IELTS Writing Task 1: bar charts with age groups

A few people have asked about the question on page 52 of Cambridge IELTS 5. It shows two bar charts with age groups. Click here to see the question.

As usual, I recommend writing 4 paragraphs:

1. A quick introduction to say what the charts show.
2. An overview of the main features - one sentence for each chart.
3. Describe the first chart in detail.
4. Describe the second chart in detail.

Here's an example introduction and overview:

The first bar chart compares students of different ages in terms of why they are studying their chosen courses, and the second chart compares the same age groups in terms of the help they require at work.

It is clear that the proportion of people who study for career purposes is far higher among the younger age groups, and decreases steadily with age. The need for employer support also decreases with age, but only up to the point when employees enter their forties.

Comments

[hussain]

sir,if there is not mention years then we have to written in present tense or past tense or can we write in both tense?
for example,the pollution from diesel cars has risen by 45g,at 130kph speed.

[Simon]

Hi Hussain,

If there aren't any years on the chart, use the present simple (e.g. pollution rises).

[ayesha]

hi simon,
after your introduction and overview i will say
At age 26 and under, around 80%of students study for career reasons and only 10%study because they have interest in the subject.As the students age advances the propotion of interest in their studies also increases but their career orientation decreases.At age 40 -49 ,the percentage of students who study for interest and career reason becomes equal,at 40%.AT age 49 and over,about 70% study for interest and 18% study for career reasons.
The second bar chart shows that 70% of employees of age 26 and under,get support from their employers.This propotion of support decreases with the increase in age,untill at age 30 -39,30% of them get support from their employers.After this age the percentage of employees who get support increaseS again reaching to 40% ,at age 49 and over.

[kasia]

Hi Simon,when 're you planning your next session for writing(writing course in Manchester)?

[musharaf]

Hi SIMON,
My introduction is ;The first bar chart compares the aims of study in terms of career and interest among different age groups of students.The second bar chart illustrates percentage of the help recieved from their employers in the form of time off and fee payments.

[Jessica]

Sir,
Could you pls tell me whether these descriptions about ages are right or not?

The under-26-year-olds Those aged under 26 The under-26 age group The 40-49-year-olds Those aged between 40 and 49 The 40-49 age group The over-49-year-olds Those aged over 49 Tho over-49 age group

thanks a lot!

[Simon]

Hi Kasia,

I think it will be at the beginning of August. I'll put the August dates on my site soon.

...

Hi Jessica,

They all look fine.

[Shafaq]

hi Simon,

At the end of introduction for the second chart you wrote: "and the second chart compares the same age groups in terms of the help they require at work."

When I interpreted the data, i thought it is the support the age groups "receive" at the work in term of how much they are helped by the employers in terms of fee share and time to pursue qualifications. It is, as i thought, employers are more interested in training younger employees than the older ones .

But "require" suggests that the young people

need

more help rather than the old ones.

am i right or wrong?

thanks a lot

[Aleksandra Bucholc]

Hi Shafaq and dear Simon,

I would also rather interpret the second bar chart like Shafag,assuming that employers are more willing to help younger employees for their future, but mainly to invest in them for the sake of their companies.
But, perhaps at the same time young workers require more of this support asking for it, or the oldest workers would need it to adopt some new technologies, for example.

Finally, I think that is not so important, while they received this support, in Writing task one. Just need to describe it.
Of course,they're only my opinions.

Kind regards

[Aleksandra Bucholc]

* not while but - why they received...

Sorry, (accidental mistake)

[Simon]

Hi Shafaq and Aleksandra,

I don't think it's clear from the bar chart exactly whether the employees need the help or are simply offered it.

It's not something we really need to worry about.

[Aleksandra Bucholc]

Dear Teacher,
Thank you for your reply,
Aleksandra

[Lolo]

My introduction-

The first bar chart compares the choice of study made by different age groups according to their career and personal interest. The second bar chart shows the proportion of educational financial support obtained from employers by different age groups.

[Grace]

Hi! Simon:
Good day! Can you help me check my description below:

Introduction:
The first graph compares the percentage of people in different ages choosing study for two reasons. The second graphs shows the proportion of people of five main age groups received assistances from their employees.

overview:
Overall, it can be seen from the graphs that the majority of people aged below 26 studying for career, and just a mere 10 percent of them studying for interest. Furthermore, people in the middle age received the least supports compared with younger generation, while the supports increase among the age groups over 40.

p.s Recently, I am confused about the listening practice concerning the capital in use in terms of direction. For example, should I use the capital words for: The location is in the North-West ?( I saw this capital words used in Cambridge IELTS 5),while I also saw another sentence like this:..,and along the road heading north-east from London (no capital use).why?
Also, the other tricky question is :when we write somebody's job title, e.g :She is the Head of Computer Center, I thought in this case, we should write capital "C" for Computer Center, whereas the answer key in Cambridge IELTS 6(ListeningTest 2) didn't use capital for these two words.
Hope my questions didn't bother you.
Thank you for your substantial help!

[Simon]

Hi Grace,

I'm afraid I don't offer essay correction, checking or scoring. If I did this, everyone would send me their essays.

Don't worry about capital letters - they won't affect your listening or reading scores.

[Grace]

Hi Simon:
That's fine.Sorry,I forget that it isn't the mistake correction area..ha!
Thanks for your answer for my second question.

all the best!

[ying zhao]

Thanks simon,your article helps me a lot.

[zeladea]

Hi everyone

My essay please give comment.. thanks

The chart presented illustrates the percentage of support given by employeer to their employee and the percentage of reasons for studying. It is observed that there are differences among the aged group on what reason the go for schooling and how much support the get from their bosses.

The first bar chat presented that students under aged 26 enter universities for the reason of career with 80% highest among other aged group compared to adult aged over 49 with only 19% wich is exactly opposite of the other.Amasingly, as age increased it is noted that reason for study as career gradually decrease and interest as a reason for study slowly climbed with the highr percentage of 70 among those who belonged to aged 49 and above.Noticeably, career and interest as main reason to enter university levelled out at 40% among students belonging to aged 40-49.

The second bar chart shows the employeer's support to their emplyee who entered universities.Much support was given to students who are aged 26 and below interms of time off and finacial aid.The support given by the employeer to the employee is lesser among aged group 30-39 compared to other aged group. However empoyee aged over 49 had recieved support higher by approximately 10% in contrast to those belonging to aged group 30-39.

[Simon]

Hi Zeladea,

I'm afraid I don't offer essay correction or scoring. If I did this, everyone would send me their essays. If you would like to get some essays corrected, read the link below:

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2011/10/essay-correction.html

[manisha]

hi simon,
my introduction is as follows..
The bar charts compare the reasons for study among different age groups and the support they receive from their employers for the same.

[mrekad]

hi simon
i am new. how can i use this site?