Tuần vừa qua Ce Phan biên soạn bài học này cho lớp học IELTS của mình theo chủ đề Thói quen và thay đổi thói quen (Habits and Making a change). Hôm nay đăng lên trang web để các bạn có thể theo dõi và học online nhé. 

Making a change

Exercise 1: The graphs show changes in spending habits of people in the UK between 1971 and 2001.

Write a report to a university lecturer describing the data.

household spending                 nearly double                 cars                   the largest proportion   

the smallest proportion             furniture                         significantly       14%


The pie charts illustrate the changes in __________________ in the UK between 1971 and 2001. It is clear that the cost of petrol made up __________________ of the household spending in 1971 while expenditure on __________________ was the greatest share of the household spending in 2001.

Firstly, British citizens spent more than a third of their money on petrol and almost a third on __________________ followed by money spent in restaurants, which was precisely a quarter. __________________ of expenditures was the cost on computers with only seven percent in 1971.

Secondly, after 30 years in 2001, British citizens spent __________________ less money on petrol, furniture and restaurants- 8%, 8%, 14% respectively. In comparison to 1971, they spent __________________ on computers. The greatest proportion of household spending was on cars with more than 40%. The proportion of expenditure on foods were __________________ and the for books it was vanishingly small, only one percent in 2001.


Exercise 2: The pie charts show changes in household spending patterns in America between 1966 and 1996. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown.


In 1966 we can see 44% for food, but how do we say that?

            Americans spent 44% of their household budget on food

            Forty-four percent of household spending went on food

Pie charts mostly show figures in percentages so know how to express them:

1. Use percent when the word refers to a specific number. The term percent should be used only when the specific number is included.

Fourteen percent of the average household budget went on food in 1996

Of the total family expenditure, 8 percent was spent on petrol.

2. Use percentage when you refer to the general term. Use the word percentage when you are not including a specific number. Correct examples are:

A smaller percentage of the household budget was allocated to eating at restaurants

Only a small percentage of each family’s expenses was taken by furniture and petrol

Synonyms for percentage include:

  • proportion
  • amount
  • quantity
  • part
  • share
  • section
  • fraction
  • ratio

Use comparatives and superlatives for comparing and contrasting information in the pie charts.

  • Petrol required less of the budget in 1996 than in 1966.
  • More money was spent on cars than the next three biggest categories combined.
  • Not nearly as much money was spent on book in 1996 as in 1999
  • The biggest percentage of the budget went on food.
  • The smallest expenditure was taken by books.
  • More money was spent on food than on anything else.




Compare these two approaches to life. Which approach do you prefer? Explain why?

Your essay:

Some people love changes and doing new things whereas the others are keen on to have steady life, and they would not like to have new habits. As for me, I am fond of trying new things, I am an open-minded person and social in nature. 


Many people do not like changes because many of them are closed-minded and antisocial. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




However, some people are courageous to change their life.





In conclusion, life is changing constantly in this modern world. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4: In many countries today, the eating habit and lifestyle of children are different from those of previous generations. Some people say this has had a negative effect on their health. 

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?



Biên soạn: Ce Phan