Task 2 · Band 8 path
Pie Chart — Proportions of a Whole
Every slice is a share of something. Say what of, and never confuse a share with an amount.
Recognise the visual
What this visual type shows, the tense and voice it demands, and the traps that cap it at Band 6.
Every slice is a share of something. Say what of, and never confuse a share with an amount.
Common, and rarely set alone — expect two or three pies to compare, or a pie beside another visual.
Also called: Pie charts · Circle graph · Proportional chart
Spotting it
How this question is worded
The pie charts below show … in 2000 and in 2020
Two pies, one comparison. The report is about what changed in the SHARES, and the slices that moved most are the story.
The chart shows the proportion of …
Proportion, not quantity. The correct subject of your sentences is "the share of", never "the number of".
Four pie charts, one per country
A categorical comparison, not a trend. The overview names which slice dominates everywhere and where the pattern breaks — no "rose" or "fell".
Total spending rose from £2m to £5m (given under the pies)
A total is supplied, so shares can be converted into amounts. This is the one case where a shrinking slice can still be a growing amount — and saying so is a Band 8 observation.
The rule that decides Task Response
Every figure on a pie chart is a SHARE OF A WHOLE, so every sentence must make clear what the whole is. The overview names the dominant slice and the biggest shift in shares; the detail paragraphs compare slices against each other and against their own earlier size. Treating a percentage as a quantity — "more people", "a larger amount" — misreports the data and caps Task Achievement however fluent the English.
The standard
What a Band 8 answer to this type does
- An introduction that names the whole the slices divide up, and the units.
- An overview naming the dominant category and the largest change in share between the pies.
- Slices grouped — the ones that grew, the ones that shrank — not read round the circle.
- Proportion language throughout: share, proportion, accounted for, made up, a quarter, a fifth.
- Figures quoted accurately and converted to fractions where that is clearer.
- No claim about absolute numbers unless a total is supplied.
Where the band is lost
The 6 traps in this question type
Each of these is a specific, repeatable way to lose marks on this type — not general writing advice.
A share described as a quantityTask Achievement capped at 6 · Lexical Resource 6
"More people used cars in 2020" and "car use accounted for a larger share in 2020" are different claims, and only the second is supported by a pie chart. Without a total, a bigger slice of a smaller pie can be fewer people. This is the defining error of the question type and examiners look for it directly.
The fix
Make "the share of", "the proportion of" or "…accounted for" the subject of every sentence. Only write "more people" if the prompt gives you a total.
Reading round the circleTask Achievement 6 · Coherence 6
Describing each slice in the order it appears produces a list with no organising idea. The chart's meaning is in which slices grew and which shrank, and that grouping is invisible if you follow the drawing order.
The fix
Sort the slices into those that gained share and those that lost it. One paragraph each, opened by a sentence naming the group.
Describing one pie, then the otherTask Achievement 6.5 · Coherence 6.5
Two pies are set so that you compare them. A report that describes 2000 in full and then 2020 in full has made the reader do the comparing, and the task explicitly asks you to "make comparisons where relevant".
The fix
Compare category by category across both pies in the same sentence: "housing's share fell from 34% to 22%", not one paragraph per year.
Percentages that do not add to 100Task Achievement 6
A pie is a whole. Misreading one slice so that your reported figures total 94% or 107% tells the examiner you did not understand the visual, and it is the easiest data-accuracy error for them to verify.
The fix
Add your quoted figures before you finish. If they do not reach 100 with the slices you left out, one of them is wrong.
Fraction and percentage mixed in one claimLexical Resource 6.5 · Grammatical Range & Accuracy 6.5
"A quarter of 28%" and "one third, at 22%," are both incoherent. Fractions are a way of expressing the same figure more readably, not an extra measurement, and the grammar of "a quarter of X" requires X to be the whole, not another percentage.
The fix
Use one or the other in a clause. "Roughly a quarter" OR "24%". Where both help, apposition works: "just under a quarter (24%)".
Trend language across categorical piesTask Achievement 6
Four pies showing four countries contain no change over time, so "the share rose" describes something that never happened. It is the same fault as trend language on a categorical bar chart, and just as visible.
The fix
Check whether the pies differ by YEAR or by GROUP. Years earn trend language; groups earn comparison language only.
Quick reference
The Pie chart at a glance
Every figure on a pie chart is a SHARE OF A WHOLE, so every sentence must make clear what the whole is. The overview names the dominant slice and the biggest shift in shares; the detail paragraphs compare slices against each other and against their own earlier size. Treating a percentage as a quantity — "more people", "a larger amount" — misreports the data and caps Task Achievement however fluent the English.
