IELTS WritingTask 1

WRITING
TASK 1
Ho Chi Minh City, April 2020.
CONTENTS
Task Achievement (TA)
Coherence and Cohesion (CC)
Lexical Resource (LR)
Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA)
Types of charts
Diagram with a time periods
Diagram with no time periods
Processes
Cycles
Flow charts
Objects
Maps
Writing task 1 essay structure
HOW TO WRITE FOR
WRITING TASK 1
How to write an introduction
writing task 1?
INTRODUCTION
Paraphrase the question
Paraphrase the main ideas by choosing:
change structure
use synonyms
use relative clause
The structure of the Introduction statement
The + Type of chart + Verb + Description +
Paraphrase of the content
Ex: The graph below shows the proportion of the population aged 65 and over between 1940 and 2040 in three different countries.
Introduction: The line graph compares the percentage of people who are 65 or more years old in the USA, Sweden and Japan from 1940 to 2040.
Ex: The pie charts show the main reasons for
migration to and from UK in 2007
 Identify synonyms and phrases as follows:
• Show = illustrate, compare.
• The main reason = the primary reasons,
the primary causes.
• Migration to and from the UK = people came
and left the UK.
• In 2007 = in the year 2007
 Replace the synonyms in the correct position you get the new sentence for the Introduction section as follows:
The pie charts illustrate the primary reasons that people came to and left the UK in the year 2007
Use synonyms
(replace nouns, verbs with synonyms)
Change the word form:
Active  Passive
Ex: The chart shows the number of mobile phones and landlines per 100 people in selected countries.
-> The graph is illustrated with the number of mobile phones and landlines per 100 people in selected countries.
Change the word form:
Passive  Active
Ex: The chart below shows the amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women of different employment status.
-> The chart below shows the amount of leisure time men and women of different employment status enjoyed.
Change the word form/ Sentence structure
The proportion of/ the number of/ the quantities of
= “what proportion of + noun”/ “what number of + noun”
The chart/ graph… shows/ illustrates/ compare...in terms of…
The chart/ graph… shows/ illustrates/ compare how to + V
The chart/ graph… shows/ illustrates/ compare how S + V
The chart + compares + countries + in terms of + Comparative criteria/ information
Change the word form/ Sentence structure
Ex: The chart indicates the percentage of the world’s oil resources is held.
=> The chart indicates what percentage of the world’s oil resources is held.
(The proportion of/ the number of/ the quantities of = “what proportion of + Noun”/ “what number of + Noun”).
Change the word form/ Sentence structure
Use relative clauses
Who
Whom
Which
Whose
That
Ex: The line graph below gives information on cinema attendance in the UK.
The given line graph illustrates information on the percentage of people who went to the movies in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 2010.
(Relative clause)
How to write a overview
writing task 1?
How to write a clear, coherent and
relevant overview?
The overview is a very important part of your task 1 report.
Overview is briefly describing the general ideas or a brief summary of parameters/ information in tables and charts.
Identify trends, major changes or steps
Usually in each overview section you need to give 1 or 2 key features of the chart. What are the main characteristics?
Decide how to express key information
After identifying the main characteristics in the panorama, the next step is to identify the information related to these key characteristics and the presentation: grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure.
How to write an overview writing task 1?
What are the highest/lowest values?
What are the most noticeable difference?
Any similarities?
Any significant exceptions?
What does the data do from the start to the finish?
Do they generally go up or down or do they fluctuate?
Any significant difference from the general trend?
Overall increase/decrease?
Peaks/lows?
How to select the features? 
Vocabulary
Grammar & Sentence structure
The line graph compares the fast food consumption of teenagers in Australia between 1975 and 2000, a period of 25 years. Overall, the consumption of fish and chips declined over the period, whereas the amount of pizza and hamburgers that were increased.
Diagram with time period
Writing task 1 essay structure
Types of charts
Diagram with a time periods
Diagram with no time periods
Processes
Cycles
Flow charts
Objects
Maps
Popular
Less common
IELTS WRITING TASK 1
DESCRIBING OBJECT
OBJECT
An Air Conditioner
A Printer
Aucoustic guitar and Electric guitar
Effiel tower and Petronas tower
The Solar system
A Bicycle
Topic sentence
Body: Overview + describing object’s details
Useful language
It is (roughly/sort of) square, rectangular, round/circular,…(in shape)
It is … (colour /texture)
It is made of … (material)
You use it for .. + (-ing)
It is flattish, squarish, …; silvery, silky,…
DESCRIBING MAP
IELTS WRITING TASK 1
DESCRIBING MAP
New convenience store?
S1
S2
Type 1
Location
Advantages and Disadvantages
Writing about the advantages and disadvantages.
How many different of synonyms can you think of?
Type 1
The kind of advantages and disadvantages that you might be able to write about are usually related to the following factors:
Environmental Financial Pollution - noise, water, air, land
Health and Safety Social Convenience
Inconvennience Time Ecological
The changes of the map.
Map analysis
1
2
3
A
B
1
Type 2
Vocabulary to describe changes:
Type 2
PRACTICE
Type 2
Useful sentence structures for describing maps
S + V (describe the changes)
Time + witness/ experience/ show + N (describe the changes)
There + be + N of + something
Direction + witness/ experience/show + N (describe the changes)
Use relative clauses
Complex sentence
Compound sentence
Another striking change is…
A notable change has been…
The whole city has experienced a significant modernization…
An interesting development has been…
There did not use to be…
The last few years have seen the construction of…
More specific
Structures
The different types of process question
Natural process
Manufacturing process
Natural process (cycle): a series of events, or phenomena, that repeat themselves in the same order until completion. Once completed, the end stage is identical to the first stage, and the same series of events is then repeated in exactly the same order.
The different types of process question
Manufacturing process (man-made process): can be thought of as a series of actions or changes. Or, put more simply, it shows you how something is made or changed in some way.
The different types of process question
Flow charts
The flowchart illustrates the production of coloured plastic paper clips in a small factory.
Write a report for a university tutor describing the production process.
Write at least 150 words.
Steps to write the body process form
Determine the number of steps in the process

