentence lists the words to build it from, so the work is joining the pieces into good English rather than starting at a blank box.
Do number 1 together on the board before they start. Then walk the room and check two things only: a word in front of every figure, and a position mentioned somewhere. Question 4 asks which chain they left out. Anyone who wrote about all six has missed the word select.
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 the buttons in this order: Figures first (so they see the empty overview), then Ranking language, then Approximators. Each pair says one thing they will copy.
Stage 8: New charts
Interaction: Individual
Students write an introduction and an overview for the electricity charts on Worksheet 7 in 10 minutes, with the model closed. Warn them that the answer is not the same shape as the supermarket one: here the leader changes hands, so the purpose question has to be asked again. Two students read theirs aloud and the class checks them against the overview checklist.
Teacher notes
- The figures are invented and each year adds up to 100, so students can check their own reading of a slice.
- Greenline is in the data on purpose. It falls 1.2 points, changes no position, and is the only chain the model never mentions. If a student asks why, that is the lesson landing.
- If a pair finishes early, ask them for the newspaper headline for the electricity charts. It forces the overview out of them before they write it.
Worksheet 1: read the charts
Look at the charts. Answer before you write anything.
Share of the supermarket market by chain in one European country in 2018 and 2023
- Freshmart
- Valora
- Nordkoop
- Pricewell
- Greenline
- Mercato
1. Why did someone make these charts? Give two reasons.
.2. Which chain was the largest in both years?
.3. Which chain had the smallest share in 2018?
.4. Which chain was in last place in 2023?
.5. In 2023, Freshmart held …
6. How many chains increased their share between 2018 and 2023?
7. Which chain moved up from sixth place to fourth?
.Worksheet 1 key
| # | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1 | To compare the six chains with each other, and to compare 2018 with 2023. |
| 2 | Freshmart (38.2% then 45.4%) |
| 3 | Mercato (10.0%) |
| 4 | Pricewell (8.9%) |
| 5 | almost half (45.4%) |
| 6 | one (only Freshmart) |
| 7 | Mercato (10.0% to 9.3%, and still moved up) |
Worksheet 2: the introduction
The introduction is one sentence: the task in your own words. Same meaning, different words. No figures. You do not have to change every word.
Part A. Write each phrase from the task in a different way.
| The task says | You write |
|---|---|
| The charts below | 1. |
| show | 2. |
| the share of | 3. |
| the supermarket market by chain | 4. |
| in 2018 and 2023 | 5. |
Part B. All four look reasonable. Three of them break one of these rules: change enough of the words, keep the same meaning, no detail in the introduction. Find the one that breaks none.
A. The pie charts compare the share of the supermarket market by six chains in one European country in 2018 and 2023.
B. The pie charts illustrate the proportion of shoppers who chose six supermarket chains in one European country in 2018 and 2023.
C. The pie charts illustrate the proportion of grocery sales held by six supermarket chains in one European country in 2018 and 2023, with Freshmart holding by far the largest share in both years.
D. The pie charts illustrate the proportion of grocery sales held by six supermarket chains in one European country in 2018 and 2023.
6. The best introduction is:
Part C. Now write your own introduction. Do not copy D.
7.Worksheet 2 key
| # | Accept |
|---|---|
| 1 | The pie charts |
| 2 | illustrate, present, compare, display |
| 3 | the proportion of, the percentage of |
| 4 | grocery sales held by six supermarket chains, food sales by six retailers |
| 5 | in 2018 and 2023 (years cannot be paraphrased) |
| 6 | D (see below) |
| 7 | Open. Model: The pie charts illustrate the proportion of grocery sales held by six supermarket chains in one European country in 2018 and 2023. |
- A is wrong. Not enough changed: it keeps the share of the supermarket market.
- B is wrong. Wrong meaning: shoppers are people, and the charts show sales.
- C is wrong. Detail: the last clause is a main feature, so it belongs in the overview.
- D is the answer. Same meaning, enough changed, no detail.
Worksheet 3: the overview
Part A. Four ways of finding the main features. Answer all four, then look at how much they agree.
1. You may say one sentence about this data, and only one. What is it?
.2. The charts were made to compare the chains, and to compare the years. What does each comparison show you?
.3. A newspaper prints these charts. Write the headline.
.4. Your manager wants two lines by email about this data. Write them.
.Part B. Which overview follows the checklist?
A. Overall, Freshmart was by far the largest chain in both years. It also increased its dominance over the period, whilst every one of its competitors lost market share.
B. Overall, Freshmart grew from 38.2% to 45.4%, while Valora fell from 16.1% to 13.2% and Nordkoop fell to 14.1%.
C. Overall, Freshmart was the largest supermarket chain in 2023, and the other chains were much smaller.
5. The best overview is:
Part C. Write your own overview. Two sentences. Check it against the checklist, then give it to your partner with the charts: can they see what happened in five seconds?
