You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The chart shows student expenditure over a three-year period in the United Kingdom.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Student expenditure (aged under 26 in higher education) United Kingdom*
* Source: Student Income and Expenditure Survey. Department for Education and Employment.
Sample answer:
The chart shows the changes which took place in student spending in the United Kingdom during/over the three-year period from 1996 to 1999.
Students spent 3% less on accommodation, which fell from 23% to 20% of total expenditure, and there was a 2% decrease in spending on food, bills and household goods, which fell from 20% to 18%. At the same time course expenditure went down by 3% from 10% to 7%. Children, who constituted 1% of students’ expenditure in 1996, are not represented in 1999.
On the other hand, there was a 5% growth in spending on entertainment, which stood at 26% of total expenditure in 1996 but rose to 31% in 1999. Spending on other non-essential items and credit repayments grew by 4% to make up 16% of total expenditure. Spending on essential travel went up by 3% while non-essential travel underwent a 1% fall.
Overall, with the exception of expenditure on travel, the most significant general change was a shift from/in spending on essential items to spending on non-essential items.
