example of graph analysis essay

IELTS Mentor "IELTS Preparation & Sample Answer"

• Skip to content
• Jump to main navigation and login

Nav view search

• IELTS Sample

20 Recent IELTS Graph samples with answers

The chart below shows how much money is spent in the budget on different sectors by the uae government in 2000..

The charts below show the growth in the population in some of the world’s largest cities as well as the population distribution in urban and rural areas.

The average prices per kilometre of clothing imported into the European Union from six different countries in 1993 and 2003 are shown in the bar chart below.

The bar charts below show the number of hours each teacher spent teaching in different schools in four different countries in 2001.

The line graphs below show the production and demand for steel in million tonnes and the number of workers employed in the steel industry in the UK in 2010.

The bar charts and line graph below show the results of a survey conducted over a three-year period to discover what people who live in London think of the city.

The pie charts below show the online sales for retail sectors in New Zealand in 2003 and 2013.

The number of tourists visiting Malaysia and Dubai from 1995 to 2003 is presented below.

The bar chart below shows the estimated sales of jeans for two companies next year in Turkey. The pie chart shows the projected market share of the two companies in jeans at the end of next year.

The graph below shows a survey result of 4000 participants who expressed what important aspects they have learned from the internship they have completed.

The graph below shows the top priorities by business companies in the USA in 2016.

The graphs below show the average monthly expenditure on children’s sports and participation in different sports in the UK from 2008 to 2014.

The pie charts below show the online shopping sales for retail sectors in Australia in 2010 and 2015.

The bar chart below shows Scotland’s exports to the rest of the UK and the rest of the world for the year 2014.

The chart below shows the changes in sales of four different types of books from 2002 to 2012.

The diagram shows the procedure for university entry for high school graduates.

The chart below shows Morocco’s income from different economic sectors in 2003 as well as its income from fishing from 1982 to 2003.

The bar chart below shows the proportions of English men and women of different ages who were living alone in 2011. The pie chart compares the numbers of bedrooms in these one-person households.

The diagram below shows the life cycle of a salmon, from egg to adult fish.

The table below shows the worldwide market share of the notebook computer market for manufacturers in the years 2006, 2007 and 2014.

• Academic Writing Task 1

IELTS Materials

• IELTS Bar Graph
• IELTS Line Graph
• IELTS Table Chart
• IELTS Flow Chart
• IELTS Pie Chart
• IELTS Letter Writing
• IELTS Essay
• Academic Reading

Useful Links

• IELTS Secrets
• Band Score Calculator
• Exam Specific Tips
• Useful Websites
• IELTS Preparation Tips
• Academic Reading Tips
• Academic Writing Tips
• GT Writing Tips
• Listening Tips
• Speaking Tips
• IELTS Grammar Review
• IELTS Vocabulary
• IELTS Cue Cards
• IELTS Life Skills
• Letter Types

• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Copyright Notice
• HTML Sitemap

A summary of a line graph

Learn how to describe a line graph.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

Matching_MjMxNjU=

The graph below shows how people buy music. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Overall, both downloads and physical sales of music have steadily declined. The latter has slumped since 2011, while the downturn for the former began in 2014. However, there has been a sharp rise in people streaming music since 2013.

In 2011, the majority of music sales were of CDs, at 55% of all sales. In contrast, streaming was not common at all at only 5%. Also, although people had started to download music, it only represented 35% of sales. As sales of CDs began to fall, downloads started to rise. They rose steadily and downloads overtook physical sales in mid-2013. During the same period, streaming doubled to 10% but then it started to grow more dramatically.

Downloads peaked in 2014 at about 43% of sales but fell to 30% by 2018. This was slightly higher than physical sales, which shrank to 25%. Streaming, on the other hand, overtook both of them and accounted for just over 40% of sales in 2018.

Please note: This page was designed for writing practice only. Information in the graph may not be accurate.

• Change the words in the question to introduce your answer, e.g. This graph shows = This graph illustrates .
• The second paragraph should give an overview of the main points the graph shows (imagine you're describing the results to someone who can't see the graph).
• The following paragraphs should describe the main patterns or trends in more detail.
• Use precise vocabulary like steadily declined and a sharp increase to describe trends. Use linking expressions like while and in contrast to make comparisons.
• The question asks you only to 'Summarise the information'. Don't give reasons why these trends might have occurred, or your personal preferences on the topic.

TrueOrFalse_MjMxNjY=.xml

ReorderingHorizontal_MjMxNjc=.xml

GapFillDragAndDrop_MjMxNjk=.xml

What are the trends in the way you have been buying and listening to music over the last five to ten years?

Language level

This graphical representation depicts or illustrates the revenue generation status of three major activities which are relevant to music industry namely Streams, Downloads and CD purchases. The graph is plotted with respect to the percentage of above across the range of years from 2011 till 2018. Detailed analysis of the statistics clearly indicate that the financial outcome obtained from CDs was highest during the year 2011 contributing about 50 to 60 percent of the revenue. However, the same has declined gradually over a period of time. On the contrary, the sales pattern of Streams depicts a consistent rise eventually leading to favorable profit margin. Both of these items have experienced significant variations. As compared with above two, the cost returns from Downloads seems to be having potential variations with frequent rise and fall. It has produced a peak of profit margin somewhere in the year 2014. However, it has failed to maintain its stability in span of years. The above study indicates a comparison of concrete statistical data in terms of music as an entertainment sector in the range of years.

• Log in or register to post comments

I would like to take advantage of my age and go deeper back into the past until the eighties when I started to listen to music using cassettes we recorded from the radio! The quality was very bad but we liked it anyway, spending hours listening to songs interrupted by the voice of the radio's announcer or the surrounding noises of our home. In the nineties the CD appeared with its incredible high quality of sound. I spent a lot of money buying CDs because I thought they would last for a lifetime. But 20 years later all changed with the music streaming and I no longer use my almost 500 CDs that are now only a nice memory of my youth.

As far as I remember I have been always fond of music. In any period of my life, I was attracted to a specific style of music based on my mental and emotional condition. Sometimes wordless, epic, happy, dance, meditation, and relaxing music. Listening to music has become one of my personality habits, so to speak. In fact, I think the music listening trend has been a constant line for me and only the styles have changed.

I usually listen to audio files, when I'm coding, taking a walk, meditating, controlling my anger, cleaning my room, in the bathroom, subway, in noisy places, and so on.

Of course, because my sense of hearing is strong and I generally learn many things through listening. besides music, I listen to lots of educational audio files.

But as it turned out, especially in the last five years, I have gotten really interested in wordless, meditation, and relaxing music. This type of music makes my mind orderly and calm and increases its performance.

About buying music, I have always downloaded music for free though if I like one that is paid, I will definitely buy it.

Over the last five to ten years I have been listening and downloading music from various social media sites like spotifly tiktok or youtube.

When I was a teenager, I would love to listen to the radio. During that time, FM radio, which aired trendy songs, were popular. Moreover, I did buy some copied CD from the illegal seller and listened to those English Songs. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I did not have much knowledge about copyrights and much thinking about how much effort that the artists had to put for their art pieces. Nowadays, I mostly stream on Spotify and YouTube for my favourite songs.

The Hallyu Wave of K-Pop obviously, started in 2016. For the past six years, I was listening to korean music, from alt/indie to k-pop and from r&b to ballad. But, if I may take the times to years before that, I was just listening to some mainstream pop and r&b, sang by famous pop stars. On the other hand, for the last 2-3 years, I have been listening to many artists from various genres. I like how quite diverse it turns my playlist to and I will probably keep up this trend for a while.

Through the years, all I do to find out music is watching YouTube. Recently I start watching rhythm gamers, and I found many good songs that I never heard of (started using internet since 2016 so yea), like Fallen Symphony or At the Speed of Light.

I used to listen to music on a casette player, I remeber I would play my favorite song again and again, Nowadays due to the advancement of technology listening to music becomes more convenient and accessible.

Over the last five to seven years I have been listening and downloading music from various social media sites.

The trend in the world I'm seeing that future is all about streaming. I listen music on streaming not download and buying CD. In the future trends of streaming is dramatically rise.

Online courses

Group and one-to-one classes with expert teachers.

Learn English in your own time, at your own pace.

One-to-one sessions focused on a personal plan.

Get the score you need with private and group classes.  

Useful Vocabulary for Writing an IELTS Graph Essay

When it comes to IELTS writing task 1, 25% of your marks are for the range of words you use. That means IELTS graph vocabulary is a very important component to review as you prepare for the Writing Task 1. You can start by checking out this IELTS writing task 1 vocabulary guide . And below, I’ll provide an overview of words and useful phrases to incorporate into your writing so that you can get top marks on the lexical resource category and a high band score overall. Basically, the better your IELTS writing chart vocabulary, the higher score you’ll get. It’s not hard, but there is a clear formula to doing well.

How to Use IELTS Graph Vocabulary in Writing Task 1

Because IELTS writing task 1 involves describing a graph or chart of some type, it will help to have a handle on IELTS writing chart vocabulary — words and phrases that help you write about the information on the chart or graph.

How are graphs described in IELTS? Let’s walk through the best vocabulary for the task, step by step.

1. Start With Introduction Phrases

Often ESL students start their essay with ‘The graph shows…’. While this is fine, the verb ‘shows’ could be replaced by a more exciting and high-level vocabulary word. Here are four different prompts to start your essay:

• The graph illustrates the trends in…
• The graph reveals information about the changes in…
• The graph provides the differences between…
• The graph presents how X has changed over a period of…
• DO NOT write the word below or above in your introduction. i.e. The graph above/below shows…

2. Add Suitable Adverbs

Adverbs help express a relation of place, time, circumstance, manner, cause, and degree, and can greatly add some color and interest to your writing as well as show off your range of vocabulary. Unlike adjectives (which describe nouns), adverbs describe verbs, or actions. Here’s a great list of adverbs to use:

3. Use Appropriate Synonyms

Again using a variety of nouns and verbs for words like rise and fall will help increase your overall score. Here are some suggestions:

4. Add Time Phrases

Below are some excellent time phrases with sentence examples:

Using IELTS Graph Vocabulary in a Model Essay

Look at the sample IELTS writing Task 1 graphs on the British Council website . Below is my model answer with useful words in bold:

The bar charts illustrate the trends in computer ownership, with a further classification by level of education, from 2002 to 2010.

