IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

5 Easy Steps

Writing Task 1
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 requires you to write 150 words about data (in the form of a bar
chart, line graph, pie chart or table), a process or map. This is a skill many students have not
practiced before and don’t do so well as a result. The key to doing well in Writing Task 1 is knowing
how your essay is marked and then using this information to give the examiner exactly what they
want.

I advise my students to use a 5 step approach:

1. Understand 2. Paraphrase 3. Write an 4. Support 5. Check your

the the overview overview work
marking question with detail
criteria

By breaking the task down into smaller parts the task becomes much easier. Below I will look at each
of the 5 steps in more detail and then give you some sample answers so you can see what it looks
like in practice.

We will be using the question below to help us:

1. Marking Criteria
There are four marking criteria for Task 1:
 Task Achievement
 Coherence and Cohesion
 Lexical Resource
 Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Each of these is worth 25% of your total mark.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand what these phrases mean, I will go through each of them in
more detail below and explain what they mean in simpler language.
Task Achievement Coherence and Lexical Resource Grammatical Range
Cohesion and Accuracy
Task Coherence refers to Lexical resource refers This refers to your
Achievement refers to your ability to connect to your ability to use ability to write
your ability to answer your main ideas vocabulary both sentences with no
the question properly. together so that they accurately and mistakes and also use
In order to do this you make sense and are appropriately. a range of
have to do all the easy to understand. grammatical
things the question This is mostly done at structures.
asks you to do and paragraph level. Are
write a clear, well your paragraphs in a
developed answer. logical order? Is there
one clear main idea in
every paragraph? Is it
easy to understand
the main idea of each
paragraph?
You will get a higher
score for coherence if
you:
 Introduce your
essay by
paraphrasing
the question in
the first
paragraph.
 Separate your
ideas into
paragraphs.
 Making it clear
which
paragraph is
your overview.
 Having very
clear ideas in
your overview.
 Supporting
the main points
in your
overview in
separate
paragraphs.
  Making it clear
what each
paragraph is
about.
Cohesion refers to the
connection of ideas at
sentence and
paragraph level. Are
your sentences and
ideas linked together?
You will get a higher You will get a higher You will get a higher You will get a higher
score if you: score for cohesion if score for vocabulary if score if you:
 Select the you: you:  Do not
main/key  Use a range of  Paraphrase the make errors.
features of the linking words question  Use a range of
graph, chart, when correctly. appropriate
map or process. appropriate.  Vary your tenses.
 Write a clear  Use linking vocabulary  Use a range of
overview that words using appropriate
includes the accurately. synonyms. structures.
main/key  Do not over-use  Avoid  Use both
features (main linking words. vocabulary simple
trends, mistakes. and complex
differences,  Spell words sentences.
stages etc.) of correctly.  Use correct
the graph,  Use punctuation.
chart, map or appropriate
process. vocabulary to
 Support them describe
with accurate trends,
detail. comparisons,
 Write at least stages, changes
150 words. etc.

2. Paraphrase Question
Now that we know how the exam is marked we can give the examiners exactly what they want
and prevent common mistakes that stop people getting a high score.
Our very first sentence in Task 1 should always be a paraphrase of the question. Paraphrasing is
when we rewrite phrase or sentence so that it has different words but keeps the same meaning. We
can do this in a number of different ways, but the simplest way is to use synonyms.

For example:
Question: ‘The chart below shows the changes in three different areas of crime in Manchester city
centre from 2003-2012.’
Paraphrased: ‘The line graph displays alterations for burglary, car theft and robbery in the centre of
Manchester between 2003 and 2012.’
The synonyms we used:
chart line graph
shows displays

changes alterations

different areas of crime burglary, car theft and robbery

Manchester city centre the centre of Manchester

from between

So with a few simple synonyms we have paraphrased the sentence and shown the examiner that we
can use this skill effectively and that we have a wide ranging vocabulary, thus two big ticks towards a
high score.
This should be your very first paragraph and we should then skip a line to show the examiner that
we are starting a new paragraph- the overview.

