Academic Task 1
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Regular exercise by age (bar chart)
Question type: Academic Task 1: bar chart
The question
The bar chart below shows the percentage of men and women in four age groups who did regular physical exercise in one country in 2023.
- Men
- Women
View the data as a table
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 to 24 | 52 | 38 |
| 25 to 44 | 40 | 42 |
| 45 to 64 | 33 | 45 |
| 65 and over | 37 | 31 |
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
- Follow each sex across the age groups: the men's bars mostly fall and the women's rise and then fall.
- Overview: young men were the most active, and women were ahead only in the two middle groups.
- Give men one paragraph and women another, and compare them at the highest and lowest points.
Model answer
183 words (minimum 150). Written to show the features of a Band 8-level answer.
The bar chart shows the proportions of men and women of different ages who exercised regularly in one country in 2023.
Overall, young men were the most active group. Among men, participation generally declined with age, whereas among women it rose until late middle age before falling. As a result, women were more active than men in the two middle age groups, but less active in the youngest and oldest.
In the 15 to 24 age group, 52% of men did regular exercise, compared with 38% of women, which was the widest gap on the chart. The male figure then dropped to 40% for those aged 25 to 44 and to its lowest point, 33%, for those aged 45 to 64, before recovering slightly to 37% among men aged 65 and over.
The pattern for women was different. Their participation increased from 38% to 42% in the 25 to 44 group, slightly above the figure for men, and peaked at 45% among 45 to 64 year olds. It then fell sharply to 31% in the oldest group, the lowest figure for either sex.
Useful language from this answer
- generally declined with age
- a fall across age groups with one exception
- the widest gap on the chart
- the biggest difference between two bars
- before recovering slightly
- a small rise after a fall
- peaked at
- reached its highest point
- the lowest figure for either sex
- the smallest number in the whole chart
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.
- Writing about change over time, such as 'exercise fell as the years passed'. The chart shows one year and different age groups.
- Saying men exercise more than women. That is true in only two of the four age groups.
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.