Over the period, it can be observed that there was a significant surge in the percentage of the population that owned a computer. In the year 2002, only about 58% of the population owned a computer, whereas by 2010 , this gradually increased to where over three-quarters of individuals had a home computer.

Looking at the information by level of education reveals that higher levels of education correspond to higher levels of computer ownership in both of those years. In 2002, a significantly low percentage of the population who did not finish high school had a computer, but this figure skyrocketed by 2010, going from 15% to over 40%. There were also dramatic climbs , of approximately 30 percentage points, for those with a high school diploma or an unfinished college education (reaching 65% and 85%, respectively, in 2010).

To conclude, during the last decade, there has been a substantial growth in computer ownership across all educational levels.

Other IELTS Graph Vocabulary Resources

Keep in mind that IELTS writing task 1 may contain one of several different types of infographic: a bar chart, pie chart, line graph, diagram, etc. Regardless of the type, you’ll want to have a good handle on IELTS writing chart vocabulary.

For more specific guides to the different kinds of graphs, charts, and graphics you may find on IELTS writing task 1, check out the following resources:

• How to Describe a Bar Chart
• How to Describe a Pie Chart
• How to Describe a Map
• How to Describe a Process Diagram

You can also check out Magoosh’s IELTS linking words PDF for transitions between ideas. Hopefully you’ll start to incorporate some of these key words and phrases, as well as the above suggestions, in your IELTS Task 1 Writing. If you still don’t feel comfortable doing so, consider dedicating more time to your IELTS studies with Magoosh’s fun, engaging IELTS prep for extra practice.

Eliot Friesen-Meyers is the Senior Curriculum Manager for Magoosh IELTS and TOEFL. He attended Goshen College (B.A.), New York University (M.A.), and Harvard University (M.T.S.), gaining experience and skills in curriculum development, ESOL instruction, online teaching and learning, and IELTS and TOEFL test prep education. Eliot’s teaching career started with Literacy Americorps in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later, taught ESL programs at Northeastern University, University of California-Irvine, and Harold Washington College. Eliot was also a speaker at the 2019 TESOL International Conference . With over 10 years of experience, he understands the challenges students face and loves helping them overcome those challenges. Come join Eliot on Youtube , Facebook , and Instagram . Recent blog posts Complete Guide to IELTS Writing Task 1 Complete Guide to IELTS Writing Task 2

View all posts

More from Magoosh

11 responses to “Useful Vocabulary for Writing an IELTS Graph Essay”

I would like to get sample of all types of graph eassy

IELTS Liz offers a pretty good range of graphs and charts for IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic) . You can also get a nice selection of these on the official IELTS websites . And last but not least, Magoosh offers a good selection of these types of questions with a Magoosh IELTS Premium subscription. 🙂

Thank you Magoosh for the comprehensive guide. I’m a subscriber to you GMAT course and is now checking out IELTS.

Wanna ask, I read and watched many other sources that says we should not write a conclusion. However, yours did.

So, is it permissible or not permissible?

The concluding sentence is optional–if you have time to write a concluding sentence after writing and reviewing your essay, then it looks good to have a concluding sentence. If you don’t have time to write a concluding essay or you’d rather focus on other parts of your essay, then it’s totally fine to leave it out. You can read more about this in our Complete Guide to IELTS Academic Writing Task 1.

“Growth” is not an noun? Because in the board it’s saying that it is a verb

Thanks for pointing this out! It seems like a mistake on our part. We should probably change that to “grow”. I’ll make a note for our writing team to make this change 🙂

I appreciate you very much. Your blog on Useful Words for Writing an IELTS Graph Essay was the outstanding blog ever. You have given so much good information about the new english words & grammar in your post, which will help me in future. Always keep data like this on your website

I have two significant questions. The first one is related to the unit of measurement in over view. Is it academic? And the second one is of conclusion. Do we need to write conclusion?

Hi Aakash, I’m afraid I don’t understand your first question. Can you please provide some more information? For your second question: a conclusion is not necessary. You can add one if you’d like, but it’s more important to spend time analyzing the graph.

This is one of the best among the essay I’ve read recently.

Thanks for the feedback! 🙂

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• IELTS Scores
• Life Skills Test
• Find a Test Centre
• Alternatives to IELTS
• General Training
• Academic Word List
• Topic Vocabulary
• Collocation
• Phrasal Verbs
• Writing eBooks
• Reading eBook
• All eBooks & Courses
• Sample Graphs
• Line Graph Examples

IELTS Line Graph Examples

Continuing with the sites IELTS line graph examples, this is an example of a line graph comparing car theft.

It's important to organise your graph clearly, draw out the key trends and make comparisons. 

That has been done well in this answer. 

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph shows thefts per thousand vehicles in four countries between 1990 and 1999.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Line Graph Examples - Model Answer

The line graph compares the number of cars stolen for every 1000 vehicles in four countries from 1990 to 1999. Overall, it can be seen that car thefts were far higher in Great Britain than in the other three counties throughout the whole time frame.

To begin, car thefts in Sweden, France and Canada followed a fairly similar pattern over the first five years, all remaining at between 5 and 10 per thousand. The general trend though for France and Canada was a decline in the number of vehicles stolen over the period, with both at around 6 in 1999. In contrast, Sweden experienced an upward trend, starting the period at approximately 8, and finishing at just under 15.

Interestingly, car thefts in Great Britain started at 18 per thousand, which far exceeded that of the other countries. It then fluctuated over the next nine years, reaching a peak of 20 thefts per 1000 in 1996, and ending the period slightly lower than where it began, at approximately 17 per thousand.

(Words 174)

This graph would score highly in the IELTS test.

The graph starts with an overview that highlights the key information presented in the graph.

It has also been organised very clearly around the main trends.

The first body paragraph describes Sweden, France and Canada together as they follow a very similar pattern, whereas Great Britain is discussed separately in the second body paragraph as this follows a very different pattern.

This makes the description easy to follow and read and shows the writer has been able to make comparisons of the data. 

There is also a good range of vocabulary and accurate grammar.

<<< Back

Next >>>

More on IELTS Line Graphs:

IELTS Line Graph Worksheet: Practice the language of change

IELTS Line Graph Worksheet - this is a gap fill to help you practice the language of change for IELTS graphs over time.

IELTS Task 1 Line Graph Structure Using Groups

For an IELTS Task 1 Line Graph there are different ways to organise your answer. Grouping information is a good way to get a logically structured response.

IELTS Sample Line Graph

This is an IELTS Sample Line Graph with model answer that you can use to help you prepare to write your answer for a task 1 that describes changes over time.

IELTS Line Graph Sample Answer: Average carbon dioxide (Co2) emissions

View an IELTS line graph sample answer that would score highly in the exam. It's well organised and covers all the requirements of the task.

Line Graph Quiz

Line Graph Quiz: Have a go at this fun quiz to help you find out what you know about graphs and to help you improve your IELTS score.

Tips for Organising an IELTS Line Graph

Organising an IELTS Line Graph - This lesson shows you have to improve the coherency of your graph in order to achieve a high band score.

Any comments or questions about this page or about IELTS? Post them here. Your email will not be published or shared.

Before you go...

Check out the ielts buddy band 7+ ebooks & courses.

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

• Click on the HTML link code below.
• Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Band 7+ eBooks

"I think these eBooks are FANTASTIC!!! I know that's not academic language, but it's the truth!"

Linda, from Italy, Scored Band 7.5

IELTS Modules:

Other resources:.

• All Lessons
• Band Score Calculator
• Writing Feedback
• Speaking Feedback
• Teacher Resources
• Free Downloads
• Recent Essay Exam Questions
• Books for IELTS Prep
• Useful Links

Recent Articles

Decreasing House Sizes Essay

Apr 06, 24 10:22 AM

Latest IELTS Writing Topics - Recent Exam Questions

Apr 04, 24 02:36 AM

IELTS Essay: English as a Global Language

Apr 03, 24 03:49 PM

Important pages

IELTS Writing IELTS Speaking IELTS Listening   IELTS Reading All Lessons Vocabulary Academic Task 1 Academic Task 2 Practice Tests

Connect with us

Copyright © 2022- IELTSbuddy All Rights Reserved

IELTS is a registered trademark of University of Cambridge, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia. This site and its owners are not affiliated, approved or endorsed by the University of Cambridge ESOL, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

IELTS Advantage

IELTS Preparation Courses

IELTS Bar Chart Sample Essay

Static or Dynamic?

Before writing an IELTS task 1 bar chart or line graph answer it is important that we analyse the question correctly. Taking a few minutes to do this will help us write a clear answer that fully responds to the question. Just what the examiner wants us to do.

The first thing we need to do is decide if the bar chart is static or dynamic. Static means that the data comes from one point in time. Dynamic means the data comes from more than one point in time.

Whether a chart is static or dynamic will affect the information we choose to include in our answer and the kind of language (tense, grammar etc.) we use.

If it is dynamic we will have to compare the different times and comment on the general trends over the time period.

If it is static we will have to compare the different variables, in this case countries, car price, GDP and time it takes for one person to buy a car.

Main Features

Every IELTS academic task 1 question asks us to ‘select and report the main features’.

This means that we have to not only pick the most significant information from the graph and include it in our essay, but also decide which information is not important and should therefore not be included in our essay. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in task 1 is including all the information you see.

So which information should you choose?

You should look for:

• highest/lowest values
• biggest differences
• similarities
• significant exceptions
• anything else that really stands out

There are 3 main features in this graph

1) It takes over 26 years for a Vietnamese person to buy a car.