3. Overview
The overview is the most important paragraph in the whole essay and it is impossible to get a high
score if you don’t write a good one.

The question for Academic Task 1 is always the same. It states:

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons

where relevant.

We therefore need to provide a short summary of the main features. You do this in the overview
paragraph by picking out 3-4 of the most significant things you can see and writing them in general
terms. By general, I mean you do not support anything you see with data from the graph or chart,
just write about what you can see at first glance.

A problem students often have is limiting themselves to just three or four things. There is so much
information and it can all seem relevant.

When things are complicated in the IELTS exam, think of a way to simplify them. To make this task
easier, think about this way: if someone asked you to tell them three things and three things only
about the graph what would they be? Thinking this way stops you looking at all the data and focuses
your mind on picking out the most important points.
With line graphs we should look out for what happens generally between the start date and the end
date.

Let’s look at our example again and pick out the ‘main features.’

If I had to say just three general things about the graph above, they would be:
1. Burglary decreases dramatically.
2. Car theft increases steadily.
3. Robbery remains steady throughout the period.
That’s it. You don’t need to over-complicate it. Just find the three or four most obvious things and
pick them out.

We are now ready to take our three main features and add them to our overview paragraph. An
overview paragraph should normally be 2 sentences and state the main features in general terms.
Never support the main features with data in the overview. Dates are fine, but don’t use any other
numbers.

Our overview paragraph will look like this:

The most noticeable trend is that burglary fell dramatically over the period. Car theft fluctuated

until 2008, upon which it rose steadily; whereas the number of robberies remained relatively

stable between 2003 and 2012.

Again, this paragraph is very simple, clear and easy to read.

Now that we have finished our overview it is time to support it with more detail in the next two
paragraphs.
4. Support Overview with Detail
We reported three main features in the overview and now we must take each of those features and
describe them in more detail.

1. If we take robbery first we notice that it goes up a little first, then there is a big drop until
2008 when it goes up slightly and then remains steady.
2. Car theft goes up and down slightly (fluctuates) until 2008, when it rises steadily.
3. Robbery also fluctuates throughout the period but not by much. It rises slightly and drops,
then remains steady for a number of years, before rising and falling slightly again.

Now that we have looked at these in more detail we need to put them into sentences.

Burglaries started at just below three and a half thousand in 2003 and apart from a small rise of

around five hundred offences in 2004, fell drastically to just over one thousand incidents in 2008.

2009 saw a slight rise to just below fifteen hundred in 2009 and it remained in and around this

figure until the end of the time period.

From 2003 to 2008 the number of car thefts shifted between just below two thousand five

hundred and just over two thousand, before rising steadily to nearly three thousand in 2013. Over

the entire period robbery never rose above one thousand and did not go under five hundred.

5. Check Your Work

The first draft of our essay looks like this:

The line graph displays alterations for burglary, car theft and robbery in the centre of Manchester

between 2003 and 2012.

The most noticeable trend is that burglary fell dramatically over the period. Car theft fluctuated

until 2008, upon which it rose steadily; whereas the number of car thefts remained relatively

stable between 2003 and 2012.

Burglary started at just below three and a half thousand in 2003 and apart from a small rise of

around five hundred offences in 2004, fell drastically to just over one thousand incidents in 2008.
2009 saw a slight rise to just below fifteen hundred in 2009 and it remained in and around this

figure until the end of the time period.

From 2003 to 2008 the number of car thefts shifted between just below two thousand five

hundred and just over two thousand, before rising steadily to nearly three thousand in 2013. Over

the entire period robbery never rose above one thousand and did not go under five hundred.

We now should have a few minutes to check our work for mistakes and see if there are any
improvements we could make. This is a crucial stage and you should aim to have at least 3-4 minutes
at the end to check and improve everything.

When we check our work we should:

1. Check spelling and punctuation

2. Check verb tenses. Are they the correct tense?
3. Check accuracy of the data used.
4. Check vocabulary. Is there any repetition we could remove with synonyms?
5. Check paragraphing.
6. Check word limit. Over 150?

