10 ESSENTIAL elements of an excellent IELTS Writing Task 1

1. Write a minimum of 160* words

*The instructions say 150 words, but they do not count words that are already in the Task.

Practise writing 160 words minimum before the test. 

There are always some words you cannot change, e.g. ‘chart’ or ‘map’, but try to use synonyms as much as possible (especially in the first line, where you must paraphrase the question paper):

e.g. (Question paper) ‘The map shows…’ 

       (Your answer)   ‘The map illustrates….’ or ‘In the map we can see….’

Do not write more than 220 words. This suggests that you are describing in too much detail. It is also possible that the examiner will not read the full response if it is over-length.

2. Paraphrase the question

For your introduction, you simply need to paraphrase the question.

You have two choices:

(a) Replace certain words with synonyms that you feel confident with e.g.

• The chart shows average carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal.
• = The chart (illustrates, compares, analyses, outlines, highlights, gives data on, displays, examines, provides an analysis of) CO2 emissions in four European countries.

DON’T say ‘below’ or ‘given’: ‘The chart below‘ or ‘The given chart’.

(b) Restructure the sentence – this will show the examiner you can use more complex structures by changing nouns into verbs, and using the PASSIVE form:

• The chart shows average carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal.
• = The chart examines how much CO2 was emitted in four European countries.

Don’t try to change every word – that makes it sound unnatural.

Top Tip 1

You can often group countries into regions e.g. in Italy, France, Spain and Poland  = in 4 European countries or use the adjective form e.g. a university in the UK = a British University.

Top Tip 2

Vary the way you describe the time period e.g.

• from 1995 to 2015
• between 1995 and 2015
• over a 20-year period
• over two decades.

DON’T describe what the ‘x-axis’ and ‘y-axis’ show.

These are just details that the reader can see. It is a waste of time and words.

3. Quickly decide on 3 key features.

If you’re doing the paper-based test, write on the Question Paper.

Draw quick arrows so you can easily see what went up/down. Label the lines on a graph so you can see them more clearly.

Find

• the highest/the lowest
• the things that changed the most/the least
• the things which are the same 
• the things which are different (What bucks the trend? What is the outlier?)

This should only take 2-3 minutes.

Find an ‘overall trend’, something which is very general and relates to the graph/chart as a whole (imagine you can’t see the numbers).

MOST graphs show changes over time (dynamic graphs), so you look at them horizontally (e.g. sales increased/decreased over a 10-year period).

But you also need to compare who had the highest/lowest sales over the period – this is comparing vertically.

4. Decide what tense(s) you need.

Most dynamic graphs describe changes that took place in the PAST.

This means that you must put most of the verbs in the SIMPLE PAST.

However, sometimes you may need to make PREDICTIONS.

If you’re describing a graph that has no time marker (e.g. percentage of salt/fat in everyday food, location of world’s oil resources, poverty rates according to age/gender) choose the PRESENT SIMPLE. 

5. Include specific data

e.g. sales decreased by 20%, prices went up from £10 to £20, numbers peaked at 300.

But nobody wants to read a lot of confusing numbers.

Avoid this by:

• rounding up wherever you can (use words like approximately, around, about, just over/under)
• putting numbers in brackets
• analysing information (see Point 6 below)

There are many ways of describing and including data, for example:

• How to use ‘Twice as much/as many’.

6. DON’T just list numbers

Don’t describe every detail – the examiner can see the details. You need to analyse and make comparisons.

Which of these sentences is easier for the reader to follow and process?

(a) ‘Tourist numbers went up to 61,335 in 1982, then they went down to 51,345 in 1985, then they increased again to 111,372 in 1995 and then they fell to 69,999 in 2000’.

(b) In 1985 there were only around 50K visitors, but this figure had more than doubled a decade later.

Sentence (a) is actually quite difficult to read because there are too many numbers and no analysis. Sentence (b) makes far more sense to the reader.

Try to find quick ways of ANALYSING the numbers.

Top Tip 3

Look for numbers that have halved, doubled,tripled,etc.

Look for places where you can show complex analysis e.g.

• (BEFORE) Numbers increased from 3000 visitors in 2000 to 12,000 visitors in 2005.
• (AFTER) There were four times as many visitors in 2005 as there were in 2000
• (OR) Tourist numbers increased fourfold. 

