Short answer: A pie chart question in Task 1 asks you to report how a whole is divided: which segment is largest, which is smallest, how the rest compare, and, when there are two charts, what changed. Write four paragraphs: a paraphrased introduction, an overview with the two or three main features, and two body paragraphs that group the segments and give the figures. Use proportion language (a third, a fifth, just over, accounts for) rather than repeating the same number word, and never explain why.
The pie chart is the Task 1 question candidates are most relieved to see and most likely to write badly. It looks simple: six slices, six numbers, add them up and they make a hundred. The trap is exactly that simplicity. With nothing to describe over time and no axis to read, most answers become a list, one sentence per slice, each with its number, and a list is what the band descriptors call "mechanical" at band 5. A good pie chart answer does what every Task 1 answer does: it finds the main picture, groups the detail, and reports the figures in the service of a comparison.
What a pie chart question asks
The question always contains the same sentence: "Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant." For a pie chart, the main features are the largest segment, the smallest segment, and the way the rest is distributed. The comparisons are between segments (twice as large, a similar share) and, when there are two charts, between the charts (what grew, what shrank). Selecting means you do not give every number the same weight.
| Type of question | What you compare | What the overview says |
|---|---|---|
| One pie chart | Segments with one another. | The dominant category, the marginal one, and whether the middle is even or uneven. |
| Two pie charts, two years | Each segment with itself over time. | The category that grew most, the one that fell most, and what stayed the same. |
| Two pie charts, two groups (countries, ages, genders) | Each segment across the two groups. | Where the two groups differ most, and where they are alike. |
| A pie chart with a table or a bar chart | The pie for the shares, the other chart for the totals or the trend. | One sentence per chart, then the link between them. |
The four-paragraph structure
- Introduction (one sentence). Paraphrase the title: what is measured, for whom, when, in what unit. "The pie chart shows how a typical UK household spent its monthly income in 2023" becomes "The chart illustrates the way in which an average British household divided its monthly spending between six categories in 2023." Do not copy the title; do not add anything.
- Overview (one or two sentences, no figures). "Overall, housing was by far the largest expense, taking about a third of the total, while the remaining categories were spread fairly evenly, with a small share left for other items." The examiner should be able to sketch the chart from this sentence.
- Body 1: the big segments. The one or two largest, with their figures and a comparison between them.
- Body 2: the rest. The middle segments grouped ("transport and utilities took similar shares"), then the smallest, then the total these leave. If there are two charts, body 1 is one chart or one set of segments and body 2 the change.
No conclusion. A Task 1 report ends with its last figure; a sentence beginning "In conclusion" that repeats the overview is not penalised, but it costs words that could have been a comparison.
The language of proportions
The fastest way to lose marks on Lexical Resource in a pie chart answer is to write "per cent" in every sentence. The table gives the alternatives. Use a fraction when the figure is close to one (33 per cent is "a third", 20 is "a fifth", 48 is "almost half"), a comparison when two segments are close, and the exact figure when the point is the figure.
| Function | Phrases |
|---|---|
| Saying what share a segment has | accounts for, makes up, represents, takes up, is responsible for, constitutes |
| Fractions instead of figures | a quarter, a third, half, two thirds, three quarters, a fifth, a tenth |
| Approximating | roughly, approximately, just over, just under, slightly more than, almost, nearly, close to |
| Ranking | the largest share, the second largest, the smallest proportion, by far the biggest, the least significant |
| Comparing segments | twice as large as, half the size of, three times the share of, a similar proportion to, only marginally more than |
| Grouping | together, combined, between them, the remaining categories, the other three |
| Change between two charts | rose from ... to ..., fell by ... percentage points, doubled, halved, remained unchanged, overtook |
One rule of arithmetic hides in the last row. When a share goes from 20 per cent to 30 per cent, it has risen by ten percentage points, and by half. Writing "rose by 10 per cent" is a common error and a real one, because 10 per cent of 20 is 2. Say "percentage points", or say "by half", or give both figures and let the reader see it.
A model answer on a real chart
Test 4 of the Writing test on this site uses this question: "The pie chart below shows how an average household in the United Kingdom spent its monthly income in 2023." The six segments are housing 33 per cent, food and groceries 20, transport 15, utilities and bills 13, leisure and entertainment 11, other 8. Here is a model answer at a solid band 7, built on the four-paragraph structure, with a note after each paragraph on what it does.
The chart illustrates the way in which an average British household divided its monthly spending between six categories of expense in 2023.
Task Achievement: the title is paraphrased ("shows how ... spent its monthly income" becomes "illustrates the way in which ... divided its monthly spending"), and nothing is added.