2) Vietnam has the second highest average costs but the second lowest wages.

3) Cost of a car in Singapore is nearly 3 times the next most expensive.

I advise my students to follow a basic four paragraph structure for these kinds of questions.

Paragraph 1 

Paraphrase the question using synonyms.

Paragraph 2 

Provide an overview of the main features. No need to include any data in this paragraph, just tell the examiner what is happening in general terms. If you had to describe the main features in two sentences, what would you say?

Paragraph 3

This is where we get more specific and use data. Take 2 of the main features (from your overview) and describe them in detail using data from the chart.

Paragraph 4 

Simply do the same thing as you did in paragraph 3, but with two other main features (from your overview).

Sample Answer 

The graph compares the GDP per capita, cost of a Toyota Camry and approximate length of time it takes for 1 citizen to purchase that mode of transport in eight Asian countries.

Despite having the second lowest average yearly income, it costs more to buy this car in Vietnam than in all but one other Asian nation. It also takes significantly longer for a standard person to buy an automobile in Vietnam than in any other state in Asia. On the other end of the scale, Singaporeans have to pay nearly three times more for their cars than the Vietnamese and it takes them the least amount of time to afford a motor vehicle.

It costs $49,944 to buy a Toyota Camry in Vietnam, but this dwarfs the average yearly income per person at just $1,910. It would therefore take a normal man or woman 26.1 years to save up for that particular car.

This is in contrast to Singapore where it costs $126,245 for that model of motorcar, however the average salary is much greater at $55,182. This means that it generally takes just over 2 years for a typical individual from Singapore to acquire this vehicle.

(200 words) Band 9.

It should be noted that this is not a real IELTS task 1 question. This is just a chart that I saw on the internet, but it allowed me to make a very important point- you don’t have to mention everything on the graph. I only talked about 2 out of the 8 countries and I still wrote 200 words and answer the question fully. The key is finding the most significant data and not talking about anything else. Don’t worry, you won’t lose marks for not talking about everything, quite the opposite.

This graph is also good for demonstrating how important it is to vary your vocabulary. There were four words that could have been overused in this essay- car, average, country and people. Instead of repeating them over and over again I used synonyms to show the examiner I have a wide vocabulary and gain extra marks. Here are the synonyms:

Car- Toyota Camry- automobile- vehicle- motor vehicle- motorcar

Average- approximate- normal- typical- standard

Country- countries- nation- state

People- citizen- man or woman- individual

Next time you see a chart or graph in a newspaper, in a textbook or on the internet, think about what the main features are and what common words would you have to vary with synonyms.

I hope you have found these tips useful. If you have any questions, let me know below.

For more band 9 sample essays check out our task 1 sample essay page.

About Christopher Pell

My name is Christopher Pell and I'm the Managing Director of IELTS Advantage.

I started IELTS Advantage as a simple blog to help 16 students in my class. Several years later, I am very humbled that my VIP Course has been able to help thousands of people around the world to score a Band 7+ in their IELTS tests.

If you need my help with your IELTS preparation, you can send me an email using the contact us page.

• Skip to main content

IELTS Podcast

Pass IELTS with expert help.

How to score high on a bar graph question in writing task 1

The bar graph task 1 essay accounts for a third of your marks in the writing test so we recommend spending around 20 minutes on it, as this is a third of your time. There are a couple of different structures you can follow when describing an IELTS bar chart .

A strategy for bar graph questions

Essay structure, or how you organise your answer, is very important in academic writing. Today we will teach you a new method – a structure where you assign each sentence of your text to a topic – kind of the opposite of what you usually do when writing task 2 . It may look a little confusing, but this method really works! Just follow our lead for IELTS task 1.

Remember that bar chart and bar graph are synonyms and you can use the phrases interchangeably. Although each bar graph will be different, you are not required to be an expert on the information it shows, just to summarise the information, identify trends and make comparisons. Each bar graph IELTS question is different, so look at as many bar graph examples as you can and practice this strategy until you feel really confident.

How to choose information from the bar graph?

Assuming one sentence contains around 10 to 15 words, we can estimate that your description of the bar chart will consist of about 10 to 12 sentences. Now we can assign each sentence a specific task:

• One sentence for the introduction.
• Two sentences using superlatives.
• A sentence with a comparison. Make comparisons where relevant.
• A sentence grouping two data points to show similarity (for example, you might include a brief description showing a gradual decrease in two different areas).
• A sentence noting an exception to an overall trend.
• A sentence describing some data in an advanced manner, using complex sentence structure.
• A sentence describing relevant data using a simple structure.
• Two sentences for summary and conclusion.

Note that this method is quite flexible and these sentences don’t necessarily need to go in this particular order. You must write them in a way that makes your bar chart description flow naturally. Think about which sentences go together in each body paragraph as well as the introduction paragraph and conclusion. You may also have to repeat a few sentences using different data if you find your graphic contains more information or find a way to mention different groups in one sentence. The structure above is a rough guide to get you started. Once you have looked at the example and are comfortable with this structure, you can use this example as a model to describe different bar charts and answer as many bar graph questions as you can. Just remember to get feedback while you are testing your ideas otherwise, it’s quite difficult to improve.

A bar graph sample question and answer

Now that we have figured out what we want to write about in the description of the bar graph, it’s time to put our data selection skills to use and make comparisons where relevant. It is easy to get lost in all of the information provided by a bar chart as there can be so much data. That’s why it’s important to keep in mind what you are looking for when you are analyzing the chart.

The task achievement score for task 1 makes it clear that you need to answer all parts of the question – in other words, describe the main features AND compare them, in order to get a good score. Task achievement is 25% of your total marks so don’t forget to make comparisons! The first thing you should do is identify key features. Once you have decided on the main points, make note of any secondary features that will support the main features.

Ready for a high-level bar chart task 1 answer? Let’s begin with the analysis of this bar chart, and pick out the information that is relevant to our structure. See the model answer of a bar chart below.

Sample Answer Bar Graph Essay

The bar chart shows the caloric intake of UK males in three distinct age groups of 0-24, 25-49, and over 50 years old. The data is shown as percentages. Dairy for the 0-24 age group was the highest source of calories, whilst the other categories each represented about 20% each. In the next age group dairy fell to around a quarter, and meat became the main source of calories, reaching half of the total intake. Pulses and vegetables reached 10% and 15% respectively. Pulses in the final age group increased sixfold to over 60%, whereas calories obtained from vegetables was 10%, half that of meat (20%), and even slightly less than dairy (15%). The 50+ group shows the most marked preference out of all the groups. It also confirms the gradual decline in vegetable consumption as males become older. Overall it is clear that each age group has a clear favourite which varies depending on age. However, vegetables are consistently amongst the least popular, regardless of age.

Sample Answer Analysis

In this essay, the introduction paragraph restates the writing prompt. It is not the overview paragraph, which can be either the first or the last paragraph. In this case, the overview appears at the end in which the writer states the overall trends of the bar graph. While the horizontal axis contains information relating to the question keywords, it’s important not to overlook the vertical axis and state clearly how the data is given (for example, is it as percentages, in kilos, or tonnes, or hours?) Make sure you have included this information in the first part of the essay.

You will also notice that the body paragraphs consist of a breakdown of the main features in order of age group to show and compare the difference in amounts of each food category consumed as people grew older, placing the final age group into its own body paragraph. This is because the data showed that there was a fairly significant upward trend in one food type (pulses) that the writer wanted to highlight. And finally, as previously mentioned, the conclusion part of this essay includes the overview, which should consist of a sentence or two about general trends.

Some notes on structure

Notice how the sentence is structured. How many complex sentences can you identify? When preparing for your IELTS academic writing task, you will want to show some sophisticated writing. When you sit for your IELTS writing test, you might feel pressured for time and it may be a bit difficult to think of complex sentence structures while considering the main features. Take note on the following important tips on structure:

• Make sure you have mentioned all the categories in your answer – in this example, there are four categories.
• Make sure you have also included the correct values when you summarise the data, in this case, percentages.
• It is often tempting to write too much for a task 1 essay but by following the method shown you will stay focused. Concentrate on the most important information.
• Compare the highest and lowest values, for example, rather than all the differences.
• Write what comes naturally at first, even if you write in correct simple sentences.
• Allow yourself some time at the end to go back and adjust some of your structures to complex sentences.
• If you are aiming for a high score on the IELTS test, you should aim for structures that are complex and accurate.
• It is important to be sure of the tense you are using. This example requires the present tense but many bar charts illustrate data from the past. In that case, you need to write the introduction in the present tense (the bar chart illustrates…) and then switch to writing mostly in the past tense (the number of people choosing this option dropped after the first year).

Click here for more free IELTS bar chart sample essays . You can also find sample IELTS task 1 questions here .

Tips on describing a bar graph in IELTS

• Avoid listing every single data point; instead, use your own words to describe the key information from the chart/graph.
• Avoid mixing formats: for example, don’t mix decimals with estimations in the same sentence.
• Check whether there is a date on the bar chart – you may need to use the past tense.
• Make note of general trends, particularly upward or downward trends that can be highlighted in your own words.
• After you have successfully written out your description with all of the information you want to include, go over it and replace some simpler words with more academic vocabulary – this will help you achieve a high score . For example, try replacing “big” with “most significant”.
• Check that your text is error-free. Review carefully to see if all your sentences are grammatically correct.
• Make sure that the data you have described is correct – that you have not made a mistake with a category or labels.
• Review for the correct use of connectors and linking words .
• Practise with different bar graphs/pie charts to improve especially with a range of values (percentages, kilos, miles, dollars).
• Review the superlatives – highest, lowest, most expensive, biggest difference – these are essential if you want to effectively describe bar charts.
• The fastest way to improve is to get feedback on your work. You can also check another model bar graph answer for comparison.
• Don’t forget to check your word count. Make sure your piece is another too brief nor too wordy and detailed. Most model answers come in at around 200 words. You’ll use a similar writing model for pie charts and tables so you don’t need to memorise completely different models for each.

