CAEL Speaking Task 3 Pie Chart Sample Answer

Read and Understand the Question

To understand How to talk about a CAEL Pie Chart in Speaking Task 3, the first thing you need to do is read and internalize the question. The question provides you with a pie chart and asks you to prepare a short academic presentation.

How to Start a Pie Chart Response

When preparing for CAEL Speaking Task 3, it is important that you understand how to formulate your introduction. Your introduction should paraphrase the question so that the examiner knows what you are talking about. 

Your introduction might look like this:

The diagrams reflect the findings of a survey in which people over and under thirty were asked about their priorities.

How to Prepare your Overview

When you prepare your overview, the goal is to provide the examiner with a high-level view of the pie chart. Imagine that the pie chart is on the other side of the room, so no details are visible. NONE!

Your overview might look like this:

By describing what mattered to the participants in percentages, the pie charts show that there are both similarities and differences between the two groups.

With your introduction and overview complete, the next thing you need to do is talk about two trends. 

How to Talk about Trend 1

With this Pie Chart, it makes sense to talk about the older group as the first trend and the younger group as the second trend.

Start the paragraph by identifying the trend and then add details that support your statement.

Your presentation about your first trend might sound like this:

The older group tended to focus more on achieving financial security and enjoying hobbies than the younger participants. At 25% and 21% respectively these were prioritized by almost half of the over thirties, whereas at 11% for both, less than a quarter of the under thirties thought these mattered much.

How to Talk about Trend 2

With your introduction, overview, and first trend complete, the next thing you need to do is talk about your second trend – the younger group. 

Start the paragraph by identifying the trend and then add details that support your statement.

Your presentation about your second trend might sound like this:

The under-thirties tended to prioritize opportunities for travelling, being gainfully employed, and looking good. At 22% , 21%, and 18% respectively, these were prioritized by almost two-thirds of this group’s members, whereas at 11% for travel and appearance, and 15% for work, less than half of the older group felt these categories were critical.

How to Draw Concluding Remarks

Your concluding remark may be very much like your overview – just make sure you use different words!

Your concluding remark might look like this:

It is encouraging to see that both groups felt family was a priority. A full 17% of both groups prioritized family over the other options.

Your final response might look like this:

This video provides you with more tips for How to talk about a CAEL Pie Chart.

For more videos that I’ve prepared to help you get ready for CAEL on my YouTube channel .

More CAEL Preparation Lessons and Practice

For step-by-step instructions for CAEL Speaking Task 1, please check these pages:

How Long Should my Response Be?

As part of familiarizing yourself with How to talk about a CAEL Pie Chart in Speaking Task 3,  you need to know how long your response should be and how much time you have to talk about it. You have about 1 minute to prepare your response, and 2 minutes to talk about it.

You must finish within those two minutes, so it’s a lot easier to get everything in and get a good score if you follow a basic format.

A Word About Tenses

Tenses are an extremely important part of your pie chart description, so before you start speaking, pay close attention to the dates.

Although there are no dates in this pie chart, I’ve used the past tense when referring to the information that was gathered before it was summarized in the charts.

I’ve used the present tense to reflect any routine actions.

If you use the wrong tense to describe your visual, your examiner won’t be able to give you the score you’re looking for.

If you need to practice your tenses, please take a look at our tense practice workbooks and videos. They’re available in print or as pdf downloads.