The amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women of different employment status.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Bar Graph

IELTS Writing Task 1 Question
The amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women of different employment status.

Common Questions for the Bar Graph
1. Diagram Type: Bar chart
2. Title: Leisure Time of Men and Women by Employment Status (1998-1999)
3. What are the units of measurement? Hours per week
4. Who: University lecturers, sociologists, labour economists
5. When: 1998-1999
6. Where: Data from an unspecified region (presumably some country)
7. Topic: Leisure time comparison between genders by employment status
Detailed Process and Observations
Summary of Data : The bar chart compares the amount of leisure time men and women had weekly across five categories of employment status between 1998 and 1999. Overall, men had more leisure time than women in three categories, while women were shown in two categories: housewives and part-time employed.
- Full-time Employment:
- Men had slightly more leisure time than women. Men enjoyed about 45 hours of leisure per week, while women had approximately 38 hours.
- Unemployed and Retired People:
- Both retired and unemployed individuals had the most free time. Retired males and females had the same amount of leisure time as the unemployed: around 85 hours per week for males and 78 hours per week for females.
- Part-time Employment and Housewives:
- Housewives had 50 hours of leisure time, which was slightly more than the 40+ hours that part-time working women had each week. No data was provided for men in these categories.
Sample Answer
The bar chart compares the weekly leisure time of men and women across five categories of employment status in 1998-1999.
Overall, men enjoyed more free time than women in most categories.
For full-time employed individuals, men had slightly more leisure time than women, with men enjoying around 45 hours per week compared to 38 hours for women. Unemployed and retired people had the most leisure time, with both groups of men and women having significantly higher free time than those employed full-time. Retired men and women both had around 85 hours of leisure time, while unemployed men had about 78 hours, and unemployed women had 78 hours.
For the categories not including full-time workers, housewives enjoyed 50 hours of leisure time, which was more than part-time working women, who had just over 40 hours each week.
Unfortunately, no data was provided for men in the part-time and housewife categories.
In conclusion, retired and unemployed individuals had the highest levels of leisure time, and men generally had more free time than women, except in the case of housewives.
Top 29 Vocabulary
Vocabulary | Meaning | Synonyms | Examples | Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
Leisure time | Free or unoccupied time for relaxation or enjoyment | Free time, spare time | Retired people had the most leisure time, with 85 hours per week. | Noun (Phrase) |
Category | A group or class of people or things having particular characteristics | Group, type, class | The chart compares leisure time for men and women in five categories of employment status. | Noun |
Employment status | The state of having or not having a job or occupation | Job status, work status | Men and women in different employment statuses had varying amounts of leisure time. | Noun (Phrase) |
Retired | No longer working due to age or choice | Pensioned, elderly, non-working | Retired people enjoyed more leisure time than the employed. | Adjective |
Part-time | Working fewer hours than full-time | Reduced hours, half-time | Part-time working women had just over 40 hours of leisure time per week. | Adjective |
Comparison | The act of evaluating two or more things to find similarities or differences | Contrast, analysis | “The chart provides a comparison of leisure time for men and women.” | Noun |
Enjoy | To take pleasure in something | Relish, appreciate | “Men generally enjoyed more leisure time than women in most categories.” | Verb |
Full-time | Working the standard hours required by an employer, usually 40 hours a week | Entire-time, regular-time | “Full-time workers had slightly less leisure time than the unemployed.” | Adjective |
Unemployed | Not having a paid job | Jobless, out of work | “Unemployed individuals had significantly more leisure time than full-time workers.” | Adjective |
Retirement | The period of life when one stops working after reaching a certain age | Pension, withdrawal | “Retired people had more leisure time than those working full-time.” | Noun |
Significantly | In a way that is important or large enough to be noticed | Substantially, markedly | “Unemployed and retired individuals had significantly higher leisure time.” | Adverb |
Category | A group of things or people with shared characteristics | Class, type | “The chart compares leisure time across five categories of employment status.” | Noun |
Housewife | A woman who manages the household and family life, typically not employed outside | Homemaker, stay-at-home mother | “Housewives had more leisure time than part-time working women.” | Noun |
Part-time | Working fewer hours than full-time employees | Reduced hours, casual work | “Part-time workers had more leisure time than full-time employees.” | Adjective |
Leisure | Time for relaxation or enjoyment, free from obligations | Relaxation, recreation | “Leisure time is essential for relaxation and recharging.” | Noun |
Data | Factual information, especially numerical | Information, statistics | “Unfortunately, no data was provided for men in certain categories.” | Noun |
Unavailable | Not accessible or not provided | Missing, absent | “No data was available for men in the part-time category.” | Adjective |
Slightly | To a small degree or extent | Marginally, a little bit | “Men had slightly more leisure time than women in full-time employment.” | Adverb |
Hours | Units of time, often used to measure work or leisure periods | Time, span | “Retired people had around 85 hours of leisure time.” | Noun |
Employed | Having a job or occupation | Working, hired | “Employed individuals typically had less leisure time than unemployed people.” | Adjective |
Allocated | Assigned or distributed in a set manner | Distributed, assigned | “Leisure time was allocated differently across employment statuses.” | Verb |
Over | Greater than or exceeding | More than, higher than | “Housewives enjoyed more than 50 hours of leisure time.” | Preposition/Adverb |
Examine | To inspect or investigate carefully | Analyze, study | “We can examine the chart to understand leisure time variations.” | Verb |
Generally | In most cases, usually | Typically, usually | “Generally, men enjoyed more leisure time than women.” | Adverb |
Trend | A general direction or tendency | Pattern, movement | “The trend in leisure time shows men having more free time overall.” | Noun |
Variable | Subject to change or fluctuation | Changeable, unstable | “Leisure time varied depending on employment status.” | Adjective |
Male | Referring to men or boys | Man, masculine | “The data shows that male employees had more leisure time than females.” | Noun/Adjective |
Female | Referring to women or girls | Woman, feminine | “Women had less leisure time than men in most categories.” | Noun/Adjective |
Comparison | An evaluation of two or more items to find similarities or differences | Contrast, juxtaposition | “The graph shows a clear comparison between men and women’s leisure time.” | Noun |

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