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How households spend their income
IELTS Writing task 1 (Academic). Write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes.
The pie charts show how an average household spent its income in 1990 and in 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
0 words (minimum 150) · 20:00
How to plan it
- Paragraph 1: what the two charts show.
- Paragraph 2: overview.
- Paragraph 3: the first year.
- Paragraph 4: the second year with comparisons to the first.
Show a model answer (171 words)
The pie charts compare the shares of household income spent on five categories in 1990 and 2020.
Overall, the share spent on food fell sharply, while housing became the largest expense. Spending on leisure grew, and spending on transport changed very little. The remaining categories showed smaller changes.
In 1990, food took the largest share of income at 30 percent, followed by housing at 25 percent. Other items made up 20 percent, transport 15 percent and leisure just 10 percent.
By 2020, housing had risen to 35 percent and had become the main cost, while food had dropped to 18 percent. Leisure increased from 10 to 16 percent, and transport rose marginally to 17 percent. The share spent on other items fell to 14 percent. In 1990 leisure was the smallest category, but by 2020 it was close to transport, at 16 and 17 percent respectively, and it had overtaken the other category. Taken together, food and housing accounted for 55 percent of spending in 1990 and 53 percent in 2020.
Why it works
- The percentages in each chart add up to 100, which is a useful check.
- The overview picks the biggest changes: food down, housing up.
- Transport is described as a small change, which shows the writer can tell main trends from minor ones.