Determine the first and last step of a process
Write the body

Try to understand how each stage connects to the next, and describe clearly what happens
Use the simple present verb tense – passive form
Use time order phrases
The diagram below shows how orange juice is produced. Write at least 150 words
The diagram shows the process in which orange juice is produced.
Overall, there are two different ways to produce orange juice, including eighteen steps in total. The process starts at delivering fresh oranges and ends at selling finished orange juice bottles.
Firstly, fresh oranges are picked and delivered by truck to factories where they are washed and squeezed so as to extract juice. The waste solid becomes food for animals while the juice is processed in two different ways. The simpler one is that fresh juice is pasteurized and packaged before being dispatched to shops.
The second way is to produce concentrate juice by shipping this juice in a refrigerator truck to another factory for water to evaporate. The resulting product is then canned and transported to a warehouse. At the final stage, this concentrate juice is mixed with water in a factory and then poured into bottles, ready for sale.
Food consumption in the U.S. between 1980 to 2000
DIAGRAMS WITH A TIME PERIOD
Identify time-related charts & tables
Analyze & select the important features
Write the body
STEPS TO A PERFECT BODY:
Identify time-related charts & tables
Purpose of travel at a metropolitan airport
Identify time-related charts & tables
Analyze & select the important features
Not meeting task requirements
Repeating vocabularies & sentence structures
Not enough time
Describe in details
Important Features:
The extremes
The overall trends
Comparison (wherever possible)
The peak
The trough
The highest
The constant
Continued fall
Analyze & select the important features
Purpose of travel at a metropolitan airport
Analyze & select the important features
Analyze & select the important features
Purpose of travel at a metropolitan airport
- The extremes - The overall trends - Comparison
Brian
George
Paul
The extremes:
Brian is the least favored name in the 1920s with very few people opting for this name.
Write the body
Brian
George
Paul
Write the body
The extremes:
The popularity of Brian reached a peak of 19,000 in the early 1970s.
Brian
George
Paul
Write the body
The trends:
The name to experience a continued fall in usage was George, dropping from just over 23,000 to a low of approximately 1,500 names.
Brian
George
Paul
Write the body
The trends:
The rate of parents using the name Paul remained constant at a little over 12,000 throughout the 1950s.
Brian
George
Paul
Write the body
Comparison:
The name Brian was then chosen more than the other two names by the 2000s.
Brian
George
Paul
Write the body
Comparison:
The name George dropped to a low of 1,500 boys, a position shared with Paul.
Write the body
Write the body
dramatic, sharp, significant, steep, rapid, considerable, noticeable
moderate, gradual, progressive
relative, steady, constant
Slight, slow, mild, gentle, little
Write the body
The line chart compares and contrasts data on the popularity of three boys` names over an 80-year period measured in terms of their frequency per one million babies.
In general, the prominence of two of these names decreased while that of the third rose from the early 20th century to the start of the 21st.
Although Brian was the least favored name in the 1920s with very few people opting for this name, it was then chosen more than the other two names by the 2000s with 4,000 boys per million. The only name to experience a continued fall in usage was George, dropping from just over 23,000, the most common name in the 1920s, to a low of approximately 1,500 names, a position shared with Paul. In addition, the rate of parents using the name Paul remained constant at a little over 12,000 throughout the 1950s. One further point to note is that the popularity of Brian reached a peak of 19,000 in the early 1970s.
Write the body
The line chart compares and contrasts data on the popularity of three boys` names over an 80-year period measured in terms of their frequency per one million babies.