Bonus tips to score high on IELTS Bar Graph Questions

• To improve your task 1 bar graph skills try copying out a sample bar graph with pen and paper. You will start to understand how to locate key points and choose the most relevant information. It doesn’t matter what the topic is, remember it could be anything from the gross domestic product of different countries to comparing the highest expenditure on housing. You don’t need to be an expert on gross domestic product or the Japanese rental market, you just describe the data and make comparisons.
• Practice describing a bar chart out loud. It will help you remember vocabulary to describe data under pressure, decide point by point what to include in your answer and make sure you have mentioned every category at least once. Your confidence will improve when it comes to your next IELTS writing task.
• Make sure you practice ‘two type’ questions – you might see an IELTS question with one bar chart or two so it is a good idea to look at a model answer for each type. You might see one bar chart and a table, or other types of graphs such as line graphs. Some questions might have a mix, for example, one or more pie charts and a bar chart. However the data is displayed, it’s important to stay calm and focus on finding the major differences and similarities, compare categories and identify trends. Describing a table or line graph is very similar to describing bar charts and the more you practice the more confident you will feel.

Check out one of our free lessons here by clicking on the following link !

Video:  How to describe a bar graph

Click here to subscribe to the Youtube channel.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to describe bar graph in ielts task 1.

Divide the information into two or three groups, focus on trends and exceptions to help you. You don’t need to describe everything. Think of synonyms for key words and most important numbers – for example, 52% is just over half.

How to write task 1 bar graph?

Follow a model, the 4 paragraph diagram model is easiest. That’s rephrasing the question, one main trend, another main trend and an overview. Overall have 10 sentences with specific tasks as we explain in this article.

How do you write a description of a bar graph?

Remember that the important thing is to describe the main features AND make comparisons. Use superlatives and the phrase ‘which means that…’ to help you. For example, Portugal’s spending was between 20 and 27% which means that it had the highest spending of all 4 countries studied.

Audio tutorial: How to describe a bar chart for the IELTS exam

|  Download  |  Stitcher  |  iTunes |  Android  |  RSS

Podcast:  Play in new window

Sample Bar Chart Questions and Model Answers

Take a look at these bar chart model answers to help you prepare

• Bar chart of international student enrolment in British universities 2009-2014
• Bar chart of average monthly revenue from retail telecommunication subscribers
• Bar chart of increase in total consumption
• Bar chart of life expectancy (2006)
• Bar chart of percentage of eligible voters registered for each race by state and year
• Bar chart of average weekly attacks
• Bar chart of pet Owners
• IELTS Task 1 Sample Answer 2 Double Graph Pie Chart and Bar Chart

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

• Memberships
• Institutional Members
• Teacher Members

by AEUK | Feb 22, 2019 | Speaking | 0 comments

Describing Graphs

   This blog offers two great lessons on describing, analysing and evaluating graphs / charts / tables.

The first lesson begins with naming different graph / chart types and describing a range of different lines (peak, plummet, etc..). It finishes with a fun activity where students describe and plot the lines on four graph s.

The second lesson   provides the language necessary for describing, analysing and evaluating graphs. It is followed by researching and analysing graphs/charts/tables from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and giving a short presentation on the findings.

The basic features of a graph

• Label the basic parts on this graph

Adapted from: http://online-resources.elc.cityu.edu.hk

Useful graph vocabulary.

UP: increase / rise / grow / went up / soar / double / multiply / climb / exceed /

DOWN: decrease / drop / fall / decline / plummet / halve / depreciate / plunge

UP & DOWN:  fluctuate / undulated / dip /

SAME: stable (stabilised) / levelled off / remained constant or steady / consistent

CHANGES: gently / gradually / slightly / steadily / a little /

CHANGES : suddenly / sharply / dramatically / steeply / sudden

TOP: reached a peak / peaked / reached its highest level /

BOTTOM: bottomed out / sank to a trough / the lowest level

Speaking: pair work activity – describe a graph

4. Explain the graph to your partner ( Do NOT show the graph )

18 more different graphs / charts / tables with paid version. 

Other topics: life satisfaction / divorce / religion / mental health / alcohol / mobile phones / murder / technology / leisure / population growth / life expectancy / etc..

Describing Results (questionnaire data)  [new 2023]

This lesson teaches students how to describe the results from a questionnaire. It provides language for describing quantities, group sizes, specific features and reporting verbs. It includes model answers and a range of practice activities.  Example   Level: ** *** [B1/B2/C1] TEACHER MEMBERSHIP / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

  Academic description, analysis & evaluation

This lesson helps to improve students’ awareness and understanding of the difference between description, analysis and evaluation. It includes paragraph analysis, a detailed language review reference sheet and graph and sentence level quotation analysis.  Example. Time: 120mins.   Level *** ** [ [B2/C1]   TEACHER MEMBERSHIP / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

      Memberships (Teacher / Institutional)

      Full access to everything -  £100 /  £200 /   £550

  Join today * x

More Blog posts…

Advertisement 

How to Write an Analysis Essay: Examples + Writing Guide

An analysis / analytical essay is a standard assignment in college or university. You might be asked to conduct an in-depth analysis of a research paper, a report, a movie, a company, a book, or an event. In this article, you’ll find out how to write an analysis paper introduction, thesis, main body, and conclusion, and analytical essay example.

Our specialists will write a custom essay specially for you!

So, what is an analytical essay? This type of assignment implies that you set up an argument and analyze it using a range of claims. The claims should be supported by appropriate empirical evidence. Note that you need to explore both the positive and negative sides of the issue fully.

Analytical skills are the key to getting through your academic career. Moreover, they can be useful in many real-life situations. Keep reading this article by Custom-writing experts to learn how to write an analysis!

❓ What Is an Analytical Essay?

• 🤔 Getting Started

📑 Analytical Essay Outline

• 📔 Choosing a Title
• 💁 Writing an Introduction
• 🏋 Writing a Body
• 🏁 Writing a Conclusion

🔗 References

Before you learn how to start an analysis essay, you should understand some fundamentals of writing this type of paper. It implies that you analyze an argument using a range of claims supported by facts . It is essential to understand that in your analysis essay, you’ll need to explore the negative sides of the issue and the positive ones. That’s what distinguishes an analytical essay from, say, a persuasive one.

These are the steps to write an academic paper :

• Review the literature . Before starting any paper, you should familiarize yourself with what has already been written in the field. And the analytical essay is no exception. The easiest way is to search on the web for the information.
• Brainstorm ideas. After you’ve done your search, it is time for a brainstorm! Make a list of topics for your analysis essay, and then choose the best one. Generate your thesis statement in the same way.
• Prepare an outline . Now, when you’ve decided on the topic and the thesis statement of your analytical essay, think of its structure. Below you will find more detailed information on how your paper should be structured.
• Write the first draft. You’ve done a lot of work by now. Congratulations! Your next goal is to write the first version of your analysis essay, using all the notes that you have. Remember, you don’t need to make it perfect!
• Polish your draft. Now take your time to polish and edit your draft to transform it into the paper’s final version.

You are usually assigned to analyze an article, a book, a movie, or an event. If you need to write your analytical essay on a book or an article, you’ll have to analyze the style of the text, its main points, and the author’s purported goals.

Just in 1 hour! We will write you a plagiarism-free paper in hardly more than 1 hour

🤔 Analytical Essay: Getting Started

The key to writing an analysis paper is to choose an argument that you will defend throughout it. For example: maybe you are writing a critical analysis paper on George Orwell’s Animal Farm The first and imperative task is to think about your thesis statement. In the case of Animal Farm , the argument could be:

In Orwell’s Animal Farm , rhetoric and language prove to be more effective ways to keep social control than physical power.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gives a great explanation of the thesis statement , how to create one, and what its function is.

But that’s not all. Once you have your thesis statement, you need to break down how you will approach your analysis essay to prove your thesis. To do this, follow these steps:

• Define the main goal(s) of your analysis . Remember that it is impossible to address each and every aspect in a single paper. Know your goal and focus on it.
• Conduct research , both online and offline, to clarify the issue contained within your thesis statement.
• Identify the main parts of the issue by looking at each part separately to see how it works.
• Try to clearly understand how each part works.
• Identify the links between the various aspects of the topic .
• By using the information you found, try to solve your main problem .

At this point, you should have a clear understanding of both the topic and your thesis statement. You should also have a clear direction for your analysis paper firmly planted in your mind and recorded in writing.

This will give you what you need to produce the paper’s outline.

Receive a plagiarism-free paper tailored to your instructions. Cut 20% off your first order!

An outline is the starting point for your work. A typical analytical essay features the usual essay structure. A 500-word essay should consist of a one-paragraph introduction, a three-paragraph body, and a one-paragraph conclusion. Find below a great analytical essay outline sample. Feel free to use it as an example when doing your own work!

Analysis Essay: Introduction

• Start with a startling statement or provocative question.

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal”. Animal Farm abounds in ironic and provocative phrases to start an analytical essay.

• Introduce the work and its author.
• Give background information that would help the reader understand your opinion.
• Formulate a thesis statement informing the reader about the purpose of the essay. Essay format does not presuppose telling everything possible on the given topic. Thus, a thesis statement tells what you are going to say, implying what you will not discuss, establishing the limits.

In Animal Farm, Orwell uses different irony types to ridicule totalitarianism to manifest its inability to make every member of society equal and happy.

Analysis Essay: Body

The analytical essay structure requires 2-3 developmental paragraphs, each dedicated to one separate idea confirming your thesis statement. The following template should be used for each of the body paragraphs.

• Start with a topic sentence that supports an aspect of your thesis.

Dramatic irony is used in Animal Farm to point out society’s ignorance.

• Continue with textual evidence (paraphrase, summary, direct quotations, specific details). Use several examples that substantiate the topic sentence.

Animals are unaware of the fact that Boxer was never sent to the hospital. He was sent to the slaughterhouse. However, the reader and writer understand that this is a lie.

