The Charts Below Give Information on the Ages

Lilie King
Written by Lilie

Scored a 7 twice in the writing test

June 4, 2021

The charts below give information on the ages of the populations of Yemen and Italy in 2000 and projections for 2050.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

This essay question is from Cambridge IELTS 9 Test 3 Writing Task 1.

the charts below give information on the ages

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Sample Essay

The pie charts display age distributions for Yemen and Italy in 2000 and predictions for 2050.

Overall, while both countries’ populations are forecast to age, that of Yemen will continue to be younger than that of Italy.

About half of Yemen’s population was under the age of 14; however, this proportion is projected to decline significantly to 37.0 percent. The proportion of those aged 15-59, in comparison, is anticipated to increase roughly 10 percentage points to just over 57 percent in 2050, making this group the largest that year. The proportion of those over 60 is also forecast to climb, to 5.7 percent.

Moving on to Italy, around a quarter of its population was already in the highest age bracket, and this figure is projected to rise dramatically to 42.3 percent. Those in the lowest age group, by contrast, only accounted for a small proportion of Italy’s population, at 14.3 percent; this number is estimated to drop even further, to only 11.5 percent. The proportion of 15- to 59-year-olds is also expected to experience a fall, from 61.6 to 46.2 percent. (187 Words)

Age Distributions

In the first paragraph, note how I used age distribution to paraphrase the original text. Age distribution is used to describe how certain population group is divided according to how old they are.

How To Write the Overview

It would be too detailed if we describe the individual trend of each age group. Instead, look at the bigger picture. What are the overall trends? Will they get younger or older (the red part in the essay)? Apart from the trends, we also need to compare the two countries. Ask yourself which country had and will have an older population (the blue part).

How To Vary Your Language

  • Age Groups
0-14 years
  • those under 14
  • the youngest/lowest age group
  • the youngest/lowest age bracket
15-59 years
  • the 15-59 age group/bracket
  • those aged 15-59
  • 15- to 59-year-olds
60+ years
  • the oldest/highest age group
  • the oldest/highest age bracket
  • the over-60s
  • those over 60
  • Projections

The population is expected/forecast/anticipated/projected/predicted/estimated to become older.

27 CommentsLeave A Comment

  1. Hi, “About half of Yemen’s population was under the age of 14”. can we use were instead of was?

      1. This proportion is projected to decline significantly to 37.0 percent. In this sentence what is the meaning of projected ?

  2. Hello, is it correct to write predictions in the past like “this proportion was projected to decline significantly to 37.0%” since we do not know the year when this projection was made?

  3. Hi, this might be an odd question. I noticed that you use “percent” instead of using % in all data. Is it acceptable to use % ?

    1. Hey Jason, I used “percent” simply because it’s easier to type that word than to type “%” and, yes, you can use “%”.

  4. I am confused with the term “age distribution” on the 1st paragraph (introduction). Are you sure that is a good phrasal to write? Isn’t the distribution means “to give” or “to distribute” something like that. Please explain this with examples. I am so confused about it.

    1. Hi, don’t worry. “Age distribution” is a very good term to use here. It’s a quantitative description of how certain population group is divided according to how old they are. You can google its meaning or read its definition here.

    1. Hi, thanks for your comment. The correct form is “something is predicted to increase”. The two expressions you suggested are incorrect.

  5. Mam I didn’t understand the red line. Could you please write me a another version of the overall of this same pie chart?

    1. Sorry for the late reply. The red clause means that, compared with 2000, both countries will have a higher percentage of older people.

  6. The proportion of those over 60 is also forecast to clime, to 5.7 percent.
    or,
    The proportion of those over 60 is also forecasted to clime, to 5.7 percent.
    Which one would be correct?

    1. Thanks for your question. As for pie charts, you need to look for general trends as well as the biggest categories. Hope this helps.

    2. Mam I didn’t understand the overall paragraph despite reading the “how to write overall” paragraph. Could you please explain it a little bit more for me?

    1. Thanks for liking my content, but I don’t sell anything yet. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to respond.

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