What you’re looking at
Pie Charts
A pie chart shows how a whole is divided into proportional segments, usually expressed as percentages. You may be given a single pie chart, or two (or more) pie charts to compare — for example, the same categories shown in two different years.
Because every segment is part of the same 100%, pie charts are especially useful for comparing relative share, not just raw size.
How to analyse it
Reading a pie chart before you write
Which segment is largest?
Identify the biggest and smallest segments first — these are almost always worth mentioning.
Are any segments similar in size?
Two or more segments that are close in percentage are worth grouping together in your description.
If comparing charts, what changed?
With two pie charts, identify which segments grew, which shrank, and which stayed about the same.
What you should look for
Features worth reporting
The Dominant Segment
A segment that makes up close to half (or more) of the chart is a defining feature worth leading with.
Minor Segments Grouped
Several small segments can often be grouped together (“the remaining categories each accounted for less than 10%”) rather than listed individually.
Vocabulary & terminology
Language for describing pie charts
Proportion
accounted for / made up
“accounted for just over a third,” “made up almost half,” “represented a small fraction”
Comparing shares
twice as much as / a third of
“twice as large as,” “roughly a third of,” “just under half the size of”
Change between charts
grew / shrank / stayed constant
“the share of X grew,” “the proportion of Y fell,” “the figure for Z remained virtually unchanged”
Common mistakes
What costs candidates marks
Listing Every Segment Equally
Treating a 3% segment with the same emphasis as a 40% segment, instead of prioritising what’s significant.
Confusing Percentage with Amount
Forgetting that a percentage increase between two charts doesn’t always mean the actual quantity increased, if the total also changed.
Not Comparing the Two Charts
Describing each pie chart separately without directly comparing how the segments changed between them.
See it in practice
Example Task and Sample Answer
The example below is original and written for teaching purposes.
Example IELTS Task
The pie charts below show household spending categories in a country in 2000 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Sample Answer
Sample Overview and Data Paragraph
The two pie charts compare the proportion of household spending across five categories in 2000 and 2020.
Overall, spending on housing remained the largest category in both years, while the proportion spent on food fell considerably and spending on leisure grew to become a much larger share of the household budget.
In 2000, housing accounted for just over a third of spending, with food close behind at around 28%. By 2020, housing had grown slightly to make up 38% of the total, while food’s share dropped to just 15%. Leisure spending, meanwhile, more than doubled, rising from roughly 8% to 18% over the twenty-year period. The remaining categories, transport and other expenses, stayed relatively stable across both years.
Why the Sample Works
Comparison, not two separate descriptions
The sample directly compares the two charts rather than describing them one at a time. The overview highlights the three most significant changes, and the data paragraph groups the stable categories together instead of describing each one individually, keeping the focus on what actually changed.
Ready for the next step?
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Structuring Your Answer
Review the overview-and-data framework that applies to every Task 1 visual.