• Conclude with an explanation.

By allowing the readers to learn some essential facts before the characters, dramatic irony creates suspense and shows how easy it is to persuade and manipulate the public.

Analysis Essay Conclusion

The next four points will give you a short instruction on how to conclude an analytical essay.

• Never use new information or topics here.
• Restate your thesis in a different formulation.
• Summarize the body paragraphs.
• Comment on the analyzed text from a new perspective.

📔 Choosing a Title for Your Analysis Essay

Choosing a title seems like not a significant step, but it is actually very important. The title of your critical analysis paper should:

• Entice and engage the reader
• Be unique and capture the readers’ attention
• Provide an adequate explanation of the content of the essay in just a few carefully chosen words

In the Animal Farm example, your title could be:

Get an originally-written paper according to your instructions!

“How Do the Pigs Manage to Keep Social Control on Animal Farm?”

Analysis Essay Topics

• Analyze the media content.
• Analyze the specifics and history of hip-hop culture.
• Sociological issues in the film Interstellar .
• Discuss the techniques M. Atwood uses to describe social issues in her novel The Handmaid’s Tale .
• Compare and analyze the paintings of Van Gogh and George Seurat.
• Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat .
• Examine the juvenile crime rates.
• Describe the influence of different parenting styles on children’s mind.
• Analyze the concept of the Ship of Theseus .
• Compare and analyze the various views on intelligence .
• Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman .
• Discuss the techniques used by W. Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream .
• Analyze the biography of Frederic Chopin .
• Manifestation of the Chicano culture in the artwork An Ofrenda for Dolores del Rio .
• Similarities and differences of Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Spanish Empires .
• Describe the problem of stalking and its impact on human mental health.
• Examine the future of fashion .
• Analyze the topicality of the article Effectiveness of Hand Hygiene Interventions in Reducing Illness Absence .
• Discuss Thomas Paine’s impact on the success of American revolution.
• Meaningful messages in Recitatif by Toni Morrison .
• Explore the techniques used by directors in the film Killing Kennedy .
• Compare the leadership styles of Tang Empress Wu Zetian and the Pharaoh Cleopatra .
• Evaluate the credibility of Kristof’s arguments in his article Remote Learning Is Often an Oxymoron .
• Analyze genetically modified food .
• Examine the influence of Europeans on Indian tribes in The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson .
• Describe the rhetoric techniques used in The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde .
• The importance of fighting against violence in communities in the documentary film The Interrupters .
• Analyze indoor and outdoor pollution .
• Analyze the issue of overprotective parenthood .
• Explore the connection between eating habits and advertisement.
• Discuss the urgence of global warming issue .
• Influence of sleep on people’s body and mental health.
• Analyze the relationship between Christianity and sports .
• Discuss the concept of leadership and its significance for company efficiency.
• Analyze the key lessons of the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki .
• Examine the specifics of nursing ethic .
• The theme of emotional sufferings in the short story A Rose for Emily .
• Analysis of bias in books for children .
• Analyze the rhetoric of the article Public Monuments .
• Describe the main messages in Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausea .
• Explore the problem of structural racism in healthcare .
• The reasons of tango dance popularity.
• The shortcomings of the American educational system in Waiting for Superman.
• Analyze and compare Erin’s Law and Megan’s Law .
• Analyze the James Madison’s essay Federalist 10 .
• Examine symbols in the movie The Joker .
• Compare the thematic connection and stylistic devices in the poems The Road Not Taken and Find Your Way .
• Describe and analyze the life of Eddie Bernice Johnson .
• Explore the social classes in America .
• Crucial strengths and weaknesses of the main translation theories .

💁 Writing Your Analytical Essay Introduction

You must understand how to compose an introduction to an analysis paper. The University of Wollongong describes the introduction as a “map” of any writing. When writing the introduction, follow these steps:

• Provide a lead-in for the reader by offering a general introduction to the topic of the paper.
• Include your thesis statement , which shifts the reader from the generalized introduction to the specific topic and its related issues to your unique take on the essay topic.
• Present a general outline of the analysis paper.

Watch this great video for further instructions on how to write an introduction to an analysis essay.

Example of an Analytical Essay Introduction

“Four legs good, two legs bad” is one of the many postulates invented by George Orwell for his characters in Animal Farm to vest them with socialist ideology and control over the animal population. The social revolution on Manor Farm was built on language instruments, first for the collective success of the animals, and later for the power consolidation by the pigs. The novel was written in 1945 when the transition from limitless freedoms of socialist countries transformed into dictatorship. Through his animal protagonists, the author analyzes the reasons for peoples’ belief in the totalitarian regime. In Orwell’s Animal Farm , rhetoric and language prove to be more effective ways to keep social control than physical power.

🏋 Writing Your Analytical Essay Body

The body of the paper may be compared to its heart. This is the part where you show off your talent for analysis by providing convincing, well-researched, and well-thought-out arguments to support your thesis statement. You have already gathered the information, and now all you may start crafting your paper.

To make the body of an analytical essay, keep the following in mind:

• Discuss one argument per paragraph , although each argument can relate to multiple issues
• Strike a balance between writing in an unbiased tone, while expressing your personal opinion
• Be reasonable when making judgments regarding any of the problems you discuss
• Remember to include the opposing point of view to create a balanced perspective

The bottom line is: you want to offer opposing views, but you must pose your arguments so they will counter those opposing views and prove your point of view. Follow these steps when constructing each body paragraph:

• Choose the main sentence. The main or topic sentence will be the first line in your essay. The topic sentence is responsible for presenting the argument you will discuss in the paragraph and demonstrate how this argument relates to the thesis statement.
• Provide the context for the topic sentence , whether it relates to a quote, a specific incident in society, or something else. Offer evidence on who, what, where, when, why, and how.
• Give your analysis of the argument and how it adequately proves your thesis.
• Write a closing sentence that sums up the paragraph and provides a transition to the following paragraph.

Example of an Analytical Essay Body

Literacy can grant power, provided that there are animals who cannot read or write. In the beginning, the animals’ literacy and intellect are relatively the same. Old Major is the cleverest pig; he is the kind old philosopher, like Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin. During his retirement, he develops a theory that all humans are the root of evil. His speech was the foundation for the pigs’ assumption of power. They refined his ideas into a new ideology and called it Animalism. They also learned how to read. It allowed the pigs to declare themselves the “mind workers.” Therefore, the pigs’ literacy assured the illiterate animals in their objective superiority.

Meanwhile, as the pigs were the intellectual elite, they were not supposed to work, which raised their social status by itself. Snowball tried to promote education among all the animals, but most of them failed to master the alphabet. This is a metaphor for the general public being predominantly ignorant and easy to manipulate. At the same time, Boxer and other animals that spend most of the day in hard work merely have no time to develop their intellect. Thus, the pigs’ intention to build a school for pig children was highly efficient. Unequal access to education and unequal ability to express one’s thoughts in perspective reinforce the social divide, making the pigs smarter and more powerful and undermining other animals’ self-esteem.

At this point, the pigs resort to propaganda and rhetoric. Squealer uses his oratorical gift to refine the pigs’ message to the other animals. Upon Napoleon’s order, he breaks the Seven Commandments of farm governance. At night, he climbs the ladder to change them, and once even falls from the ladder trying to change the commandment on alcohol. The “proletarian” animals soon forget what the Seven Commandments were like in the first place and are unsure if they have ever been altered. Further on, Minimus writes a poem praising Napoleon. Finally, Squealer replaces the Commandments with a single assertion: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Language is no longer used to convince. It is used to control and manipulate.

🏁 Writing Your Analytical Essay Conclusion

The conclusion is short and sweet. It summarizes everything you just wrote in the essay and wraps it up with a beautiful shiny bow. Follow these steps to write a convincing conclusion:

• Repeat the thesis statement and summarize your argument. Even when using the best summary generator for the task, reread it to make sure all the crucial points are included.
• Take your argument beyond what is simply stated in your paper. You want to show how it is essential in terms of the bigger picture. Also, you may dwell on the influence on citizens of the country.

Example of an Analytical Essay Conclusion

Because of everything mentioned above, it becomes clear that language and rhetoric can rise to power, establish authority, and manipulate ordinary people. Animal Farm is the simplified version of a communist society. It shows how wise philosophers’ good intentions can be used by mean leaders to gain unopposed power and unconditional trust. Unfortunately, this can lead to the death of many innocent animals, i.e., people, as totalitarianism has nothing to do with people’s rule. Therefore, language and oratory are potent tools that can keep people oppressed and weak, deprive them of any chance for improvement and growth, and make them think that there is no other possible existence.

Now you are ready to write an analysis essay! See, it’s easier than you thought.

Of course, it’s always helpful to see other analysis essay examples. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock provides some great examples of an analytical paper .

✏️ Analysis Essay FAQ

A great analytical paper should be well-structured, cohesive, and logically consistent. Each part of the essay should be in its place, creating a smooth and easy-to-read text. Most importantly, the statements should be objective and backed by arguments and examples.

It is a paper devoted to analyzing a certain topic or subject. An analysis essay is all about reviewing certain details of the subject and interpreting them. For example, such an analysis for a poem includes a description of artistic means that helped the poet convey the idea.

Writing an analytical essay on a book/movie/poem start with an outline. Point out what catches the eye when reviewing the subject. See how these details can be interpreted. Make sure that you refer to the main idea/message. Add an appropriate introduction and a logical conclusion.

Being more analytical in writing can be essential for a student. This is a skill that can be self-taught: try to start noticing subtle details and describe them. As you write, interpret the facts and strive to draw conclusions. Try to be as objective as possible.

