Pie Charts: Introductions & Overviews (British Council Academic IELTS: Writing): Study Material

Pie charts: introductions & overviews

Rephrasing the question

• In IELTS Writing Task 1, you may have to describe and compare data from multiple pie charts. These can show numbers and percentages, and they might show change over time or groups and categories. 

• Typical pie charts that show change over time look like this:

• Typical pie charts comparing categories look like this:

• The introduction usually includes two parts:

  • An introductory sentence that rephrases the task question (one sentence)

  • An overview describing the main features of the charts (two sentences)

• First, check what the pie charts are showing

• Make sure you understand the charts before you start writing the introduction

• Identify the main parts of the chart (categories, groups, times, colours) 

• Remember that your introductory sentence should not copy the task question

• You will lose marks in Task Achievement if you simply copy the task question

• To avoid that, use the task question as your starting point and circle the keywords in it

• Think of synonyms for those keywords and use them to paraphrase the task question

• Make sure your paraphrase keeps the same meaning as the task question

• You do not need to paraphrase every single word (terms like “pie chart” can stay the same)

• In your introductory sentence, do not include detailed data or comparisons

Example of a good introductory sentence

• Task question:

  • The pie charts show teenagers’ favourite movie types in the UK, divided by gender

• A possible introduction:

  • The charts compare the preferences of teenage boys and girls in the UK regarding different movie genres

Finding the overview

• After your introductory sentence, you need to write the overview

• This is the part where you give an overview of the main features shown in the pie charts

• Your overview should show that you understand the big picture, so look for big similarities and differences between data sets

• Avoid describing small details

• Aim to write two clear sentences

• What you should look for:

  • Whether the differences between categories are large or small

  • Whether some categories have similar figures

  • Any clear groupings (e.g. two high and two low categories)

  • Which categories dominate the charts

  • Any evident opposite patterns

Example of a good overview

• Task question:

  • The pie charts show teenagers’ favourite movie types in the UK, divided by gender

• A possible overview:

  • Overall, crime and comedy were the most popular types of film among teenagers, whereas horror accounted for the smallest shares in both groups.