You should write your answer in pencil so you can make quick alterations.
Check the draft essay above. What changes would you make?

Sample Essay
Here is another question and an example of a good answer so you can see the 5 step system in
action.
The chart gives information on average monthly temperatures in Paris, Boston and Melbourne.

Paris and Boston have similar climates; both having lower temperatures between November and

March and higher temperatures for the rest of the year, peaking in July and August. Melbourne

has the opposite cycle with cooler temperatures between May and August, with the hotter

months being from September to April.

Boston’s coldest month is January with an average temperature of just under 5 Celsius and the

weather gets increasingly hotter until it reaches a peak of over 30 degrees. It then continues to

decline by approximately 5 degrees per month until December. Similarly January is also Paris’s

coldest, but with a milder temperature of just below 10 C and it steadily rises until it reaches a

peak of just under 25 C in July and August, before becoming consistently cooler until the end of the

year.

In contrast, January and December are Melbourne’s hottest months when temperatures

average just over 25 degrees Celsius. They then steadily fall each month until they get to a low of

around 15 degrees, before getting warmer each month until December.

 IELTS Writing Task 1- Charts Lesson

In part 1 of the writing exam, it is likely that you will have to answer a question on charts. This lesson
will help you to effectively answer IELTS writing task 1 chart questions.

Common Problems

1. Not knowing which information to include in your answer.

2. Being unaware of what the examiner expects.
3. Including opinion and drawing conclusions.
4. Not using an appropriate structure.
5. Not using appropriate grammar for describing data, trends and making comparisons.
6. Not using a wide variety of appropriate vocabulary.
7. Failing to write an effective overview.
8. Copying words and phrases from the question.
9. Failing to support descriptions, trends, and comparisons with accurate data.
10. Writing one long paragraph.

These common problems will stop you getting the IELTS band score you deserve. The advice below
will help you prevent these problems and achieve the score you want.

Different Kinds of Chart Question

All of these charts do one principal thing- represent numbers. Your task is to describe these
numbers.

There are four different types of chart you may have to describe. They are:
1. Line Chart 2. Bar Chart 3. Pie Chart 4. Proportional
(sometimes Bar Chart
called a line
graph)

IELTS task 1 does have other kinds of questions, including maps, process diagrams and comparing
two different charts. These require a different approach and I will write about these in the future.

You also need to ask yourself if it is a static or dynamic chart. A static chart shows data from one
time period. A dynamic chart shows change over time. These will obviously require different tenses.

What IELTS Examiners Expect

The key to the speaking and writing tests is to know exactly what the examiners want and give it to
them.

On the IELTS writing test you will be assessed on four things:

1. Task Achievement
2. Coherence and Cohesion
3. Lexical Resource
 4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Task Achievement Coherence and Lexical Resource Grammatical Range

Cohesion and Accuracy
This requires the This part of the This section is all Obviously, you have to
students to accurately marking criteria about vocabulary and produce
reflect the relevant judges students’ is often the most grammatically
information in the ability to produce an misunderstood. It is accurate sentences to
graph. If you gave answer that is clear, NOT about inserting do well in this section,
your answer to a fluent and easy to as many long words as but it is also about
stranger, would they understand. Structure, you can think of. It is using the appropriate
be able to accurately appropriate about choosing structures. You are
reproduce the graph? vocabulary and good relevant, appropriate expected to use
If they could, then you grammar help to and accurate words. different structures
have fulfilled this task. boost your score here. You will help your for describing
Good paragraphing score here by using a numbers, trends and
and appropriate use variety of vocabulary making comparisons.
of cohesive devices and not simply The most common
can also be used to copying the words in grammar mistake
gain a higher score. the question. students make in
IELTS task 1 is not
using articles and
plurals properly.

If at least 50% of your

sentences are not
grammatically correct
it is hard to score over
a band 7.

Structure

The structure I advise all my students to write is a very simple four paragraph structure. You can use
a different structure if you like, but this one has been proven to be successful and approved by IELTS
examiners.