Common, and rarely set alone — expect two or three pies to compare, or a pie beside another visual.
How to recognise this question
- “The pie charts below show … in 2000 and in 2020”
- Two pies, one comparison. The report is about what changed in the SHARES, and the slices that moved most are the story.
- “The chart shows the proportion of …”
- Proportion, not quantity. The correct subject of your sentences is "the share of", never "the number of".
- “Four pie charts, one per country”
- A categorical comparison, not a trend. The overview names which slice dominates everywhere and where the pattern breaks — no "rose" or "fell".
- “Total spending rose from £2m to £5m (given under the pies)”
- A total is supplied, so shares can be converted into amounts. This is the one case where a shrinking slice can still be a growing amount — and saying so is a Band 8 observation.
The four-paragraph structure
Name the whole being divided, the units, and what the separate pies represent.
The dominant slice, and the biggest shift in share. No figures.
The slices that grew, compared across both pies.
The slices that shrank or held steady, plus the smallest.
The traps that cap this type at Band 6
A share described as a quantityTask Achievement capped at 6 · Lexical Resource 6
"More people used cars in 2020" and "car use accounted for a larger share in 2020" are different claims, and only the second is supported by a pie chart. Without a total, a bigger slice of a smaller pie can be fewer people. This is the defining error of the question type and examiners look for it directly.
Fix: Make "the share of", "the proportion of" or "…accounted for" the subject of every sentence. Only write "more people" if the prompt gives you a total.
Reading round the circleTask Achievement 6 · Coherence 6
Describing each slice in the order it appears produces a list with no organising idea. The chart's meaning is in which slices grew and which shrank, and that grouping is invisible if you follow the drawing order.
Fix: Sort the slices into those that gained share and those that lost it. One paragraph each, opened by a sentence naming the group.
Describing one pie, then the otherTask Achievement 6.5 · Coherence 6.5
Two pies are set so that you compare them. A report that describes 2000 in full and then 2020 in full has made the reader do the comparing, and the task explicitly asks you to "make comparisons where relevant".
Fix: Compare category by category across both pies in the same sentence: "housing's share fell from 34% to 22%", not one paragraph per year.
Percentages that do not add to 100Task Achievement 6
A pie is a whole. Misreading one slice so that your reported figures total 94% or 107% tells the examiner you did not understand the visual, and it is the easiest data-accuracy error for them to verify.
Fix: Add your quoted figures before you finish. If they do not reach 100 with the slices you left out, one of them is wrong.
Fraction and percentage mixed in one claimLexical Resource 6.5 · Grammatical Range & Accuracy 6.5
"A quarter of 28%" and "one third, at 22%," are both incoherent. Fractions are a way of expressing the same figure more readably, not an extra measurement, and the grammar of "a quarter of X" requires X to be the whole, not another percentage.
Fix: Use one or the other in a clause. "Roughly a quarter" OR "24%". Where both help, apposition works: "just under a quarter (24%)".
Trend language across categorical piesTask Achievement 6
Four pies showing four countries contain no change over time, so "the share rose" describes something that never happened. It is the same fault as trend language on a categorical bar chart, and just as visible.
Fix: Check whether the pies differ by YEAR or by GROUP. Years earn trend language; groups earn comparison language only.
Pie chart questions — frequently asked
Can I say "more people" if a slice gets bigger?
Only if the prompt gives you a total. A pie shows shares of a whole, so a bigger slice of a smaller pie can be fewer people. Without a total, write "a larger share" or "a greater proportion" — this single habit protects the whole report.
Should I describe every slice?
No. Group them — the ones that grew, the ones that shrank — and quote the figures that prove the grouping. Four to six figures across the whole report is right; listing all ten slices of two pies is the commonest way to score 6.
Are fractions better than percentages?
They read faster and they show lexical range, so use both. "Just over a fifth (21%)" is stronger than either alone. What you must not do is mix them into one claim, like "a third of 22%".
What if the percentages I quote do not add to 100?
Then you have misread a slice. Add your figures plus the ones you left out before you finish — a pie is a whole, and a total of 107% is the most easily verified data error in the paper.
The pies show four countries, not two years. Does anything change?
Yes — there is no change over time, so no trend language at all. The overview names the slice that dominates everywhere and the country that breaks the pattern, and the detail paragraphs compare countries against each other.
Next
Once this type is at Band 8, move to another — Line graph, Bar chart, Table — or check a full essay you have written in the Essay Checker
Go deeper on Task 2
- Band 9 vs Band 6.5 sample answersThe same question answered twice, compared criterion by criterion
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