• Elements of Analysis
• How Can I Create Stronger Analysis?
• How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay: Bucks.edu
• Essay Structure | – Harvard College Writing Center
• Analytical Writing: Looking Closely (Colostate.edu)
• Analytical Thesis Statements – University of Arizona
• Writing an analytic essay – UTSC – University of Toronto
• Organizing Your Analysis // Purdue Writing Lab
• How to Write an Analytical Essay: 15 Steps (with Pictures)
• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to LinkedIn
• Share to email

A film analysis essay might be the most exciting assignment you have ever had! After all, who doesn’t love watching movies? You have your favorite movies, maybe something you watched years ago, perhaps a classic, or a documentary. Or your professor might assign a film for you to make a...

A critique paper is an academic writing genre that summarizes and gives a critical evaluation of a concept or work. Or, to put it simply, it is no more than a summary and a critical analysis of a specific issue. This type of writing aims to evaluate the impact of...

What is a creative essay, if not the way to express yourself? Crafting such a paper is a task that allows you to communicate your opinion and tell a story. However, even using your imagination to a great extent doesn’t free you from following academic writing rules. Don’t even get...

A compare and contrast essay — what is it? In this type of paper, you compare two different things or ideas, highlighting what is similar between the two, and you also contrast them, highlighting what is different. The two things might be events, people, books, points of view, lifestyles, or...

What is an expository essay? This type of writing aims to inform the reader about the subject clearly, concisely, and objectively. The keyword here is “inform”. You are not trying to persuade your reader to think a certain way or let your own opinions and emotions cloud your work. Just stick to the...

Have you ever tried to write a story analysis but ended up being completely confused and lost? Well, the task might be challenging if you don’t know the essential rules for literary analysis creation. But don’t get frustrated! We know how to write a short story analysis, and we are...

Have you ever tried to get somebody round to your way of thinking? Then you should know how daunting the task is. Still, if your persuasion is successful, the result is emotionally rewarding. A persuasive essay is a type of writing that uses facts and logic to argument and substantiate...

One of the most critical skills that students gain during their college years is assignment writing. Composing impressive essays and research papers can be quite challenging, especially for ESL students. Nonetheless, before learning the art of academic writing, you may make numerous common essay mistakes. Such involuntary errors appear in:...

You’re probably thinking: I’m no Mahatma Gandhi or Steve Jobs—what could I possibly write in my memoir? I don’t even know how to start an autobiography, let alone write the whole thing. But don’t worry: essay writing can be easy, and this autobiography example for students is here to show...

Some people know which profession to choose from childhood, while others decide much later in life. However, and whenever you come to it, you may have to elaborate on it in your personal statement or cover letter. This is widely known as “Why I Want to Be a Teacher” essay.

Assigned with an essay about friendship? Congrats! It’s one of the best tasks you could get. Digging through your memories and finding strong arguments for this paper can be an enjoyable experience. I bet you will cope with this task effortlessly as we can help you with the assignment. Just...

When you are assigned an autobiography to write, tens, and even hundreds of questions start buzzing in your head. How to write autobiography essay parts? What to include? How to make your autobiography writing flow? Don’t worry about all this and use the following three simple principles and 15 creative...

This resource helps me a lot. Thanks! You guys have great information. Do you think I can use these steps when taking a test? Could it be known as plagiarized if I just copy and paste the information?

Glad to help, Hazel! You can use it in your test but you should cite it accordingly

Thanks, very good information.

Thank you for your attention, Jaweria🙂!

Thanks for learning how to critique research papers in a proper way! This is what I need to cope with this task successfully! Thanks!

How much is an essay, and is there a chance it can be plagiarized?

You have to remember that the price for our services depends on a lot of factors. You can find the detailed price quote here: https://custom-writing.org/prices (the page will be opened in a new window). You can check out the prices depending on the subjects and deadlines that you choose. No – it can’t be plagiarized: the papers are written from scratch according to your instructions. We also stress the importance of the fact that you CAN’T, under any circumstances, use our final product as your own work – the papers, which we provide, are to be used for research purposes only!

• Ebooks & Courses
• Practice Tests

How To Write an IELTS Bar Chart Essay

There are 5 steps to writing   a good IELTS bar chart essay:

1)  Analyse the question

2)  Identify the main features

3)  Write an introduction

4)  Write an overview

5)  Write the details paragraphs

Use this simple planning process as you practice writing IELTS bar chart essays and you’ll have no problem remembering it in the exam.

Steps 1 and 2 of the planning process should take around 5 minutes. It is essential that you don’t miss these out as they are the key to writing a high-scoring essay.

On this page, I’m going to take you through the whole planning process step-by-step as we work on a practice question.

Before we begin, here’s a model essay structure that you can use as a guideline for all IELTS Academic Task 1 questions.

Ideally, your essay should have 4 paragraphs:

Paragraph 1  – Introduction

Paragraph 2  – Overview

Paragraph 3  – 1 st  main feature

Paragraph 4  – 2 nd  main feature

Now that we have all these tools we need, we’re ready to begin planning and writing our IELTS bar chart essay.

Here’s our practice question:

The bar chart below shows the sector contributions to India’s gross domestic product from 1960 to 2000.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Contribution as % of India's GDP

Source: EPW Research Foundation

Step 1 –  Analyse the question

The format of every Academic Task 1 question is the same. Here is our practice question again with the words that will be included in all questions highlighted .

The  bar chart  below shows  the sector contributions to India’s gross domestic product from 1960 to 2000.

Every question consists of:

• Sentence 1 – A brief description of the graphic
• Sentence 2 – The instructions
• The graphic – chart, graph, table, etc.

Sentence 2 tells you what you have to do.

You must do 3 things:

1.     Select the main features.

2.     Write about the main features.

3.     Compare the main features.

All three tasks refer to the ‘ main features ’ of the graphic. You  do not  have to write about everything. Just pick out 2 or 3 key features and you’ll have plenty to write about.

Our practice graphic is a dynamic bar chart. That is, it includes a timeline giving data from several different points in time.

So, for this question, we need to identify the main trends (that is, the general developments or changes in situation) in the three key sectors of the Indian economy – agriculture, industry and service – between 1960 and 2000.

Alternatively, a bar chart may be static with the data coming from one point in time, as in the example below. For this graphic, we would need to compare the different variables, that is, the different leisure activities favoured by Canadian boys and girls.

Step 2 – Identify the Main Features

The graphic in IELTS bar chart questions should not be difficult to interpret. Each question has been created to  test your language skills, not your mathematics ability.

All you are looking for are the main features. These will usually be the easiest things to spot. As we’ve just seen, the type of key features will depend on whether the bar chart is dynamic or static.

There will be lots of information in the graphic to help you identify them. Here are some useful questions to ask?

• What information do the 2 axes give?
• Is it dynamic or static?
• What are the units of measurements?
• What are the time periods?
• What can you learn from the title and any labels?
• What is the most obvious trend?
• Are there any notable similarities?

(I give more detail on how to use these questions, plus downloadable checklists for identifying the main features of all 7 different types of IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 questions, in the lesson on  How To Understand & Analyse Task 1 Questions .)

So, what main features stand out in our practice graphic?

Here's our practice IELTS bar chart again.

There are 3 main features/trends in this IELTS bar chart:

Main feature 1:  The contribution of the agricultural sector dropped steadily.

Main feature 2:  The contribution of the service sector increased each decade.

Main feature 3:  Industry remained static from 1980 to 2000.

The general trends you select will be the starting point for your essay. You will then go on to add more detail.

With just 20 minutes allowed for Task 1, and a requirement of only 150 words, you won't be able to include many details.

We’re now ready to begin writing our essay. Here’s a reminder of the 4 part structure we’re going to use.

Step 3 – Write an Introduction 

In the introduction, you should simply paraphrase the question, that is, say the same thing in a different way. You can do this by using synonyms and changing the sentence structure. For example:

Introduction (Paragraph 1): 

The bar graph illustrates the relative percentage contributions made by the agricultural, industrial and service sectors to the Indian economy between 1960 and 2000.

This is all you need to do for the introduction.

Ideally, key words such as ‘sector’ and ‘contributions’ should be replaced by synonyms but there aren’t any obvious words that could be used instead so it’s fine to repeat them. It’s important that your language sounds natural so never try to force in synonyms that don’t quite fit.

Step 4 – Write an Overview (Paragraph 2)

In the second paragraph, you should report the main features you can see in the graph, giving only general information. The detail comes later in the essay. You should also make any clear comparisons you spot.

This is where we write about the general trends. Here are the ones we picked out above.

Now form these ideas into two or three sentences with a total of around 40 words. State the information simply using synonyms where possible. No elaborate vocabulary or grammar structures are required, just the appropriate words and correct verb tenses.

For example:

Overview  (Paragraph 2) : 

Over the whole time period, the significance of agriculture declined steadily while services grew in importance decade by decade. A different patterned emerged for industry, which initially showed a slowly increasing percentage but then plateaued from 1980 onwards.

Step 5  – Write the 1st Detail Paragraph

Paragraphs 3 and 4 of your IELTS bar chart essay are where you include more detailed information about the data in the graphic. In paragraph 3, you should give evidence to support your first 1 or 2 key features. Don’t forget to make comparisons when relevant.

Here are our first 2 main features again:

And this is an example of what you could write:

Paragraph 3 :

In 1960, agriculture contributed by far the highest percentage of GDP, peaking at 62%, but it then dropped in steady increments to a low of 12% in 2000. The service sector, on the other hand, had a relatively minor impact on the economy in 1960. This situation changed gradually at first, then its percentage contribution jumped from 28% to 43% between 1980 and 1990. By 2000 it matched the high point reached by agriculture in 1960, showing a reversal in the overall trend.

Step 6  – Write the 2nd Detail Paragraph

For the fourth and final paragraph, you do the same thing for your remaining feature/s. We have one main feature left to write about.

Here’s an example of what you could write:

Paragraph 4 :

Industry remained a steady contributor to India’s wealth throughout the period. As a sector, it grew marginally from 16% in 1960 to exactly a quarter in 1980 then remained static for the next two decades, maintaining a constant share of the overall GDP.

Here are the four paragraphs brought together to create our finished essay.