Paragraph 1 Paragraph 2 Paragraph 3 (Details Paragraph 4 (Details

(Introduction) (Overview) of significant feature of significant feature
1) 2)
Sentence 1- Sentence 1- Overview Sentence 1- Sentence 1-
Paraphrase Question of first main feature Supporting details Supporting details
Sentence 2- Overview Sentence 2- Sentence 2-
of second main Supporting details Supporting details
feature
Sentence 3- Make Sentence 3- Sentence 3-
general comparison, if Supporting Supporting
appropriate details/comparison details/Comparison
details, if appropriate details, if appropriate
We will now look at each paragraph in more detail.

Paragraph 1 (Introduction)

Sentence 1- Paraphrase Question

This paragraph should be one sentence long and demonstrates your ability to paraphrase. You do
this by using synonyms and we will look at it in more detail below.

Paragraph 2 (Overview)

Sentence 1- Overview of first main feature

Sentence 2- Overview of second main feature

Sentence 3- Make general comparison, if appropriate

An overview is a general statement, highlighting the most important information in the table. It
should not include any numbers. This is just a summary of the main features. You can use numbers
to support your answer in paragraphs 3 and 4.

The examiner is testing your ability to identify the most important information and then summarise
it. Important information could include general trends, increase/decreases, differences, comparisons
etc.

Paragraph 3 (Details of significant feature 1)

Sentence 1- Supporting details

Sentence 2- Supporting details

Sentence 3- Supporting details/comparison details/exceptions, if appropriate

In this paragraph, you take the first general statement from paragraph 2 and support it with details
from the graph. The examiner is looking for your ability to choose the correct data and ability to
describe data, trends, comparisons etc..

You then repeat this process for paragraph 4, only this time you describe the second sentence in
paragraph 2.
Paragraph 4 (Details of significant feature 2)

Sentence 1- Supporting details

Sentence 2- Supporting details

Sentence 3- Supporting details/comparison details/exceptions, if appropriate

That’s it. Four paragraphs and 9-10 sentences. Obviously, you need to be flexible and write 8-12
sentences depending on the question. There may also be three significant features, in which case
you can adjust the structure slightly.

You should not write a conclusion. Conclusions are for opinion or discursive essays and we are not
expected to do this in task 1.

This structure will allow you to practice this kind of question over and over, giving you confidence
and a consistent model in the exam.

Identifying Main Features

This is often the area most students struggle with and it is because of one main reason. Students
need to prioritise. Prioritising means you should choose two or three significant features and just
write about these. The examiner expects you to do this and the question will often specifically say
‘select main features.’ There should be 2 or 3 main features for you to comment on.

When students don’t do this they write about every single piece of data they see. This results in
them not summarising (this is a summarising task), not writing an effective overview and spending
too much time on this task. How many students do you know who spent too much time on task 1
and didn’t finish task 2?

Things that you should be looking for include:

 High/low values
 Erratic values
 Biggest increase/decrease
 Volatile data
 Unchanging data
 Biggest majority/ minority (pie charts)
 Biggest difference/similarities
 Major trends
 Notable exceptions

Looking for these things should allow you to pick out the most important features.
Another thing students often do is overthink the question. They think that the answer is too obvious
and therefore don’t write about it. A common main feature is a general increase or decrease. Some
students see this as too simple and ignore it all together. Don’t do this, reporting obvious or simple
features is fine.

Sample Answer

The diagram shows the levels of charitable donations of people living in Britain, separated by age,
between 1990 and 2010.

Overall, there was a general decrease in the percentage of people who donated money over the two
time periods. However, the pattern differs between the three age groups before 50 and the two age
groups after the age of 50.

The highest decrease was in the 18-25 category, which saw a decrease of 10%, from 17% in 1990 to
7% in 2010. 42% of people in the 36-50 age group gave to charity in 1990, the highest on the chart,
and this fell to 35% in 2010. There was also a significant decline in donations among 26-35 year olds,
from 31% to 24%.

