Graph Writing # 31 - Expenses in 7 different categories in 1966 and 1996 by American Citizens
- Details
- Written by IELTS Mentor
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1/ Graph Writing - Pie Charts:
» You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The given pie charts compare the expenses in 7 different categories in 1966 and 1996 by American Citizens.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.
» Write at least 150 words.
Model Answer 1:
The pie charts compare how Americans spent on different commodities in 1996 with that of 1966. The expenses are given as percentages and it is obvious that cars consumed the highest percentages of American citizens’ expenditure in 1996 while it was food that required the highest ratio of money in 1966.
According to the illustration, four-tenths of Americans’ expenses went on food in 1966 and they spend almost one-fourth on cars. The lowest spending Americans made was for computers which was merely 1%. Expenses by them in 1966 on furniture and petrol was roughly one-tenth each and their budget for books and restaurant meals were 6 and 7 percentages respectively.
After three decades, the expenditure pattern by Americans on those goods changed noticeably. They spent 45% on cars, which constituted their highest ratio of spending on a consumer product and spending on food preparation dropped by 30%. It is interesting to note that the spending on books reduced to barely 1% while this figure went up to 10% for computers. They spend exactly double for outside meals than they did in 1966 and their cost for petrol dropped by 1% despite a hike in spending on automobiles. Finally, Americans share of spending for purchasing furniture reduced by 2% in 1996 than that of 1966.
Sample Answer 2:
The pie charts compare the expenditure of US residents in two different years in seven categories namely food, cars, petrol, restaurants, furniture, computers and books.
It is clear that the largest proportion of American citizens’ spending went on foods and cars. On the other hand, computers and books have the lowest percentage in the chart in 1966 and 1996 respectively. In 1966, 23% of American citizens’ expenditure went on cars. The percentage rose to nearly double at 45% in 1996.The proportion of spending on food fell from 44% in 1966 to only 14% in 1996.
Expenditure on computers stood at only 1% in 1966 but reached 10% in 1996. The percentage of American citizens spending on restaurants had doubled from 7% in 1966 to 14% in 1996. Spending on books was highest in 1966, at 6%. By contrast, there was no significant change in the proportions of petrol and furniture over a period as a whole.
(Approximately 156 words | by - Safa Ahmed )
Sample Answer 3:
The pie charts compare Americans' expenditure in 7 different categories namely food, cars, petrol, restaurants, furniture, computers and books in 1966 with that of 1996. Overall, the least significant percentage of spending by Americans went on computers in 1966 while the food cost them the highest percentage. After three decades, cars became the largest segment of expenses by American residents and the smallest segment was spent on books, percentage-wise.
Cars accounted for 23 percent of expenses by Americans in 1966 and after thirty years, this ratio remarkably increased to 45%. The expense of dining out in 1966 was 7 percent and it had doubled in 1996 (14%). Only 1 percent of the American population's money went on purchasing computers but this figure rose to 10 percent in 1996. Food comprised 44 percent of all the expenses made by Americans in 1966, and it fell to 14 percent in 1996. In 1966, petrol and furniture outlay was at 9 percent and 10 percent respectively and remained relatively unchanged over a 30-year period. Lastly, expenditure on books had plunged from 6 percent to 1 percent at the end of the period.
[Written by - John]
Sample Answer 4:
The pie charts show changes in American spending patterns between 1966 and 1996. Generally speaking, Americans spent the highest proportion of their money on food and car in 1996 and after three decades, cars comprised their highest costs.
Food and cars made up the two biggest items of expenditure in both years. Together they comprised over half of household spending. Food accounted for 44% of spending in 1966, but this dropped by two-thirds to 14% in 1996. However, the outlay on cars doubled, rising from 23% in 1966 to 45% in 1996. Other areas changed significantly. Spending on eating out doubled, climbing from 7% to 14%. The proportion of salary spent on computers increased dramatically, up from 1% in 1996 to 10% in 1996. However, as computer expenditure rose, the percentage of outlay on books plunged from 6% to 1%. Some areas remained relatively unchanged. Americans spent approximately the same amount of salary on petrol and furniture in both years.
In conclusion, increased amounts spent on cars, computers, and eating out were made up for by drops in expenditure on food and books.
(Approximately 159 words)
Sample Answer 5:
The two provided pie charts compare the expenditure of Americans in 7 different categories namely food, cars, petrol, restaurants, furniture, computers, and book between 1966 and 1996.
