Percentage of UK Households with Selected Consumer Durables (1998–2005)

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Bar Graph

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IELTS Writing Task 1 Question

The chart below shows the percentage of UK households with selected consumer durables between 1998 and 2005

131 - Percentage of UK Households with Selected Consumer Durables (1998–2005).

Common questions for the consumer durables chart

1. Graph Type: Bar chart (or column chart).

2. Title: Percentage of UK Households with Selected Consumer Durables (1998–2005).

3. What are the units of measurement?: Percentage of households.

4. Who: Households in the United Kingdom.

5. When: The years 1998 and 2005.

6. Where: The United Kingdom.

7. Topic: The chart compares the percentage of UK households with selected consumer durables between 1998 and 2005.

Process Showing and Trends

Comparison 1 : Stability of Telephone Ownership

Telephone ownership showed little change, maintaining close to 90% of households in both 1998 and 2005.

Comparison 2 : Increase in Modern Appliances

• The ownership of modern consumer durables like microwaves, fridges, and washing machines saw a gradual increase, with microwaves showing the highest rise (10%), while fridges and washing machines increased by 5%.

Comparison 3 : Significant Growth in Mobile and Internet Usage

The most dramatic increases were in mobile phone ownership, which rose from 20% to 60%, and internet connection, which surged from 8% to approximately 60%, showing a threefold increase in mobile phone ownership and a substantial rise in internet access.

Sample Answer

The given bar chart illustrates the percentage of UK households owning selected consumer durables between 1998 and 2005. It is evident that most household appliances gained popularity, with significant increases in ownership, except for telephones.

In 1998, more than 90% of households owned a telephone, and this figure remained nearly unchanged in 2005. Similarly, microwave, fridge, and washing machine ownership was about 70% in 1998. However, by 2005, microwave ownership rose by 10%, while fridges and washing machines saw a more modest increase of 5% each. Mobile phone ownership experienced the largest growth, jumping from 20% in 1998 to 60% in 2005, marking a threefold increase. Furthermore, internet access in households rose dramatically, from around 8% in 1998 to approximately 60% in 2005.

Overall, by 2005, the telephone remained the most common durable, while internet access and mobile phone ownership saw the highest growth.

Top 26 Vocabularies

Vocabulary	Meaning	Synonyms	Examples	Type
Escalated	To increase or intensify	Increased, grew	“Microwave ownership escalated by 10% over the period.”	Verb
Surged	To increase suddenly or dramatically	Soared, spiked	“The percentage of households with internet access surged from 8% to 60%.”	Verb
Modest	Limited in size or amount	Small, slight	“The increase in fridge and washing machine ownership was modest, at 5% each.”	Adjective
Dramatic	Having a noticeable or significant effect	Significant, major	“Mobile phone ownership saw a dramatic rise, from 20% to 60%.”	Adjective
Ownership	The act, state, or right of possessing something	Possession, holding	“By 2005, microwave ownership increased significantly across UK households.”	Noun
Illustrate	To explain or show something clearly	Demonstrate, depict	“The bar chart illustrates the changes in ownership of consumer durables.”	Verb
Percentage	A portion or share of a whole expressed as a fraction of 100	Proportion, fraction	“The percentage of households owning a mobile phone increased.”	Noun
Consumer durables	Goods that are used for a long time before being replaced	Long-lasting goods, appliances	“The chart shows ownership of household consumer durables.”	Noun
Gained popularity	To become more widely accepted or used	Gained acceptance, grew in popularity	“Most household appliances gained popularity during this period.”	Verb Phrase
Unchanged	Remaining the same, not altered	Stable, constant	“Ownership of telephones remained unchanged from 1998 to 2005.”	Adjective
Rise	To increase or go up	Increase, grow	“Microwave ownership rose by 10% between 1998 and 2005.”	Verb
Modest	Small or limited in amount or size	Minor, slight	“The increase in fridge ownership was modest, only 5%.”	Adjective
Jump	To increase suddenly and significantly	Surge, spike	“Mobile phone ownership jumped from 20% to 60%.”	Verb
Dramatically	In a way that has a noticeable or significant effect	Significantly, substantially	“Internet access in households increased dramatically over the period.”	Adverb
Common	Frequently occurring or widespread	Popular, typical	“The telephone remained the most common durable by 2005.”	Adjective
Access	The ability to use or reach something	Availability, entry	“Internet access in households rose dramatically from 8% to 60%.”	Noun
Household	A house and its occupants considered as a unit	Home, residence	“The chart reflects the percentage of UK households owning durables.”	Noun
Increase	A rise or growth in quantity or value	Growth, rise	“The increase in mobile phone ownership was significant.”	Noun
Trend	A general direction or tendency of change	Pattern, movement	“The overall trend shows increasing ownership of consumer durables.”	Noun
Decline	A gradual decrease or reduction	Drop, decrease	“There was no decline in the ownership of telephones over time.”	Noun
Significant	Sufficiently great or important to have an effect	Notable, substantial	“The increase in mobile phone ownership was significant.”	Adjective
Approximately	Close to a particular number or value, but not exactly	About, nearly	“Approximately 60% of households had internet access by 2005.”	Adverb
Mark	To indicate or show a particular point or moment	Indicate, signal	“By 2005, mobile phone ownership marked a significant change in trends.”	Verb
Rise	To increase in number or level	Increase, grow	“Ownership of microwaves rose by 10% over the period.”	Verb
Prevalent	Widespread or common in a particular area or at a particular time	Common, widespread	“Microwaves became the most prevalent appliance by 2005.”	Adjective
Shift	A change in position, direction, or tendency	Change, transition	“The shift in consumer preference towards mobile phones was evident.”	Noun

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