Ielts made Easy

 
 

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IELTS Made Easy 
www.ieltsbuddy.com
IELTS Made Easy: Step-by-step guide to writing a Task 1. Copyright © 2013. IELTS buddy. All rights reserved. No part of this eBook or any of 
its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author 
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47
Pie Chart Language 
This pie chart uses the language of change because it has a time frame (see Unit 2 for 
language of change).
However, one particular aspect of pie charts is that they always show 
percentages
and 
proportions
, so you need to review the language for this, particularly fractions and 
percentages. Here are highlighted examples of this type of language from the chart 
description: 
The pie chart compares 
the proportion of enrolments
on six different courses at a UK college 
of education in 2010 and 2012. Overall, it can be seen that the greatest change was in the 
percentage of enrolments
to the sports science courses. 
In 2010, the most popular course was social studies, representing 
just over a quarter
of all 
enrolments, and although it was still a popular course, by 2012 it had fallen to 
one fifth
of the 
total. 
At 25.7%
, nursing was the second most popular subject to study, but this fell 
significantly to only 
14%
two years later. Initially, enrolment on the sports science course 
was fairly low, at only 
11.9%
. However, this figure increased dramatically over the two years 
to represent 
the largest proportion of enrolments
in 2012 at 
25.5%.
Less change was seen in the remaining three courses. Enrolments on the engineering course 
went up slightly to 
18.5%
in 2012, but psychology remained virtually unchanged. This was 
also the case for carpentry, which experienced very low levels of enrolment throughout the 
period. 
You need to make sure you vary your language as much as you can. As you can see from the 
example, a mix of 
fractions
and 
percentages
are used. Also, phrases are used to indicate that 
a number is not exact, such as ‘
just over
’. 
Follow this online link to view a 
pie chart that is not over time
. You will still use proportions, 
percentages and fractions, but obviously you cannot use the language of change. Or this link 
for a 
more complex pie chart
. 

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IELTS Made Easy 
www.ieltsbuddy.com
IELTS Made Easy: Step-by-step guide to writing a Task 1. Copyright © 2013. IELTS buddy. All rights reserved. No part of this eBook or any of 
its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author 
Pa
ge
48
Here are some language examples to learn and increase your flexibility: