What you’re looking at
Tables
A table presents data in rows and columns rather than a visual shape. Because there is no chart to guide your eye, tables often feel more difficult — you have to find the patterns yourself rather than seeing them at a glance.
Tables can contain almost any type of data: figures over time, comparisons between categories, or a mix of both.
How to analyse it
Reading a table before you write
What do the rows and columns represent?
Identify what’s being measured in each direction before looking at individual numbers.
Scan for the extremes
Find the highest and lowest figures in the table as a whole — these are usually worth featuring.
Look for patterns, not just numbers
Check whether a whole row or column follows a consistent pattern (always rising, always the highest, etc.).
What you should look for
Features worth reporting
Row or Column Leaders
A category that consistently has the highest (or lowest) value across every row or column is a strong overview point.
Grouping Similar Values
Where several figures are close together, group them in a single sentence rather than stating each one separately.
Vocabulary & terminology
Language for describing tables
Ranking
the highest figure / the lowest figure
“recorded the highest figure,” “had the lowest value across all categories”
Comparing categories
compared with / in contrast to
“compared with,” “in contrast to,” “whereas,” “similarly”
Grouping
both / all three / the remaining
“both categories recorded similar figures,” “the remaining three years showed little change”
Common mistakes
What costs candidates marks
Reading Left to Right Only
Describing the table row by row without checking whether a stronger pattern exists down the columns instead.
Copying the Whole Table Into Prose
Turning every cell into a sentence, producing a long list rather than a selective, organised summary.
Ignoring Units
Misreading whether figures are in thousands, percentages, or another unit stated in the table’s title or column headers.
See it in practice
Example Task and Sample Answer
The example below is original and written for teaching purposes.
Example IELTS Task
The table below shows the number of visitors (in thousands) to three museums in one city in 2015 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 table compares visitor numbers, in thousands, at three museums in the same city in 2015 and 2020.
Overall, the Science Museum attracted by far the most visitors in both years, and every museum saw visitor numbers fall over the five-year period.
In 2015, the Science Museum welcomed around 450 thousand visitors, more than double the History Museum’s 210 thousand and almost four times the Art Museum’s 120 thousand. By 2020, all three figures had declined: the Science Museum to 380 thousand, the History Museum to 190 thousand, and the Art Museum to just 95 thousand, the steepest proportional fall of the three.
Why the Sample Works
Finding the pattern the table doesn’t show visually
Because a table has no visual shape, the sample does the analytical work for the reader — identifying that one museum dominates and that every figure fell — before presenting the specific numbers. It also notes which decline was proportionally steepest, a comparison that requires genuine analysis rather than simple transcription.
Ready for the next step?
Explore another visual type.
Structuring Your Answer
Review the overview-and-data framework that applies to every Task 1 visual.