Key features to report

• The total budget rose slightly, from £304.7m in 2017 to £318.6m in 2018, an increase of just under £14m.
• National government was by far the largest source in both years, providing £175.5m and then £177.8m, which is well over half of the total.
• Local taxes were the second largest source and grew the most, from £91.2m to £102.3m, a rise of about £11m that accounts for most of the overall increase.
• Other sources such as grants were the smallest and almost unchanged, at £38m in 2017 and £38.5m in 2018.
• Salaries for officers and staff took the biggest share of spending in both years, but their share fell from 75% to 69%, while the share for technology rose from 8% to 14%.
• Spending on buildings and transport stayed the same at 17% of the budget in both years.

Model overview

Overall, the police budget increased slightly between the two years, with national government remaining the main source of funding. Salaries accounted for the vast majority of spending in both years, although a larger proportion was devoted to technology in 2018.

Paragraph plan

1. 1

   Introduction

   Paraphrase the task: the table shows where the police in one area of Britain obtained their funding in 2017 and 2018, and the pie charts show how the money was spent.

2. 2

   Overview

   Give one main point from the table and one from the pie charts, without figures: the total rose slightly with national government as the main source, and salaries dominated spending although technology gained a bigger share.

3. 3

   Body paragraph 1: sources of funding

   Report the totals (£304.7m and £318.6m), national government (£175.5m and £177.8m), the biggest rise in local taxes (£91.2m to £102.3m), and the stable figure for other sources (£38m and £38.5m).

4. 4

   Body paragraph 2: how the money was spent

   Compare the pie charts: salaries fell from 75% to 69%, technology almost doubled from 8% to 14%, and buildings and transport stayed at 17%.

Useful comparisons

• Rank the three sources: national government first, local taxes second and other sources a distant third in both years.
• Compare the size of each increase: local taxes rose by about £11m, national government by only £2.3m and other sources by just £0.5m.
• Link the two visuals: the total budget grew, but the share for salaries shrank while technology gained, which suggests a shift in priorities.
• Contrast change and stability in the pie charts: salaries and technology changed by six percentage points each in opposite directions, while buildings and transport did not change.
• Use fractions to vary the language: salaries took three quarters of the budget in 2017, and national government provided well over half of the funding.
• Group the stable figures together: other sources of funding and spending on buildings and transport both stayed almost the same.

Band 8+ model answer

188 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.

Why this answer scores highly

Task Achievement

The answer covers both the table and the pie charts, gives an overview that summarises funding and spending, and selects the most significant figures, such as the growth in local taxes and the shift from salaries to technology.

Coherence and Cohesion

One body paragraph deals with income and the other with expenditure, so the organisation mirrors the visuals, and linkers such as as for, over the same period and by contrast connect the ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource

Financial vocabulary such as main source of funding, expenditure and contributing is used accurately, and figures are expressed in varied ways, including three quarters and almost doubled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The answer uses past tenses consistently, together with participle clauses, comparative forms and passive structures such as was devoted, with no errors in the reporting of numbers.

Useful vocabulary

budget

the amount of money an organisation has to spend in a period

source of funding

where money comes from, such as government or taxes

national government

the central government of a country, as opposed to local authorities

local taxes

money collected from residents by the local authority of an area

grants

sums of money given for a particular purpose that do not have to be paid back

expenditure

money that is spent; a formal synonym for spending

allocate

give a particular amount of money for a particular purpose

account for

form a particular part or share of a total

the lion's share

the largest part of something

at the expense of

while causing something else to become smaller

almost double

increase to nearly twice the original amount

remain constant

stay at the same level

a marginal increase

a very small rise

percentage points

the difference between two percentages, e.g. from 75% to 69% is a fall of six percentage points

Common mistakes

• Saying that less money was spent on salaries in 2018. The pie charts show a smaller percentage, but the total budget was larger, so the charts alone do not prove that salary spending fell in pounds.
• Treating the figures as the budget of the whole of Britain, when the task says they relate to one area of Britain.
• Describing the table and pie charts separately with no overview that connects funding and spending.
• Ignoring the units, for example writing 175.5 million people or 175.5 instead of £175.5m.
• Copying every number from the table without highlighting the most important point, the large rise in local taxes.
• Forgetting to mention that spending on buildings and transport did not change, which is a key feature of the pie charts.

Frequently asked questions

Which Cambridge book is this question from?

This table and pie chart question about a police budget in one area of Britain in 2017 and 2018 is Writing Task 1 of Test 2 in Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic, published in 2022.

Should I describe the table or the pie charts first?

Either order works, but the table first is logical because it shows where the money came from before the charts show how it was spent. Make sure both visuals appear in your overview.

Can I calculate how much was spent on salaries in pounds?

You may, but it is not necessary and risks errors. It is safer to report the percentages shown and, if you mention calculations, to make clear they are approximate.

How many words should I write for this Task 1?

Write at least 150 words; around 170-200 words is enough to cover the overview and key figures from both the table and the charts in about 20 minutes.