Add some extra data if necessary e.g. 

• …with 12,000 people visiting the town in 2005 compared to a quarter as many in 2000.

More examples:

• The cost of a phone contract halved. It fell from around £30 to £15 a month.
• The cost of a phone contract halved, falling from around £30 to £15 a month.

Get more advice on using with + ing verb here.

7. Use natural linking words

But don’t start every sentence with ‘However’ ‘In addition’ ‘Nevertheless’ etc. Try to use more variety in your linking words e.g. even though, whereas, apart from.

Top Tip 4

Use expressions like these to introduce your paragraphs:

First paragraphs:

• Looking first of all at…
• Let us start with …
• Let us start by examining/ looking at …

These can be followed by either

1) a reference to the chart/graph/table that you are analysing

or

2) a reference to the particular aspect that you are analysing e.g. If we look first at the number of/percentage of/proportion of/expenditure on/forecasts for/the figures for etc, we can see that there was a significant increase.

Second Paragraphs

• Let us look now at…
• Looking more closely at …
• Turning now to…

8. Use a variety of expressions to describe change.

If you are describing a DYNAMIC graph (the most common type), try to use a variety of language e.g.

(a) a simple verb + adverb collocation (It fell considerably)

(b) a more complex adjective + noun collocation (There was a considerable fall.)

(c) other phrases 

(d) prepositions

---

(a) verb + adverb: It fell considerably.

Verbs that describe change:

Infinitive – Past Simple – Present Perfect

• go up – went up – has/have gone up
• go down – went down – has/have gone down
• rise – rose – has/have risen
• fall – fell – has/have fallen

Add an adverb to describe SPEED or SIZE of change:

• gradually
• slightly
• suddenly, 
• noticeably

List of verbs which convey speed/size

• soar
• peak/reach a peak
• dip

Verbs which show no change

• level out/off
• remain steady

Other verbs of change

• fluctuate
• vary

(b) adjective + noun: There was a considerable fall.

It is much more difficult to use this combination, as you have to use the tricky ‘There is/are/was/were”.

This improves the complexity of your writing.

Nouns that describe change: (There was…)

• a fall
• a rise

Adjectives to describe the changes:

• gradual
• slight
• sudden
• noticeable

(c) Other phrases

• see
• experience

e.g. 

• The town experienced/sawa number of changes

(d) Prepositions 

Watch out for the following prepositions:

• There was an increase OF 20%
• The number of tourists increased BY 20%.
• There was an increase IN the number of tourists.
• The percentage started/stood/peaked/remained steady/levelled out AT 20% (no movement)
• The percentage increased/decreased TO 20%. (verbs of movement)

And don’t forget all the prepositions relating to time periods:

• IN: months, years
• ON: days
• AT: times
• OVER: a 20-year period
• DURING: this period

9. DON’T give your opinion.

It is very tempting to give your opinion on why the changes happened, but don’t.

Don’t say why you think something happened – this will lose points in Task Achievement because it is considered to be subjective rather than objective.

e.g. if you notice that sales fell dramatically in 2008, DON’T say ‘this was probably due to the global financial crisis’.

Just report the facts.

Avoid any ’emotional’ language unless it is specifically stated in the graph.

e.g. Don’t say ‘50% of over 60s enjoyed/preferred going to the gym’ when the graph simply shows that ‘50% of over 60s WENT to the gym’.

10. Write an ‘overview’.

This is an essential element of a Task 1 response.

Don’t confuse the overview with the introduction. 

An overview is absolutely crucial for a minimum score of 6 in Task Achievement. It can be very general and does not need to include data/numbers/figures.

Try to see the ‘big picture’ (but don’t be afraid to say that there was no significant change, or no significant differences, or ‘no correlation between…’ if that is the big picture).

• Always include a sentence beginning ‘Overall,…’
• This can come at the start (in the introduction) or at the end as your final paragraph.

• Try not to repeat information that you have already mentioned.
• You do not need to add data in the overview – in fact, it is better NOT to use data in the overview.

DON’T spend more than 20 minutes on Task 1

Task 2 is worth more than Task 1, so make sure that you stop after 20 minutes, and go on to Task 2.

My advice is:

• Plan* – 3 minutes
• Intro and Overview – 3 minutes
• Main Body – 12 minutes
• Edit* – 2 minutes

*Don’t skip the planning and editing