Task 1 · pie chart · 18 samples

The charts below show the main reasons why students chose a particular university in the UK, in 1997 and 2007.

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Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Compare the leading reason across both years: suitable degree courses ranked first, rising slightly from 35% to 37%.
  • Highlight the largest increase: choosing a university close to the parental home went from 10% to 22%.
  • Contrast the sharpest decline with the smaller fall: sports and social activities dropped from 19% to 6%, while quality of resources moved from 21% to 17%.

Suggested structure

  1. Paraphrase the chart topic and identify both years.
  2. Give an overview of the top reason and the most notable increases and decreases.
  3. Describe the 1987 figures, grouping the largest and smallest categories.
  4. Compare the 2007 figures with 1987, using exact percentages and clear change language.
Useful vocabulary & examples
accounted for
made up a particular percentage or share

Suitable degree courses accounted for 35% of responses in 1987.

rose slightly
increased by a small amount

The share choosing suitable degree courses rose slightly to 37%.

increased considerably
grew by a noticeable amount

The proportion choosing a university close to home increased considerably, from 10% to 22%.

fell substantially
decreased by a large amount

Good sports and social activities fell substantially, from 19% to 6%.

Sample answers

AI-completed learning example

194 words · Illustrative target band

The pie charts illustrates that key factors influencing students’ choice of UK universities in 1987 and 2007. Overall, Close to parental home rose during time-frame, while a fall could be observed in the share of Quality of resources. Furthermore, Suitable degree courses was the most dominant category over others, but only a small fraction of students selected good sports and social activities in 2007, at 6%. In 1987…

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AI-completed learning example

200 words · Illustrative target band

The pie graphs illustrate information regarding five primary factors driving the university selection of students in the UK between 1997 and 2007. Overall, there was a decreasing number of students choosing their universities based on most given reasons, except for suitable degree courses and proximity to parental home factors, which showed a reversed trend. Additionally, the first pie is labelled 1987 in the graphic…

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AI-completed learning example

190 words · Illustrative target band

The two pie charts illustrate primary factors that influenced students’ decisions to pursue higher education institutions in the UK from 1997 to 2007. Overall, it is evident that academic-related reasons have become prominent over a decade, while non-academic aspects have been marginalized. The proportion of relevant academic programs consistently remained the prevailing factor, while robust growth was seen in the pr…

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AI-completed learning example

187 words · Illustrative target band

The data compares the factors driving students’ application to a university in the UK in 1987 and in 2007. Overall, there were increases in the percentages of the suitability of majors, the distance between the university and home, and the teaching quality, while the figure for the quality of resources, sports and social activities decreased. In 1987, suitable degree courses were the leading reason, at 35%, followed …

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AI-completed learning example

182 words · Illustrative target band

The pie charts compare the percentage of main reasons why American students chose a particular university between 1997 and 2007 Overall, the proportion of students chose university because the suitable degree courses accounted for the highest in both years while the number for proximity to parental home is lowest. Between 1997 and 2007 the proportion of students choosing the other factors also changed. The chart itse…

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AI-completed learning example

208 words · Illustrative target band

The two pie charts give information about the major reasons why students chose a particular university in the United Kingdom in 1987 and 2007. Overall, while the suitability of degree courses remained the most significant reason in both years, remarkable changes occurred in other areas. Taking a closer look at the charts, it is obvious that they compare five reasons: quality of resources, suitable degree courses, pro…

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AI-completed learning example

174 words · Illustrative target band

The two pie charts illustrate the main reasons why students selected a particular university in the UK in 1987 and 2007. Overall, while the suitability of degree courses remained the most significant reason in both years, notable changes occurred in other areas. The importance of proximity to parental homes increased significantly, whereas factors like teaching quality changed only modestly, rising from 15% to 18%, w…

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AI-completed learning example

181 words · Illustrative target band

The charts illustrate how many school leavers chose to study at a certain university in the UK between 1987 and 2007. Overall, there was an increase in the proportion of young people choosing to study at this school because it provided suitable courses and it was close to their homes, while the figures for those who chose it for other reasons changed in different directions. The share selecting the university for qua…

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AI-completed learning example

194 words · Illustrative target band

The charts compare the primary factors that influenced students’ decisions to attend a specific university in the UK in 1987 and 2007. Overall, the most notable changes are the increased importance of suitable degree courses and quality of teaching over the 20-year period, while the priority given to quality of resources and good sports/social activities declined considerably. In 1987, suitable degree courses were th…

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AI-completed learning example

195 words · Illustrative target band

The charts illustrate the proportions of why students choose a particular university in UK between the years of 1987 and 2007 Overall, it can be seen that, suitable degree courses accounted were the main reason for students in both years, whereas the lowest percentage were for close to parental home; however, it has become crucial to note that the reasons changed considerably over the period. In 1987, suitable degree…

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AI-completed learning example

192 words · Illustrative target band

The provided pie charts illustrate the dominant reasons motivating student choices at a specific UK university in 1987 and 2007. Overall, it can be seen that Suitable degree courses were most factor in importance each year, whereas quality of teaching grew moderately and the figure for quality of resources decreased. Remaining factors such as good sports and social activities and closeness to home also changed notabl…

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AI-completed learning example

183 words · Illustrative target band

Two pie charts give information about the proportion of reasons for learners selecting a particular UK university in two separate years (1987–2007). Overall, the percentage of the main reasons for suitable degree courses, close to the parental home, and quality of teaching exhibited an upward trend, while the opposite was true for quality of resources, and good sports and social activities also declined. Suitable deg…

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