The exception to this general trend downwards was among the 51-65 year olds and over 65s. In
2010, the 51-65 year olds gave the highest percentage with nearly 40 percent and this rose from
35% in 1990. Finally, those over 65 displayed a slight percentage increase of 3 percent.

(174 words)

As you can see, this answer follows my structure I suggested above.

Step by Step Instructions

I will now take you through my thought processes and show you step by step how to answer a
question like this.

1. Read the question twice very carefully.

2. Look at the data. What data is represented on the axis? What groups are represented? What
time periods are shown? What are units of measurements?
3. What are the main features?
4. Can I make any comparisons? Are there any exceptions?
5. Make a quick plan using above structure.
6. Write introduction by paraphrasing question.
7. Write second paragraph, which is summary or overview of main features.
8. Support the ideas in second paragraph with more detail in third and fourth paragraphs.
9. Make sure I’ve not repeated any words and used a range of vocabulary.
10. Check for any grammar mistakes and make sure I’ve got at least 150 words.

After writing, I should be able to hand this to a stranger and they would be able to draw the graph.
 IELTS Writing Task 1 Maps Lesson

Different Kinds of Map Question

There are three main types of map question:

1. Describe one map in the 2. Describe two maps- one 3. Describe two maps-
present day. in the present and one one in the past and
in the future. one in the present.

The first kind is very rare, as it only requires you to use the present simple and it is impossible for
any comparisons to be made.

The second kind does come up occasionally and would require you to use present and future tenses.
This kind of question is normally about the future development of a town or city. It requires the
same vocabulary as the other two.

The third is the most common and will be the main focus.

You will normally be shown two maps, as above and asked to select and report the main features,
and make comparisons where relevant. You will obviously be using both present and past tenses to
describe the maps and how the town has developed.

Also, as this is a man-made process we will use the passive.

Source: Cambridge English Practice Papers.

Structure
To describe two maps I advise my students to follow a four paragraph structure.

Paragraph 1- Paraphrase Sentence

Paraphrase question using synonyms.

Paragraph 2- Overview

Make two general statements about the map. You should describe the maps generally and write
about the most noticeable differences between the two maps. You could ask yourself the following
questions to identify general changes. Is the map more or less residential? Is there more or less
countryside? Are there more or less trees? Were the changes dramatic or negligible? Were there any
major improvements in infrastructure? How have the buildings and leisure facilities changed?

Paragraph 3- Main Body 1

Three to four sentences about specific changes that have occurred.

Paragraph 4- Main Body 2

Further three to four sentences about specific changes that have occurred.

You can group information together in paragraph 3 and 4 by time or location, depending on the
question asked.

Look at the sample answer below to see how I have used this structure.

How to Describe Specific Changes

The ability to describe change is crucial to answering these questions. The various buildings and
features will normally be labelled for you. What you need to work on is how to write about how they
have changed from the past up until the present day.

Tip: You may be asked to describe your hometown in the speaking test.

Below I will list various buildings and features and verbs we could describe their change.

Buildings– demolished, knocked-down, flattened, replaced, renovated, built, constructed,

reconstructed, developed, extended, expanded, relocated, converted and modernized.
Examples:

The government demolished the industrial estate and developed a sports ground.

They removed the shops and replaced it with a skyscraper.

A port was constructed at the edge of the river.

The factory in the city centre was demolished and relocated to the north of the city.

The old warehouses were replaced with new hotels.

The factory was converted into apartments.

Trees and Forests- cleared, cut-down, chopped-down, removed, planted.

Examples:

The forest was cut-down and replaced with a shopping centre.

The trees were cleared to make way for houses.

Roads, bridges and railways lines- constructed, built, extended, expanded and removed.

The main road was extended and a new bridge built over the river.

Leisure facilities- opened, set up, developed.

Examples:

A skate park was set up next to the swimming pool.

A park was developed beside the forest.

How to Describe General Changes

As this is an IELTS writing task 1 question we must write an overview and this is where we talk
generally about the main changes that have occurred between the two maps.