It is evident from the information provided that foods and cars made up the biggest proportions of spending among Americans in both years. Specifically, in 1966, the highest proportion of expenses went to food with 44% of the total expense, followed by cars with 23%. After 30 years, this figure observed a reversal when the spending for cars accounted for a massive 45% while that for food dropped to just 14%.
Turning to the other expenses, petrol and furniture stood for roughly equal proportions of money spent with 9% and 10% respectively in 1966 and both 8% in 1996. The expenditure for restaurant experienced an increase of 7% in 1966 and a double to 14% after 30 years. It is also interesting to note that the spending on books and computers changed conversely. Over the 30-year period, the figure for books declined from 6% to a negligible 1%, in contrast, money spent on computers underwent a remarkable growth from 1% to 10%.
In short, Americans spent most of their money on food and cars in both 1966 and 1996, and the spending for computers increased considerably after 30 years.
[Written by - Phuong Anh]
Overall, it can be seen that food cost was the highest in the early years but after three decades, Americans spent the highest amount on their cars.
To begin with the data presented for the year 1966, American families spent the highest on food, which accounted for 44% of their expenditure. Automobile expenses were 23% in that same year. In contrast, after three decades, food expenses grossly decreased to 14% whereas expenses for cars went to 45%, covering about one-third of their expenses surpassing all other categories at the end of 1996.
Looking at the other categories, little or no noticeable differences were seen in the expenditures on fossil fuel and restaurant expenses. Three decades later, it is seen that the purchases of computers increased from its initial 1% in 1966 to 10% in 1996, thereby replacing the purchase of books which was 1% at the end of the trend in 1996.
Overall, at the beginning of the period, computers were the least significant part of the expenses of American residents, whereas food made up the biggest part of the chart. In comparison, at the end of the period, cars became the largest expenses segment and the lowest was for books.
The car sector accounted for 23% of America's expenses and experienced a significant increase to 45% in 1996. The expense for computers was 1% in 1969 and had dramatically increased by ten folds in 1996. At the beginning of the period, restaurant expense was 7% in 1969 and it doubled (14%) in 1996.
Food, which comprised almost a third of America's expenses in 1969, fell to 14% in 1996. In 1969, petrol and furniture sectors were at 9% and 10%, respectively, both having a slight decrease to 8% after a 30-period year. Finally, expenses for books were 6% in 1969 and it had considerably decreased to 1% in 1996.
Overall, it can be seen that American people spent the highest amount of their money on food in 1966, whereas the least on computers. After 30 years, cars replaced food and took their position as the highest expenditure catego9ry, while books became the lowest spending area for these people.
Looking firstly at the details of food, it stood at 44% in 1966, which was by far the greatest area of expenses during that period. However, this figure experienced a dramatic decrease in the final year by 30%. Likewise, the spending on furniture and petrol decreased from 10% to 8% and from 9% to 8% between 1966 and 1996, respectively. Moreover, the investment in books also witnessed a 5% decrease in 1996 from its initial figure at the beginning of the period (6%).
Focusing on cars and restaurants, the spending on both of these categories doubled in the final year, as the former increased from 23% to 45%, while the latter from 7% to 14%. Computers, on the other hand, which had only 1% of total expenses in 1966, increased ten folds at the end of the period given.
According to the illustration, in 1966 food corresponded the highest portion of expenses for American citizens which accounted for nearly half of the total expenses. Contrary to that, computers cost them the least - representing only 1% of expenses by Americans. Furniture and petrol cost them almost the same - 10 and 9% respectively. When it comes to the book, restaurants and car expenses ratio, together they charged 36% of money spent by citizens in that period.
Thirty years later, the scenery changed, and it was a tremendous evolution in the car costs by Americans- which was almost half of the total costs. Expense ratio in other categories remained fairly the same apart from restaurant costs as it doubled. Petrol and furniture pictured similar valour 8% each, while the cost on books decreased sharply to 1%.
At a first glance, food and cars made up the highest proportion of expenditure in both years and significant changes occurred in both cases over the period. Moreover, computer-purchasing expenses by US citizens increased modestly during thirty years.
While food expenses dropped by two-thirds to 14% in 1996, cars expenses increased and nearly doubled at 45% in 1996. Computer expenses, which had the lowest proportion of expenses in 1966, was ten times higher in 1996. Besides, restaurant-related expense in 1996 was twice as much as in 1966, 7% in 1966 and 14% in 1996. In contrary to restaurants and computers, there was a five percent shrinkage of books expenditure between 1966 and 1996 (%6 and %1 respectively). Finally, petrol and furniture expenses in 1966 were nearly equal to the expenses of 1996.
Report