6.Worksheet 3 key
| # | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1 | Freshmart was by far the biggest chain in both years. |
| 2 | Chains: Freshmart leads in both years. Years: Freshmart grew and every other chain shrank. |
| 3 | Something like: Freshmart tightens its grip on the grocery market. |
| 4 | Freshmart was dominant in both years, and it was the only chain to grow while the rest lost share. |
| 5 | A. B is full of figures and covers only three chains. C gives one year and no change. |
| 6 | Open. Model: Overall, Freshmart was by far the largest chain in both years. It also increased its dominance over the period, whilst every one of its competitors lost market share. |
Worksheet 4: organise the body
Before you write, decide how to split the two body paragraphs. The examiner marks how you organise the data, so this decision is worth more than any single sentence. Judge each plan.
1. Plan A: Body 1 is 2018, Body 2 is 2023.
2. Plan B: Body 1 is the chains that grew, Body 2 is the chains that fell.
3. Plan C: Body 1 is the three biggest chains, Body 2 is the three smallest.
Now open your two body paragraphs. Write the first few words only, so the examiner knows immediately what each paragraph is about.
4. Body 1 starts:
.5. Body 2 starts:
.Worksheet 4 key
| # | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | does not work | Comparing the two years is the whole point of the task, and this plan splits that comparison across two paragraphs. |
| 2 | does not work | Only Freshmart grew, so Body 1 would be two figures long and Body 2 would hold five chains. |
| 3 | works | Logical, easy to write, and it lets you compare inside each group and across both years. |
| 4 | The three biggest chains in 2018 were … | Any opener that names the group. It tells the examiner what is coming. |
| 5 | The remaining three competitors … | Same job. Never open a body paragraph with a chain name and a number. |
Worksheet 5: Body 1
Body 1 is about the three biggest chains. Fill each gap with a word or phrase from the box. Use each one once.
Worksheet 5 key
| # | Answer | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | respectively | attaches a list of figures to a list of names, in order |
| 2 | whilst | contrast inside one sentence |
| 3 | almost half | the slice seen as a fraction (45.4%) |
| 4 | Despite | concession: small fall, big result |
| 5 | 0.9% | 15.0 minus 14.1 |
| 6 | replaced | a change of position, not of size |
| 7 | second largest | ranking |
Worksheet 6: write Body 2
Body 2 is about the three smallest chains. You do not have to invent anything: the figures are in the table, and under each sentence are the pieces to build it from. Use all of them. They are not in the right order, so work out what goes where and add the words that join them.
| Chain | 2018 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricewell | 10.4% | 8.9% |
| Greenline | 10.3% | 9.1% |
| Mercato | 10.0% | 9.3% |
1. The remaining three competitors each held …
Use: approximately one percentage point · around a tenth · but all of them fell · in 2018
.2. Pricewell dropped the most, …
Use: which left it in last place · from 10.4% to 8.9%
.3. Mercato, on the other hand, …
Use: to the fourth largest in 2023 · achieving a figure of 9.3% · went from the smallest share in 2018
.4. One chain is not worth writing about. Which one, and why?
Use: Look at the table again. Which chain changed the least and stayed in the same place?
.Worksheet 6 key
Open. The model Body 2:
The remaining three competitors each held around a tenth of the market in 2018, but all of them fell by approximately one percentage point by 2023. Pricewell dropped the most, from 10.4% to 8.9%, which left it in last place. Mercato, on the other hand, went from the smallest share in 2018 to the fourth largest in 2023, achieving a figure of 9.3%.
| # | Answer |
|---|---|
| 4 | Greenline. It fell by about the same as the others, stayed in fifth place, and nothing about it stands out. The task says select the main features, so leaving it out is correct. |
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 pie charts illustrate the proportion of grocery sales held by six supermarket chains in one European country in 2018 and 2023.
Overall, Freshmart was by far the largest chain in both years. It also increased its dominance over the period, whilst every one of its competitors lost market share.
The three biggest chains in 2018 were Freshmart, Valora and Nordkoop, with 38.2%, 16.1% and 15.0% respectively. However, whilst Freshmart increased its share to almost half of the market, Valora fell to 13.2%. Despite a minor decrease of 0.9%, to 14.1% in 2023, Nordkoop replaced Valora as the second largest chain.
The remaining three competitors each held around a tenth of the market in 2018, but all of them fell by approximately one percentage point by 2023. Pricewell dropped the most, from 10.4% to 8.9%, which left it in last place. Mercato, on the other hand, went from the smallest share in 2018 to the fourth largest in 2023, achieving a figure of 9.3%.
164 words. Greenline is never mentioned, on purpose.
Worksheet 7: new charts
The charts below show the share of electricity generated from five sources in one country in 2005 and 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Share of electricity generated from five sources in one country in 2005 and 2020
- Coal
- Gas
- Nuclear
- Hydro
- Wind
Ask the purpose question first: these charts are not the same shape as the supermarket ones. Then write the introduction and the overview, using the checklist from Worksheet 3.
1. Introduction
.2. Overview
.Worksheet 7 key
- Introduction: The pie charts illustrate the proportion of electricity produced from five sources in one country in 2005 and 2020.
- Overview: Overall, the country moved away from coal over the period. Coal was by far the largest source in 2005 but had been overtaken by gas by 2020, whilst wind grew from the smallest source to one of the largest.