Below are some examples of general statements we could use to describe change in towns and
cities.
 1. Over the period, the area witnessed dramatic changes.
2. From 1995 to 2005, the city centre saw spectacular developments.
3. The village changed considerably over the time period.
4. During the 10 year period, the industrial area was totally transformed.
5. Over the past 20 years, the residential area was totally reconstructed.
6. Over the time period, the old docks were totally redeveloped.
7. Between 1995 and 2005, the old houses were rebuilt.
8. The central business district was completely modernised during the time period.

Pick two or three of the most noticeable differences in the map and write a general statement for
each. This will be your overview paragraph.

The more specific changes should be included in your main body paragraphs.

How to Describe Locations

You will also be expected to describe where things are maps and describe where changes have
occurred.

You can use ‘to the left’ and ‘to the right’, but a better way is to use ‘north’, ‘south’, ‘east’ and ‘west’.
I normally advise my students to draw the symbols on the question paper if they are not already
there.

Examples:

The forest to the south of the river was cut down.

A golf course was constructed to the north of the airport.
The houses in the south-west of the town were demolished.
The green fields to the north-west of the city were redeveloped as a park.
The airport in the centre of the city was relocated to the north-east of the river.
The school to the south-east was knocked down and a new one built to the east of theforest.

Finally, you will also be expected to use prepositions of place, e.g. at/in/on/by/beside/to/off/from,
to describe where things are.

Examples:
Dramatic changes took place in the city centre.
To the south of the town, there is a golf course surrounded by trees.
A new school was built next to the swimming pool.
The old road running from north to south was replaced by a new motorway.
A marina was built on the banks of the river.
Sample Answer

Both maps display an island, before and after it was developed for tourism.

The island is approximately 250 metres long, has palm trees dotted around it, is surrounded by
ocean and has a beach to the west. Over the period, the island was completely transformed with the
addition of a hotel and a pier; however, the eastern part of the island appears to have been left
undeveloped.

The most noticeable additions are the hotel rooms. 6 buildings, surrounding some trees, have been
built in the west of the island and 9 buildings have been constructed in the centre of the island.
Between the two accommodation areas, a reception building and a restaurant have been developed.

A pier has also been built on the south coast of the island, allowing yachts access to the resort. Apart
from the trees, the beach remains the only natural feature to remain relatively untouched; however,
it does appear that it is now used for swimming.

(160 words)
 IELTS Task 1 Multiple Graphs

A common question on the IELTS academic task 1 paper asks you to write about two different
graphs.

(Cambridge IELTS 8, page 30)

For example, in the question above we are asked to summarise both a pie chart and a table. You
could also be given a line graph and a bar chart, a pie chart and a line graph or any other
combination. Students normally score lower on these types of questions, not because they are more
difficult, but because they are unfamiliar with this type of question.
Common Problems

Writing too much- Because there is more than one data source, students tend to write about
everything and this causes two problems. The first problem is you only have 20 minutes to answer
task 1 questions and you therefore don’t have time to write about everything. The second problem
is that the question asks you to ‘summarise‘ and ‘report the main features‘, therefore you have to
pick only a few features and report them. In other words, if you write about everything, you have
not answered the question properly.

Solution– Pick 2 of the most obvious features from each graph and limit yourself to writing about
these things and these things only. Don’t worry about leaving information out; the examiner will be
actually looking for your ability to leave insignificant information out because this shows that you
are summarising and only reporting the main features. More on how to do this in the question
analysis below.

Can’t find the main features– This is related to the first point. As stated above you will be looking for
just 2 features in each graph. It is often very difficult for students to decide which features are the
most significant.

Solution– The first important points should be very visual. By that I mean, you should be able to
identify them without looking at the data; just by looking at the graphs. Also, look for extremes
(highs and lows), major trends, major changes (from beginning to end) and any obvious comparisons
that can be made between either the two graphs or within the same graph.

Remember that the most obvious things are the ‘main features’. The examiners are not trying to
trick you and want you to tell them the very obvious things about the graph, so don’t get too clever
and try to find something less obvious.