Overall, housing was by far the largest single expense, absorbing roughly a third of the budget, while the five remaining categories shared the rest in fairly similar proportions, with only a small amount classified as other spending.
Task Achievement: the main feature (housing dominates), the shape of the rest (fairly even), and the outlier (other), without a single figure. A reader could draw the chart.
Housing alone accounted for 33 per cent of monthly outgoings, more than any other category and considerably higher than the second largest, food and groceries, which took a fifth of the total. Between them, these two essentials consumed just over half of household income.
Coherence and Lexical Resource: the two largest segments, one fraction ("a fifth"), one grouping ("between them"), one comparison ("considerably higher than").
The middle of the distribution was occupied by transport and utilities, at 15 and 13 per cent respectively, figures that were close to one another, while leisure and entertainment received a slightly smaller share at 11 per cent. Finally, the remaining 8 per cent went on other items, making this the smallest segment of the chart, so that essential living costs clearly dominated and left only a modest proportion for discretionary spending.
Grammatical Range: a relative clause, "respectively", a participle clause ("making this"), a result clause ("so that"). The last sentence compares essential and discretionary spending, which is a reading of the chart rather than a repetition of it, and still contains no explanation.
The answer is about 190 words, which is right for Task 1: over the 150-word minimum, and short enough to leave forty minutes for Task 2. Every segment appears, but only the two largest get a sentence of their own.
When there are two pie charts
Two charts, the same categories, two years or two groups: this is the more common exam version, and the structure changes in one place only. The overview names the biggest change, not the biggest segment. Body 1 describes the first chart or the categories that changed most; body 2 describes the second chart or the categories that stayed stable. Every figure is given as a movement ("rose from a fifth to nearly a third") or as a pair, so that the comparison is on the page and not left to the reader.
Suppose the same UK spending chart existed for 2003. The overview might read: "Overall, the share taken by housing grew markedly over the two decades, while spending on food and on leisure fell, and the other categories were broadly stable." The body paragraphs then take housing and food first (the movers), and transport, utilities and other second (the stable ones), with both years' figures for each. The one thing that does not change is the rule against explanation: why housing grew is not on the chart.
Five mistakes that cost the most
- One sentence per slice. Six sentences, six numbers, no grouping. Group the middle, compare the ends.
- No overview. An answer that goes from the introduction straight to "Housing was 33 per cent" has no main feature and cannot reach band 7 on Task Achievement.
- The same word for every share. "Per cent" seven times. Use fractions and approximations, and vary the verb.
- Explaining the data. "This is because rents in the UK are high." Not in the chart; not rewarded.
- Confusing per cent and percentage points. A share that moves from 20 to 30 has risen by ten points and by half, not by ten per cent.
The Writing test on this site includes this pie chart as Task 1 of Test 4, and the checker returns an estimated band on the four criteria with comments on the overview and on the figures you chose, so you can write the answer, compare it with the model above and see where the difference lies. For the other Task 1 type that trips candidates on the overview, read IELTS Writing Task 1 Process Diagram: Band 7 Sample Answer; for what separates the two bands in every paragraph, read IELTS Band 6 vs Band 7 in Writing: What Actually Changes.
Quick answers
Do I have to mention every segment?
You have to cover the chart, which is not the same thing. Every segment should be accounted for at least in a group ("transport and utilities took similar shares, 15 and 13 per cent"), and the largest and smallest segments must be named with their figures. A six-segment chart described as six separate sentences with six numbers reads as a list, not a report, and loses marks on Coherence.
Do I need an overview for a pie chart?
Yes. The overview is the sentence or two that gives the main picture without figures: which category dominates, which is marginal, whether the rest is evenly spread. Task Achievement at band 7 requires a clear overview, and a pie chart is the easiest chart to write one for, because the main feature is visible at a glance.
Can I give reasons for the figures?
No. Task 1 is a report on what the chart shows. "Housing takes a third of income because rents are high in the UK" adds something that is not in the data, and the examiner cannot reward it. Compare, group and quantify; leave the explanation out.
Is the AI band on this site official?
No. The Writing test and the checker on this site return an estimated band on the four criteria within seconds, and the Task 1 questions include a pie chart, a table, a line graph, a bar chart and a process diagram, but the band is an estimate produced by a model, not an official result. The site is independent and not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP, or Cambridge English.
The short version: paraphrase the title, give an overview with the largest and smallest segments, group the rest into two paragraphs with figures, use proportion words, compare when there are two charts, and explain nothing.