IELTS JOURNAL 30 Writing Body Paragraphs Now we should plan writing two main body paragraphs so that your essay looks more
organized. We need to select something to say about each trend or piece of information.
Remember, there is no rule about what information you select; everyone will do this
differently. We should look for the highest figures in each category and make comparisons
or give explanations. While writing the body paragraphs, describe the graph in detail,
maybe in 3 or 4 sentences. In these two paragraphs you need to select key information,
include numbers and make comparisons or give explanations.
Example: The table below gives information on consumer spending on different items in five different countries in 2002. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below. Make comparisons where relevant. Percentage of national consumer expenditure by category – 2002 The table shows percentages of consumer expenditure for three categories of products and
services in five countries in 2002.
It is clear that the largest proportion of consumer spending in each country went on food,
drinks and tobacco. On the other hand, the leisure/education category has the lowest
percentages in the table.
Out of the five countries, consumer spending on food, drinks and tobacco was noticeably
higher in Turkey, at 32.14%, and Ireland, at nearly 29%. The proportion of spending on
leisure and education was also highest in Turkey, at 4.35%, while expenditure on clothing
and footwear was significantly higher in Italy, at 9%, than in any of the other countries.
It can be seen that Sweden had the lowest percentages of national consumer expenditure
for food/drinks/tobacco and for clothing/footwear, at nearly 16% and just over 5%
respectively. Spain had slightly higher figures for these categories, but the lowest figure for
leisure/education, at almost 2%.