In general, the prominence of two of these names decreased while that of the third rose from the early 20th century to the start of the 21st.
Although Brian was the least favored name in the 1920s with very few people opting for this name, it was then chosen more than the other two names by the 2000s with 4,000 boys per million. The only name to experience a continued fall in usage was George, dropping from just over 23,000, the most common name in the 1920s, to a low of approximately 1,500 names, a position shared with Paul. In addition, the rate of parents using the name Paul remained constant at a little over 12,000 throughout the 1950s. One further point to note is that the popularity of Brian reached a peak of 19,000 in the early 1970s.
Write the body
4.
DIAGRAMS WITH A NO TIME-PERIOD
Compare
Source: Google
Source: IELTS the complete guide to task 1 Writing, Phil Biggerton
Numbers
Try to use fractions as well as percentage whenever possible.
Ex:
19 per cent of N20 is
found in the gas compound which
cause the “Greenhouse Effect”
Almost one fifth of the gas
compound which cause the
“Greenhouse Effect” is N20
TIP: NEVER write 19 percentage
Source: IELTS the complete guide to task 1 Writing, Phil Biggerton
Usually combined with fractions:
Slightly over/ slightly under
A little more/ a little less
Just over/ just under
Approximately, exactly, precisely
Example:
A little over/Just over three quarters of all the people (77%) stated that “Job Satisfaction” was the most important factor that influenced their performance at work
Example:
- In the 1980s, approximately half of all purchases of watches were made by females (47%)
Use estimation
Highest/Lowest
Find the highest and lowest value among the given number, compare/ talk about them. You should spend two sentences for this part. One for the highest and one for the lowest and then compare the difference in number.
Highest/Peak
Lowest/ Trough
For example:
Highest: Carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to enhancing the effect of global warming with a figure of 72.369%
For example:
Lowest: This contrasts with the category consisting of miscellaneous gases which only adds 1.43 2% to this, a difference of about 71%.
Make comparison
Last but not least, you should rank the position among the given categories.
Rank the categories
The bar chart compares and contrasts data on the different proportions of involvement in the greenhouse effect of four categories of gases
In general, carbon dioxide contributes to the green house effect far more than the other gases
More specifically, carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to enhancing the effect of global warming with a figure of 72.369%. This contrasts markedly with the category consisting of miscellaneous gases which only adds 1.432% to this, a difference about 71%. The second main contributor, although with much lower figures than carbon dioxide, is nitrogen dioxide. This contributes to this issue by almost a fifth (19%) and is a share that is nearly three times bigger than methane, the third most important category with figures of 7.199%. The main gas listed here (carbon dioxide) is a little over tenfold larger in its overall share than the third main gas (methane) with figures of 72.369% and 7.199% respectively.
Paraphrase
Overview
Highest
Lowest
Comparison
Fractions +
Estimation
Ranking
Fractions +
Estimation
(again)
Model answer (~154 words)
COMMON MISTAKE
1. Grammar mistakes
Incorrect tense
Not using linking words
Using informal writing style
Other grammar mistakes
1a. Incorrect tense
A singular noun/expression needs a singular verb, Plural nouns needs a plural verb
1b. Not using/overuse linking words
1c. Using informal writing style
1d. Other grammar mistakes
Thousands/ a thousand…
Expressions which need a plural noun
Inserting Numbers Instead of Words
No adding ‘s’ or ‘es’ To Uncountable Nouns
Poor spelling
Wrong word order
Incorrect punctuation
The number of part-time female students increased dramatically from 700 thousands to 1.2 million in the twenty year period. The number of women in fulltime education went up more gradually from a 100 thousand in 1971 to just over 200 thousands in 1991. This was similar the increase for fulltime male students.
2. Copying the rubric