Not grouping information into paragraphs– It is very important that you organise your ideas into
paragraphs. Paragraphs should be logical and have one main idea. Lots of students fail to do this
because they get confused between the multiple pieces of data in the question and group data from
different graphs into one paragraph. This is very difficult to read and understand and you will lose
marks if you do this.

Solution– Don’t write about both graphs in one paragraph. Follow the structure I suggest below.
Group ideas for each paragraph separately i.e. 1 paragraph for 1 graph.

Making comparisons– The question states ‘make comparisons where relevant‘. The keyword here is
‘relevant’ and this is what tricks many students. Sometimes there will be a relevant comparison to
make, but in some questions there will not. Some students see two different graphs and they
assume that there must be a comparison. They then spend too long looking for a comparison and
then write about one even if they don’t find one.

Solution– If you don’t notice a very obvious comparison between the two sources of data, then stop
looking for one and don’t write about one. It should also be noted that there may also be
comparisons to be made between the data in the same graph.
Structure

This structure can be used for every question in which you are given two different graphs.

Paragraph 1

Sentence 1- Paraphrase question sentences.

There will normally be two question sentences and you should combine them into one sentence by
using ‘and’ or ‘while’. This will allow you to produce a complex sentence and gain points for
grammatical range and accuracy.

Paragraph 2

Sentence 2- Overview of two of the main features from graph number 1.

Sentence 3- Overview of two of the main features from graph number 2.

Sentence 4- Overview of any comparisons if necessary (optional).

Paragraph 3

Sentence 5- Details of first main feature of graph number 1,

Sentence 6- Details of second main feature of graph number 1.

Paragraph 4

Sentence 7- Details of first main feature of graph number 2.

Sentence 8- Details of second main feature of graph number 2.

Sentence 9- Details of any comparisons (if any).

So paragraph 2 should just be an overview of the main features and should not include any details.
The details come in paragraphs 3 and 4.
Sample Answer

Question– The pie chart below shows the main reasons why agricultural land become lesson
productive. The table shows how these causes affected three regions of the world during the 1990s.
(graphs in picture above).

Answer

The pie graph displays the principal causes why farming land deteriorates while the table illustrates
how three regions of the planet were affected by these factors in the 1990s.

As you can see all I have done is change the words in the questions using synonyms and then
connected them using the word ‘while’.

We can clearly see from the pie chart that there are three primary causes of farmland degradation,
and over-grazing is the major one. The table shows that Europe had a far higher percentage of
unproductive land compared to the other two regions in this time period.

For this paragraph I have picked out the main features from each graph and wrote them in a general
way. Notice that I have not included any numbers. We will support our ideas with number in the next
two paragraphs. Also, notice that I am using the present simple for the pie chart because there is no
date and the past tense for the table because it was in the 1990s.

The pie chart represents four causes, with over-grazing representing the biggest proportion at just
over a third. Widespread clearing of trees and the over-use of crops constitute nearly one third and
just over a quarter respectively.

Here I have varied my language by using synonyms for the causes and proportions and fractions for
the data.

The table shows that nearly one quarter of Europe’s entire surface had fallen victim to degeneration.
Only a small proportion of North America’s total land became less productive at 5% and Oceania was
marginally higher with a value of 13%.

(151 words)

IELTS Writing Task 1: Process Questions

Different Types of Process Question

There are generally two different types of process question: natural and man-made.

Natural processes include things like the life cycle of a butterfly or frog, pregnancy, the water cycle
or how cows produce milk.
You might also be asked to describe a man-made process like how coffee, tea, beer or wine are
made, how cement or bricks are produced or how an ATM or the internet works.

It does not matter if it is man-made or a natural process. The same skills and system we use to
answer process questions are the same for both.

Writing Task 1 Process Questions: 5 Step Plan

To understand the task and quickly make a plan to answer process questions you should follow the 7
steps below:

1. Understand the process. Find the start and the end of the process. Count how many stages
there are and understand what each stage does and the relationship it has with the stage
before and after it.
2. Paraphrase the question.
3. Describe what is happening generally in 2 sentences. This is your overview paragraph and I
will show you how to write this in more detail below.
4. Divide the process in two and write two separate paragraphs detailing each stage of the
process.
5. Check your work.

