Academic Task 1
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Museum visitors (bar chart)
Question type: Academic Task 1: bar chart
The question
The bar chart below shows the number of visitors, in thousands, to four museums in one city in 2015 and 2025.
- 2015
- 2025
View the data as a table
| 2015 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Science Museum | 420 | 610 |
| History Museum | 380 | 310 |
| Art Gallery | 300 | 340 |
| Transport Museum | 150 | 90 |
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
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How to approach it
- Sort the museums into two groups: two gained visitors and two lost them.
- Overview: the Science Museum was first in both years and grew most; the Transport Museum was always last.
- Mention the change in ranking, with the Art Gallery moving above the History Museum.
Model answer
182 words (minimum 150). Written to show the features of a Band 8-level answer.
The bar chart compares how many people visited four museums in one city in two years, 2015 and 2025.
Overall, the Science Museum attracted the most visitors in both years and saw by far the biggest increase. The Art Gallery also became more popular, whereas visitor numbers at the History Museum and the Transport Museum went down. The Transport Museum was the least visited in both years.
In 2015, the Science Museum received 420 thousand visitors, slightly more than the History Museum, which had 380 thousand. Ten years later the gap between them was much wider. The figure for the Science Museum had jumped to 610 thousand, while the History Museum had dropped to 310 thousand, about half as many.
As a result, the Art Gallery moved from third place to second. Its visitor numbers rose modestly, from 300 thousand in 2015 to 340 thousand in 2025. The Transport Museum, in contrast, had only 150 thousand visitors in the first year, and this fell to 90 thousand in 2025, which was less than one sixth of the total for the Science Museum.
Useful language from this answer
- attracted the most visitors
- a natural verb for places people visit
- saw by far the biggest increase
- the largest change of all the items
- the gap between them was much wider
- two figures moving apart
- moved from third place to second
- a change in ranking
- rose modestly
- a small increase
Common mistakes with this question
- Missing the overview. A report without a clear summary of the main features cannot score above Band 5 for Task Achievement.
- Forgetting the unit. The figures are in thousands, so 420 means 420 thousand visitors, not 420 people.
- Describing each museum in turn without comparing them. Say which was first, which was last and which changed places.
Now write your own answer
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This model answer was written by TestWise Prep to show the features of a high-scoring answer. It is not official IELTS material. Use it for ideas and language, not to memorise.