The pie charts show the main reasons for migration to and from UK in 2007

The pie charts illustrate the primary reasons that people came to and left the UK in the year 2007
3. Do not use estimation
approximately
roughly
just under
The chart below shows the changes in three differrent areas of Manchester city centre from 2003 -2012
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and making comparision where relevant
Appoximately/ around 1500
Just more than 1500
4. Incorrect analysis
Which one of the following sentences is inaccurate?
Mobile usage grew over the period shown
There was a rise in the use of national and international fixed lines
Local fixed line usage fluctuated over the period shown.
5. Reporting every detail
In 1999, 100 million people entered post-graduate programs. In 2000, this  number increased to 110 million. By 2001, this number had again increased to 150 million. Finally, in 2002, the number of people in post-graduate programs decreased slightly to 120 million.
6. Expressing your opinion
I think that...
I believe that...
I would suggest...
It`s obvious that...
In my opinion...

DO NOT WRITE IN THE FIRST PERSON
7. Over-complicating the question
1. Grammar mistakes
2. Copying the question
3. Do not use estimation
4. Incorrect analysis
5. Reporting every detail
6. Expressing your opinion
The table below show the consumer durables…

Incorrect tense
The table below shows the consumer durables…
2. The total number of prisoner incarcerated in 1900 was 5000

plural/ single noun
The total number of prisoners incarcerated in 1900 was 5000
4. Recent research shows that only 2 out of 10 individuals around the world today do not have mobile phones.
Inserting Numbers Instead of Words
Recent research shows that only two out of ten individuals around the world today do not have mobile phones.
6. This is because more ways of communication are now available, people are now being connected through mobile phones and a range of network devices.
Incorrect punctuation
This is because more ways of communication are available and people are being connected through mobile phones and a range of network devices.
The line graph demonstrates how many UK people commute each day by 3 different forms of transport namely car, bus, train over a 60 - year-period starting in 1970
Copying the rubric
The red line fluctuated from 2002 to 2004
Incorrect analysis
The red line grow from 2002 to 2004
The number of widgets grew from 0 in 2000 to 10 in 2001. Then it increase to 20 in 2002. After that, it fell to 15 in 2003
Reporting every detail
The number peaked in 2002 at 20 and then fell to 15 in 2003
SUMMARY
Tips for IELTS Task 1
Do
Do find out what are your most common mistakes.
Do
Do read the instructions carefully.
Do
Do spend time organising and planning
your answer.
Don’t
Don’t use the same words for percentages and numbers.
Don’t
Don’t use bullet points, notes or abbreviations.
Don’t
Don’t write every number you see.
Don’t
Don’t have messy handwriting.
Don’t
Don’t just focus on line and bar graphs.
Every type of question.
Don’t
Don’t panic!
Good luck !