Writing · Unit 3: Core strategies
W22: Task 1 bar chart
Target band 6.5 to 7
Bar charts compare groups. Sometimes they compare groups at one point in time. Sometimes they show change over several years. Either way, your job is to find the biggest differences and the clearest patterns, and to compare, not just list. Here's how, with a full model answer.
Why this matters
Bar charts often have many bars: four cities with three categories each is twelve numbers. Students who describe every bar run out of time and miss the comparisons that examiners want to see.
First question: is there time?
- No time period (static): use comparison language: higher than, the most popular, twice as many.
- With time periods (dynamic): use trend language too: increased, fell.
The data
The chart shows how people travel to work in four cities, as a percentage of workers.
| City | Car | Public transport | Bicycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| City A | 55% | 35% | 10% |
| City B | 30% | 60% | 10% |
| City C | 40% | 30% | 30% |
| City D | 20% | 50% | 30% |
(For your video, draw this as a grouped bar chart.)
Finding the story
- The car is the top choice in Cities A and C, but it clearly dominates only in City A.
- Public transport is the most popular choice in Cities B and D.
- Bicycles are much more common in Cities C and D.
- City C has the most balanced mix.
Model answer (about 180 words)
The bar chart compares the proportion of workers who travel to work by car, public transport and bicycle in four cities.
Overall, public transport was the most common way to commute in two of the cities, while the car was the top choice in the other two, although it clearly dominated only in City A. Cycling was considerably more popular in Cities C and D than in the other two.
City A stands out as the most car-dependent, with more than half of its workers (55%) driving to work, compared with only 35% using public transport. City B shows almost the reverse pattern: 60% of commuters used public transport, the highest figure for any city, while just under a third went by car. In both of these cities, only one in ten workers cycled.
Cities C and D, by contrast, had much higher rates of cycling, at 30% each. In City C, the three modes were relatively evenly balanced, with cars slightly ahead at 40%. In City D, public transport accounted for half of all journeys, and the car was the least popular option, at just 20%.
Why this answer works
- Overview picks out the main patterns, not numbers.
- Grouping by similarity: A and B (low cycling) together; C and D (high cycling) together.
- Comparisons, not lists: almost the reverse pattern, the highest figure, relatively evenly balanced.
- Approximations: more than half, just under a third, one in ten, half of all journeys.
Useful comparison language
- X was higher than Y.
- X was twice as high as Y.
- X accounted for the largest share.
- Compared with X, Y was...
- By contrast, ...
- X and Y had similar figures, at around...
Try it yourself
Write one sentence comparing car use in City A and City D.
Sample answer: "Car use in City A, at 55%, was almost three times higher than in City D, where only 20% of workers drove."
Honest note
There are many good ways to group bar chart data. You could also group by mode of transport instead of by city. Choose the grouping that makes the comparisons clearest.
Your task today
Write your own answer for this chart, grouping by transport mode instead of by city. Compare the two versions.