Understand the Process

One of the most challenging things about these questions is having to write about something you
have never seen or heard of before.

Don’t worry, try to remember two things.

First, the examiner knows that you have probably never seen this process before and you have only
20 minutes to write about it. They do not expect a perfect answer. Just pick out the main features
and report them accurately.

Second, you can quickly understand any process by asking yourself these questions:

1. Where does the process start and where does it end?

2. How many stages are there?
3. Is it a man-made process or natural process?
4. Is it a cyclical (in a circle) or linear (one start point and one end point) process?
5. Are there any materials that need to be added to the process?
6. What is produced?
7. What does each stage of the process do?
8. What are the relationships between each stage?

The processes you will be asked to write about in the IELTS test will not be very complicated and you
should be able to easily answer all of the questions above. When you do this you will completely
understand what is happening and you will be able to start writing your answer.
Paraphrase the Question
Every process question follows the same format. First, it tells you some general information about
the process and then it instructs you to ‘Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the
main features.’

For example, the question above states:

The diagram below shows the process of photosynthesis. (General information)

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features. (Instructions)

The first thing we need to do in every question is to paraphrase the general

information. Paraphrasing is one of the most important IELTS skills to master. We paraphrase a
sentence by rewriting it so that the words are different but the meaning stays the same. There are a
few different ways we can do this but the easiest way is to use synonyms and change the word order
of the sentence. Synonyms are different words that have the same meaning, for example, woman
and female.

Let’s look at the questions above and paraphrase them.

Question 1: The diagram below shows the process of photosynthesis.

Paraphrased: The illustration demonstrates how plants produce energy from sunlight.

Question 2: The diagram below shows how electricity is produced in a nuclear power station.

Paraphrased: The illustration below shows the process of how nuclear power plants make
electricity.

Every time you see an Academic Task 1 question rewrite the question and this should be your first
paragraph. We can no move on and write our next paragraph; the overview.

Overview of Process
The overview is probably the most important paragraph in the whole essay. If you do not write an
overview it is extremely difficult to get a high mark in IELTS Task 1, however, if you learn how to
write a good one, you are far more likely to get the score you deserve.

Overviews for process questions can be done quite easily by asking yourself a few questions. The
answers to these questions will allow you to form 2 overview sentences.
 1. Is it a man-made or natural process?
2. How many stages are there?
3. What is produced?
4. Where does it start and where does it end?
5. Is it cyclical or linear?
6. Are any materials added?

You might not be able to answer all of these for each process question, but you will always be able
to answer enough of them to be able to write a good overview.

Detail Each Stage of the Process

Now that we have paraphrased the question and provided an overview we need to tell the examiner
about each stage in more detail.

You can:

 say what each stage does

 what it produces
 if any materials are added
 and/or discuss the relationship with the previous or subsequent stages.

Sequencing the Process

Try to sequence your language and make your details easier to read by using language like:

 Firstly
 First of all
 Secondly
 After that
 From this
 Where
 Following that
 Subsequently
 Before that
 In turn
 Then

Make sure you know the meaning and grammar of the words and phrases above before you use
them. Do not use them if you are not 100% sure about how they should be used in a sentence.

Check Your Essay

You should try to leave 3-4 minutes at the end to check and improve your work. Many students do
not do this because they feel they do not have enough time, however, it is better to try and get
everything done in 15 minutes and then check and refine your work, than do everything in 20
minutes.
Things that you should check are:

1. Are there any spelling or punctuation mistakes?

2. Are the verbs the correct tense?
3. Does the process I describe make sense? Does it match the diagram?
4. Is there any vocabulary repetition we could remove with synonyms?
5. Do I have 4 clear paragraphs?
6. Did I write over 150 words?
7. Have I included things only obvious from the diagram?
8. Have I included the main features in the overview?