Finished IELTS Bar Chart Essay

(188 words)

This sample IELTS bar chart essay is well over the minimum word limit so you can see that you don’t have space to include very much detail at all. That’s why it is essential to select just a couple of main features to write about.

Now use what you’ve learnt in this lesson to practice answering other IELTS bar chart questions. Start slowly at first and keep practicing until you can plan and write a complete essay in around 20 minutes.

Want  to watch and listen to this lesson?

Click on this video.

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

• Click on the HTML link code below.
• Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Like this page?

Ielts academic writing task 1 – all lessons.

IELTS Academic Writing  –  A summary of the test including important facts, test format & assessment.

Academic Writing Task 1  – The format, the 7 question types & sample questions, assessment & marking criteria.  All the key information you need to know.

Understanding Task 1 Questions  – How to quickly and easily analyse and understand IELTS Writing Task 2 questions.

How To Plan a Task 1 Essay  –  Discover  3 reasons why you must plan, the 4 simple steps of essay planning and learn a simple 4 part essay structure.

Vocabulary for Task 1 Essays  –  Learn key vocabulary for a high-scoring essay. Word lists & a downloadable PDF.

Grammar for Task 1 Essays   – Essential grammar for Task 1 Academic essays including, verb tenses, key sentence structures, articles & prepositions.

The 7 Question Types:

Click the links below for a step-by-step lesson on each type of Task 1 question.

• Table Chart
• Process Diagram
• Multiple Graphs
• IELTS Writing
• IELTS Bar Chart
• Back To Top

 * New * Grammar For IELTS Ebooks

$9.99 each       Full Set   Just   $ 23.97

Find Out More >>

IELTS Courses

Full details...

IELTS Writing Ebook

Discount Offer

$7 each       Full Set Just   $ 21

Find out more >>

Testimonials

“I am very excited to have found such fabulous and detailed content. I commend your good work.”  Jose M.

“Thanks for the amazing videos. These are ‘to the point’, short videos, beautifully explained with practical examples."  Adari J.

"Hi Jacky, I bought a listening book from you this morning. You know what? I’m 100% satisfied. It’s super helpful. If I’d had the chance to read this book 7 years ago, my job would be very different now."  Loi H.

"Hi Jacky, I recently got my IELTS results and I was pleased to discover that I got an 8.5 score. I'm firmly convinced your website and your videos played a strategic role in my preparation. I was able to improve my writing skills thanks to the effective method you provide. I also only relied on your tips regarding the reading section and I was able to get a 9! Thank you very much." Giano

“After listening to your videos, I knew I had to ditch every other IELTS tutor I'd been listening to. Your explanations are clear and easy to understand. Anyways, I took the test a few weeks ago and my result came back: Speaking 7, listening 9, Reading 8.5 and Writing 7 with an average band score of 8. Thanks, IELTS Jacky." Laide Z.

      Contact

      About Me

      Site Map

      Privacy Policy

      Disclaimer

IELTS changes lives.

Let's work together so it changes yours too.

Copyright  © 2024     IELT Jacky     

All Right Reserved

IELTS is a registered trademark of the University of Cambridge, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia. This site and its owners are not affiliated, approved or endorsed by the University of Cambridge ESOL, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia.

Search form

Writing about a bar chart.

Look at the bar chart, question and sample answer and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the text and do the other exercises.

Preparation

Look at the chart below and answer these questions.

Check your understanding: true or false

Check your writing: picture matching - describing changes in bar charts, check your writing: matching - useful language, check your writing: gap fill - prepositions, worksheets and downloads.

Do you like using charts and graphs?

Sign up to our newsletter for LearnEnglish Teens

We will process your data to send you our newsletter and updates based on your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. Read our privacy policy for more information.

Interpreting Graphs

Graphs communicate important quantitative information in a visual format and are often used to communicate health and medical information. Much of the HPE curriculum involves students being presented with information in graphical form. Using this form of representation, students must:

• know how to interpret graphs
• to elicit key information
• extract the basic information
• draw conclusions
• compare and contrast and
• provide recommendations.

Individuals with higher levels of graphical literacy are better able to find information in graphs, and they spend more time looking at conventional features of graphs to generate more accurate interpretations (Okan, Galesic & Garcia-Retamero, 2015).

Teachers should explicitly teach the meaning-making (semiotic) systems of graphical representations before having students analyse graphs (see 'Explicitly teaching text structure ' and ' Reading and unpacking visual representations of data ' ). This includes explaining:

• the importance of headings
• labelling of axes
• scaling of axes (for example, linear or logarithmic)
• use of colour
• choice of graph type (for example, pie chart, line graph, bar graph, column graph).

Additional strategies to support students to read graphs can be found in 'Language for graphs and statistical displays' .

Using sentence starters to analyse graphs

Sentence starters are one way to scaffold students' interpretation of graphs. Sentence starters provide a focal point for students to begin writing (or saying) an interpretation of the data they are viewing in graphical form.

Sentence starters can range in their cognitive demand, moving from identifying information and patterns in the graph to generating comparisons, predictions, and hypotheses.

Sentence starters teachers can provide students include:

• This graph shows …
• A pattern I notice in the graph is …
• An anomaly/outlier/different pattern in the graph is …
• A difference between … and …. is …
• A similarity between … and … is
• If this pattern continued, I predict …
• A probable reason for that pattern is …
• A probable reason for this difference is …
• When I first looked at this graph …
• The data that most stood out to me was …

The example below provides some completed sentences a Year 7 or 8 student wrote after viewing a graph about the types of drinks consumed by Australian children ( VCHPEP129 ).

Source: Figure 3 in Boden Institute, University of Sydney 2014.  Evidence Brief Obesity: Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Obesity and Health . Australian National Preventive Health Agency, Canberra.

• This graph shows the types of drinks drunk by Australian children.
• A general pattern I notice in the graph is that as the child's age increases, they drink more of these kinds of drinks.
• A reason for this pattern might be because older children can go out and buy their own drinks.
• A different pattern in the graph is that energy drinks go down for 14 to 16-year old.
• A reason for this pattern might be because they prefer drinking other drinks.
• The data that most stood out to me was that sports drinks were drunk more than soft drinks.

Using a framework to interpret graphs

In HPE, students write with a specific purpose as they communicate their interpretations to others. Students aim to explain, critique, and analyse real-world data relating to health, well-being, and physical activity.

As students become more capable of interpreting data on their own, they can be given frameworks to help structure independent analyses of graphs, whether spoken or written.

One framework to use to analyse a graph is given below. Depending on the length of analysis and information in the graph, the framework could be used to create one paragraph or several.

Below are two samples showing how a Year 9 or 10 student has applied the framework to interpret two different graphs ( VCHPEP148 ).

Source: Manning, M., Smith, C., & Mazerolle, P. (2013). The estimated societal costs of alcohol misuse in Australia. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice no. 454. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology

Student sample response 

This graph shows the estimated societal costs of alcohol misuse in Australia. The total estimated cost exceeds $14 billion. The largest cost relates to productivity, which accounted for 42.1% or $6.046 billion. Traffic accidents comprised 25.5% or a quarter of the costs ($3.662 billion). Alcohol misuse had the least cost to the health system, costing $1.686 billion.

Source: Surveillance of notifiable infectious diseases in Victoria, 2011–2014

Student sample response 

This graph shows the number of notified cases of laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in Victoria from 2011 to 2014. Each year, there is a spike in confirmed cases, which begins in June and lasts until October. This coincides with winter when people are more likely to be spending time indoors. The number of infected cases during the winter spike has also increased each year. In 2011, the peak number of infected cases was around 800 while in 2014, the peak number is just over 3000.

Our website uses a free tool to translate into other languages. This tool is a guide and may not be accurate. For more, see: Information in your language

IELTS Writing Task 1 – Bar Chart Essay Example 1

In this post, we will look at a  Writing Task 1 Academic bar chart essay  example from the IELTS writing task 1 Academic Test. Students often ask if the questions are repeated year after year and the answer is no, but the type of chart or graph can be.

There are so many questions written each year, you may find you practice answering various questions on different topics. It is best practice to learn how to answer each one of the various types of writing task 1 questions , from bar charts, line graphs, maps, process etc.

If you would like to learn how to structure a charts and graphs essay  please click the button below >

Take a look at the IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic essay example  below >>

*This chart question and answer were provided by a student. IELTS Achieve did not design this bar chart question*

The bar chart describes comparative statistics on the number of products exported by Someland in 2005 and 2015 and its projected exports for 2025. The units were measured in USD billion.

Overall, the most profitable export Someland had from 2005 and 2015 was from international tourism, while the lowest can be seen in meat produce. It can also be seen in the data that by 2025 they are still expecting that international travels will dominate the Someland export industry whereas meat produce will still bring in the least amount of revenue.

On the one hand, the graph shows that International tourism was consistently high, with nearly 6.5 billion USD earned in 2005 and almost 7 billion USD in 2015. Similarly, this can be said in dairy products where roughly 5 million USD and approximately 8 million USD was grossed in 2005 and 2015 respectively. Meat products started at 4 million USD dollars in 2005 but decreased after 10 years (3.5 million USD, 2015).

On the other hand, a projected study was also included in the data, where they are expecting an increase by 2025 in International tourism which could receive 8 million USD, while decreases in both dairy products (7.5 billion USD) and meat products (3 billion USD) are also expected.

Word count – 211 / Band Score 8

• Task Achievement  – The answer provides a paraphrased question, to begin with, followed by an overview that gives the reader key information.    
• Coherence and Cohesion  – The answer has been divided into clear logical paragraphs.      
• Lexical Resource  – There is evidence of paraphrasing, synonyms and some less common words. 
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy  – The answer has no grammatical errors. The sentences are mainly made up of multiple clauses and have a variety of structures. 

We hope you found this post useful in helping you to study for the IELTS Test . If you have any questions please let us know in the comments below or on the Facebook page.

