You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph shows changes in the amount of fast food consumed in the UK between 1970 and 1990
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information in the graph.
Write at least 150 words.
Sample answer 1
The graph shows changes in the amount of fast food consumed in the UK between 1970 and 1990. Several trends are apparent. First, Britons are eating more and more fast food. Secondly, the type of fast food has changed.
In 1970, the most popular fast food was fish and chips. Over 300g were consumed each week. By 1990, however, this had fallen to just over 200g – a 50% drop. Consumption of other fast foods such as pizza and hamburgers increased, however. The amount of pizza eaten shot up from about 20g a week to more than 270g, overtaking fish and chips in the late 1980s. Hamburger consumption also increased, rising from about 80g in 1970 to almost 300g in 1990.
Accompanying this change in the choice of foods was an increase in the amount of fast food consumed. In 1970, British consumers ate about 450g a week of fast food. In 1990, on the other hand, this had more than doubled, to 1000g.
Sample answer 2
The graph shows the amount of fast food eaten between 1970 and 1990 in grams per person per week. Overall, the amount of fast food eaten more than doubled.
The amount of fish and chips eaten declined slightly. In 1970, the consumption was about 300g/week. This fell to 220g/week in 1990.
In contrast, sales of hamburger and pizza rocketed. In 1970, very little pizza was eaten – less than 50g/week. This rose to 280g/week by 1990. In the same period, hamburger sales shot up by more than 500%, from 100g/week in 1970 to 500 grams in 1990.
In conclusion, although there was a big increase in the consumption of pizza and hamburger, sales of fish and chips decreased.