Feeling confused about how to write IELTS Task 1 for pie charts? Don’t worry — you’re not alone! In this guide, I’ll walk you through a simple, step-by-step structure that makes writing clear, easy, and high-scoring.
Structure to Follow for Pie Chart Questions
To make your writing clear, logical, and score-worthy, stick to this structure:
- Introduction
- Overview
- Body Paragraphs
- Body Paragraph-1
- Body Paragraph-2
Let’s break it down step by step using a real example.
The pie charts below show the comparison of different kinds of energy production in France in two years.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.
Step 1: Understand the Question
Before you write anything, take 1–2 minutes to look at the pie chart and ask yourself:
- What is the chart about?
- What are the title and labels showing?
- What are the units?
- What is the time frame?
- What trends do I see — increases or decreases?
👉 Understanding the chart properly helps you avoid mistakes and write more accurately.
Step 2: Write an Introduction
The introduction is easy — just paraphrase the question using 1–2 sentences. You don’t need to add any opinions.
Include:
- Identify: Subject, Verb and Tense (Question tense and Correct tense to answer)
- Mention: What graph shows, Where it happens and When it occurs
Useful Expressions:
- “The pie charts compare…”
- “The pie charts illustrate…”
- “The pie charts give information about…”
- “The pie charts provide information about…
- The pie charts show..
- The pie charts depict…
- The pie charts indicate…
From the question:
| How to start | The two pie charts illustrate |
| What the graph is about | the proportion of five sources of energy production (coal, gas, petrol, nuclear and others) |
| Where it happens | France |
| When it occurs | 1995 and 2005 |
| How to paraphrase? | Use synonyms or change the sentence structure from the question. show → illustrate the comparison of different kinds of energy production of France → the proportion of five sources of energy production (coal, gas, petrol, nuclear and others) in France in two years→ in 1995 and 2005. |
And this is a possible way to write your introduction:
The two pie charts illustrate the proportion of five sources of energy production (coal, gas, petrol, nuclear and others) in France in 1995 and 2005.
Step 3: Write an Overview
The overview is one of the most important parts of your report. It shows the examiner you understand the main idea.
Include:
- Overall or General key trends.
- Do not write any numbers ex: percentages, etc.
- You can describe feature in two ways:
- Sectors which have the highest and lowest proportions in each chart
- Sectors which became bigger/smaller (increased or decreased) or did not change
Start your overview like this:
- Overall, it can be seen that…
- It is clear that…
- Overall, …
- Overall, in general…
Here we choose the first option: Let’s look again at our pie charts and identify the biggest (coal and gas) /smallest (nuclear and other sources) parts.
And this is a possible way to write your overview:
Overall, coal and gas were the highest sources of energy in both years, which produced more than half of the total. In contrast, nuclear and other sources had the smallest shares. Notably, Petrol was the only source that declined, while the other four sources increased.
Step 4: Write Body paragraphs
Here’s where you explain the details, with numbers and comparisons. Split your information logically. You might group them by:
- Sources that decreased or stayed the same
- Sources that increased
Include:
- Include specific numbers or percentages and as much detail as possible.
- Use a range of linking words, vocabulary, and grammar structures to describe the features. Try not to repeat them.
- Follow the tense from the graph.
- Use different time expressions to describe the passage of time.
From the graph:
- Group 1: Sources that increased (coal, gas, nuclear, others)
- Group 2: Sources that decreased or didn’t change (petrol)
Note: If there is very less decreasing sector compared to the increasing sector, you can list some of the increasing sectors in the second paragraph.
And this is a possible way to write your body paragraphs :
Body Paragraph-1
In 1995, coal produced 29.8% of the energy, and this rose slightly by 1% to 30.9% in 2005. Gas was also 29.6% in 1995 and went up slightly to 30.1% in 2005. These two were the largest sources in both years. Nuclear energy showed a significant growth from 6.4% in 1995 to 10.1% in 2005, and energy from other sources also grew from 4.9% to 9.1% over the 10 year period.
Body Paragraph-2
On the other hand, petrol was the only source of energy which decreased in production from 29.27% to 19.55% between 1995 and 2005.
Full Answer Structure
The two pie charts illustrate the proportion of five sources of energy production (coal, gas, petrol, nuclear and others) in France in 1995 and 2005.
Overall, coal and gas were the largest sources of energy in both years, which produced more than half of the total. In contrast, nuclear and other sources had the smallest shares. Notably, Petrol was the only source that declined, while the other four sources increased.
In 1995, coal produced 29.8% of the energy, and this rose slightly by 1% to 30.9% in 2005. These two were the largest sources in both years. Nuclear energy showed a significant growth from 6.4% in 1995 to 10.1% in 2005, and energy from other sources also grew from 4.9% to 9.1% over the 10 year period.
On the other hand, petrol was the only source of energy which decreased in production from 29.27% to 19.55% between 1995 and 2005.