The best way to keep up to date with posts like this is to like us on Facebook , then follow us on Instagram and Pinterest . If you need help preparing for the IELTS Test, join the IELTS Achieve Academy and see how we can assist you to achieve your desired band score. We offer an essay correction service, mock exams and online courses.

Related Posts

How To Understand Any Type Of Writing Task 2 Question?

Learn how to understand and analyse any IELTS Writing Task 2 question.

IELTS Problem/Solution Essay Sample 1 – Environment

IELTS Writing Task 2 problem/solution essay example that is a band score 8. The question…

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Organizing Your Analysis

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource covers how to write a rhetorical analysis essay of primarily visual texts with a focus on demonstrating the author’s understanding of the rhetorical situation and design principles.

There is no one perfect way to organize a rhetorical analysis essay. In fact, writers should always be a bit leery of plug-in formulas that offer a perfect essay format. Remember, organization itself is not the enemy, only organization without considering the specific demands of your particular writing task. That said, here are some general tips for plotting out the overall form of your essay.

Introduction

Like any rhetorical analysis essay, an essay analyzing a visual document should quickly set the stage for what you’re doing. Try to cover the following concerns in the initial paragraphs:

• Make sure to let the reader know you’re performing a rhetorical analysis. Otherwise, they may expect you to take positions or make an evaluative argument that may not be coming.
• Clearly state what the document under consideration is and possibly give some pertinent background information about its history or development. The intro can be a good place for a quick, narrative summary of the document. The key word here is “quick, for you may be dealing with something large (for example, an entire episode of a cartoon like the Simpsons). Save more in-depth descriptions for your body paragraph analysis.
• If you’re dealing with a smaller document (like a photograph or an advertisement), and copyright allows, the introduction or first page is a good place to integrate it into your page.
• Give a basic run down of the rhetorical situation surrounding the document: the author, the audience, the purpose, the context, etc.

Thesis Statements and Focus

Many authors struggle with thesis statements or controlling ideas in regards to rhetorical analysis essays. There may be a temptation to think that merely announcing the text as a rhetorical analysis is purpose enough. However, especially depending on your essay’s length, your reader may need a more direct and clear statement of your intentions. Below are a few examples.

1. Clearly narrow the focus of what your essay will cover. Ask yourself if one or two design aspects of the document is interesting and complex enough to warrant a full analytical treatment.

The website for Amazon.com provides an excellent example of alignment and proximity to assist its visitors in navigating a potentially large and confusing amount of information.

2. Since visual documents often seek to move people towards a certain action (buying a product, attending an event, expressing a sentiment), an essay may analyze the rhetorical techniques used to accomplish this purpose. The thesis statement should reflect this goal.

The call-out flyer for the Purdue Rowing Team uses a mixture of dynamic imagery and tantalizing promises to create interest in potential, new members.

3. Rhetorical analysis can also easily lead to making original arguments. Performing the analysis may lead you to an argument; or vice versa, you may start with an argument and search for proof that supports it.

A close analysis of the female body images in the July 2007 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine reveals contradictions between the articles’ calls for self-esteem and the advertisements’ unrealistic, beauty demands.

These are merely suggestions. The best measure for what your focus and thesis statement should be the document itself and the demands of your writing situation. Remember that the main thrust of your thesis statement should be on how the document creates meaning and accomplishes its purposes. The OWl has additional information on writing thesis statements.

Analysis Order (Body Paragraphs)

Depending on the genre and size of the document under analysis, there are a number of logical ways to organize your body paragraphs. Below are a few possible options. Which ever you choose, the goal of your body paragraphs is to present parts of the document, give an extended analysis of how that part functions, and suggest how the part ties into a larger point (your thesis statement or goal).

Chronological

This is the most straight-forward approach, but it can also be effective if done for a reason (as opposed to not being able to think of another way). For example, if you are analyzing a photo essay on the web or in a booklet, a chronological treatment allows you to present your insights in the same order that a viewer of the document experiences those images. It is likely that the images have been put in that order and juxtaposed for a reason, so this line of analysis can be easily integrated into the essay.

Be careful using chronological ordering when dealing with a document that contains a narrative (i.e. a television show or music video). Focusing on the chronological could easily lead you to plot summary which is not the point of a rhetorical analysis.

A spatial ordering covers the parts of a document in the order the eye is likely to scan them. This is different than chronological order, for that is dictated by pages or screens where spatial order concerns order amongst a single page or plane. There are no unwavering guidelines for this, but you can use the following general guidelines.

• Left to right and top to down is still the normal reading and scanning pattern for English-speaking countries.
• The eye will naturally look for centers. This may be the technical center of the page or the center of the largest item on the page.
• Lines are often used to provide directions and paths for the eye to follow.
• Research has shown that on web pages, the eye tends to linger in the top left quadrant before moving left to right. Only after spending a considerable amount of time on the top, visible portion of the page will they then scroll down.

Persuasive Appeals

The classic, rhetorical appeals are logos, pathos, and ethos. These concepts roughly correspond to the logic, emotion, and character of the document’s attempt to persuade. You can find more information on these concepts elsewhere on the OWL. Once you understand these devices, you could potentially order your essay by analyzing the document’s use of logos, ethos, and pathos in different sections.

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis essay may not operate too differently from the conclusion of any other kind of essay. Still, many writers struggle with what a conclusion should or should not do. You can find tips elsewhere on the OWL on writing conclusions. In short, however, you should restate your main ideas and explain why they are important; restate your thesis; and outline further research or work you believe should be completed to further your efforts.

Sample of Chart or Graph Essay

A bar chart is a type of visual technique that enables its readers to easily recognize patterns or trends in the data set they are checking (Statistics Canada, 2009). A bar chart consists of rectangular bars whose length is proportional to the value it represents. A bar chart is used to compare two or more values that represent different conditions or options.

Bar charts are usually used when the data set is small. A bar chart can be horizontal or vertical. On looking at a bar chart, one can easily find the tallest or the shortest bar, compare two bars, check the change in one bar over time, etc. (SkyMark Corporation, 2009).

For the purposes of this assignment, the following bar chart is used which is a stacked bar chart, a special type of bar chart. This is one of the many charts used in the survey conducted by Infosys on Enterprise Architecture (Infosys, 2005).

The stacked bar graph can be especially helpful when it is required to show segments of totals (Brio Software, Inc., 2002) which in this case it represents how many respondents voted the focus area as critical and how many voted it as high.

Thus, using a single chart, one can convey a lot of information using stacked bar charts. However, if there were more segments, then it would have become difficult to analyze the items in each stack. With more items, it can become more complicated to analyze stack bar charts and hence are not frequently used.

The chart represents the most important focus areas of Enterprise Architecture. As can be seen from the chart, the bars are sorted according to the total number of votes for a focus area with the focus area that has received the highest total votes at the top.

Upon careful inspection of the chart, one can understand that although the focus area “Enterprise data architecture” is ranked as the second highest most important focus area, it is critical by less number of people as compared to “Regulatory compliance (e.g. SOX) and Risk” which is 7 th highest most important focus area. This is also highlighted in the text and justified that this is considered critical by more people as it is being externally imposed (Infosys, 2005).

Again, the focus area “Infrastructure renewal / consolidation” was considered as highly important focus area by maximum people as compared to the other focus areas.

The chart also brings out very clearly that none of the respondents considered “XML technologies” and “Grid computing” as critical focus areas of Enterprise Architecture.

While the stacked bar chart is very helpful in understanding the overall votes by respondents as well how many considered each focus area as critical or high, it does not give an idea of the total votes, it needs to be calculated (Klass, 2001). Also it does not tell how many respondents were there and what percentage of respondents voted for each focus area. The text provides information that there were 45 respondents in all.

Considering this, “Integration and Service Oriented Architecture” was voted by 32 respondents or 71% in all. Without the text providing that information, one could be misled into thinking that there may be 35 respondents only or perhaps much more. Also, this means that the respondents could choose more than one focus area and that there was no restriction on the number of focus areas that one could choose.

Brio Software, Inc. (2002). “Stacked Bar Charts “, Brio Software, Inc. Web.

Infosys Technologies Limited (2005). “Infosys Enterprise Architecture Survey 2005”, Infosys Technologies Limited. Web.

Klass, G. (2001). “How to Construct Bad Charts and Graphs “, Illinois State University. Web.

Sky Mark Corporation (2009). “ Bar Charts “, SkyMark Corporation. Web.

Statistics Canada (2009). “ Bar graphs “. Web.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, January 19). Sample of Chart or Graph. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sample-of-chart-or-graph/

"Sample of Chart or Graph." IvyPanda , 19 Jan. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/sample-of-chart-or-graph/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Sample of Chart or Graph'. 19 January.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Sample of Chart or Graph." January 19, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sample-of-chart-or-graph/.

1. IvyPanda . "Sample of Chart or Graph." January 19, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sample-of-chart-or-graph/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Sample of Chart or Graph." January 19, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sample-of-chart-or-graph/.

• Charts for the Business Project: Importance of Data Visualization
• Dataset Graphic Analysis
• Own Cloud and Open Stack Cloud Computing: Strength and Weaknesses
• Working With the Strategic Business Steering Committee
• Graphical Descriptive Statistics in Two Articles
• Graphical Data Used in Two Healthcare Articles
• “Globalization: Debunking the Myths” by Hebron & Stack
• Data Visualization and Its Importance in Education
• Marginal Street Lofts in Boston
• “The Effect of Country Music on Suicide” by Stack and Gundlach
• Information System and Modern Business
• Enterprise Architecture Center
• Business Intelligence Approaches
• Database Application at Amazon
• Club IT's Data Management

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay  that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

• What is the author’s purpose?
• Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
• What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
• Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
• What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/rhetorical-analysis/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, how to write an argumentative essay | examples & tips, how to write a literary analysis essay | a step-by-step guide, comparing and contrasting in an essay | tips & examples, unlimited academic ai-proofreading.

✔ Document error-free in 5minutes ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts