Bar Chart Model Answer
Task
The bar chart below shows the average amount of money spent per person per week on four categories of food and drink in four European countries in 2018. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Chart
Key data
Meat: France €45, Germany €38, Spain €30, Italy €42. Vegetables: France €22, Germany €18, Spain €35, Italy €28. Dairy: France €20, Germany €25, Spain €12, Italy €18. Beverages: France €15, Germany €20, Spain €22, Italy €16.
Full Response
Band 7.5 annotated answer
Each paragraph is followed by an examiner note explaining exactly what earns marks.
Introduction
The bar chart compares weekly per-person expenditure on four food and drink categories across four European countries in 2018.
'Weekly per-person expenditure' paraphrases 'average amount of money spent per person per week'. 'Four food and drink categories' replaces 'different categories of food and drink'. One concise sentence — no data included.
Overview
Key for Task AchievementOverall, meat was the most expensive category in three of the four countries, with Spain as the only exception, where vegetables accounted for the highest spending. Dairy expenditure was greatest in Germany, while beverage spending was broadly similar across all four countries.
The overview identifies the dominant pattern (meat leading in 3 countries), flags the key exception (Spain), and notes Germany's dairy distinction. Three observations in two sentences — no figures. This level of precision in the overview signals strong Task Achievement.
Body Paragraph 1
Meat represented the largest spending category in France, Germany, and Italy, at €45, €38, and €42 respectively, suggesting a broadly similar dietary pattern across these three nations. Spain was a notable exception: its meat expenditure of €30 was the lowest of any country for that category, while vegetable spending of €35 was by far the highest figure across all categories and nations. France also spent considerably more on vegetables than Germany, at €22 compared to €18, though Italy's figure of €28 fell between the two.
Meat and vegetables grouped together because the Spain exception links them — low meat, high vegetables. 'Suggesting a broadly similar dietary pattern' is analytical language that goes beyond simple description. 'By far the highest figure across all categories and nations' is a precise superlative that shows genuine data analysis.
Body Paragraph 2
Dairy spending followed a different pattern, with Germany recording the highest figure at €25, ahead of France (€20), Italy (€18), and Spain (€12). Beverage expenditure was the most evenly distributed category, ranging narrowly from €15 in France to €22 in Spain, and in all four countries it represented either the smallest or second-smallest share of weekly food spending.
Dairy and beverages handled efficiently in a shorter paragraph — they are the less significant categories. 'Followed a different pattern' signals a deliberate organisational choice. 'Most evenly distributed... ranging narrowly from' is precise Band 7+ trend language. The final observation groups all four countries to make a cross-category point.
Comparison
Band 6 vs Band 7+ overview
The overview is the paragraph that most separates Band 6 from Band 7 in Task 1.
✗ Band 6
“Overall, people spent the most money on meat. Spain spent more on vegetables than other countries. Germany spent the most on dairy products.”
✓ Band 7+
“Overall, meat was the most expensive category in three of the four countries, with Spain as the only exception, where vegetables accounted for the highest spending. Dairy expenditure was greatest in Germany, while beverage spending was broadly similar across all four countries.”
What makes the difference
The Band 6 overview lists three separate observations with no connection between them. The Band 7+ identifies the dominant pattern first ('three of the four countries'), then frames Spain as the exception to that pattern — creating a coherent overview rather than a list. 'Broadly similar' for beverages efficiently groups four countries in three words.
Why it scores Band 7.5
Key strengths of this response
Overview identifies a pattern (meat in 3 countries) and exception (Spain) — not just the highest values
Meat and vegetables grouped together in Body 1 because Spain's exception links both
'Suggesting a broadly similar dietary pattern' — analytical interpretation, not just description
Beverages described as 'most evenly distributed' — identifies the pattern, not just the figures
Other Task 1 model answers