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Academic Task 1

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: University subjects (bar chart)

Question type: Academic Task 1: bar chart

The question

The bar chart below compares the percentage of students who chose five subjects at one university in 2005 and 2025.

Students choosing each subject (%)
0%10%20%30%40%50%EngineeringBusinessMedicineArtsComputer Science2005, Engineering: 18%2025, Engineering: 15%2005, Business: 25%2025, Business: 22%2005, Medicine: 12%2025, Medicine: 14%2005, Arts: 30%2025, Arts: 17%2005, Computer Science: 15%2025, Computer Science: 32%
  • 2005
  • 2025
View the data as a table
20052025
Engineering18%15%
Business25%22%
Medicine12%14%
Arts30%17%
Computer Science15%32%

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

  1. Identify the two biggest changes: Computer Science rose and Arts fell.
  2. Overview: Computer Science replaced Arts as the most popular subject.
  3. Group the smaller changes (Engineering, Business, Medicine) in one paragraph.

Model answer

169 words (minimum 150). Written to show the features of a Band 8-level answer.

The bar chart compares the percentage of students at one university who chose five different subjects in 2005 and 2025.

Overall, the most notable changes were a sharp rise in the popularity of Computer Science and a steep fall in Arts. As a result, Computer Science replaced Arts as the most popular subject, while the other three subjects changed only slightly.

In 2005, Arts was the most popular choice, taken by 30% of students, but this figure fell considerably to 17% in 2025. Computer Science showed the opposite trend. It was chosen by only 15% of students in 2005, but its share more than doubled to 32%, making it the leading subject by the end of the period.

The remaining subjects saw much smaller changes. Business was the second most popular subject in 2005 at 25%, and it fell slightly to 22%. Engineering also declined a little, from 18% to 15%. Medicine was the only one of these subjects to become more popular, rising modestly from 12% to 14%.

Useful language from this answer

the most notable changes were
introducing the key features
showed the opposite trend
contrasting two subjects
its share more than doubled
describing a large increase
the remaining subjects
grouping smaller changes
rising modestly
a small increase

Common mistakes with this question

  • Missing the overview. A report without a clear summary of the main trends cannot score above Band 5 for Task Achievement.
  • Giving your opinion or explaining why the changes happened. Task 1 Academic only asks you to describe the data.
  • Listing every number in order instead of selecting the key figures and making comparisons.

Now write your own answer

Reading a model helps, but writing is what improves your band. Answer this question and get an estimated band for all four criteria, with corrections taken from your own sentences.

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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.