Writing tips

As I promised to many of you, this is what you need to know about the Academic IELTS Test Writing Task 1.

The task here is to describe a graph in a report. The report is intended for a university lecturer, so the language you use should be appropriate.

There are several different graphs you could see in a Writing Task 1:

Single line graph – see example

Double line graph – see example

Bar graph (Single, Double or Triple bar graph) – see example

Pie chart – see example

Table – see example

Process

No matter what graph, diagram or table you are describing, you shouldn’t break these rules:

Your report must be of at least 150 words written in 20 minutes.

You shouldn’t write your opinion or copy words from the task prompt – rephrase and use synonyms instead.

Never use bullets, write as if you were writing an essay or a letter.

When your Academic Writing Task 1 is graded by IELTS examiners, they look for this structure:

Introduction
Overview
Body

The Introduction should state what the graph/chart is describing, this is basically the task prompt that has been rephrased to some extent.

The Overview should talk about the most noticeable features/trends you can see on the graph. Remember that you are describing a graph to someone who can’t see it, so you need to visualise it for them. Don’t mention any particular figures in the overview paragraph, only the trends.

The Body should describe the most important trends in more detail, while all information is summarised to avoid unnecessary detail. For example, if there is a graph that has 2 peaks, you should mention them; tell when those peaks appeared and what the peak values are. Notice how many distinctive features the diagram has and divide information into paragraphs, one paragraph per feature. You should link the paragraphs by sentences that logically connect them to one another.

Important! You need to write about all the periods of time and all the subjects of graph. If it shows several years (1992, 1993, 1994) – write about all of them, if it is about men and women – write about both. Remember, summarizing doesn’t mean throwing away information. The secret here is to select what’s important, organize it, compare and contrast.

The Conclusion should sum up the global trends shown on the graph and compare them if possible.

And if you need some sample answers, here they are, enjoy.

Let’s continue with the Writing tips, because I have more of them for you.

By the way, for those of you who can’t wait to read “Ace The IELTS” book – it is coming, I will release it very soon. In the meantime – you’ll have to settle for these tips :).

In the Writing Task 2 you will receive a topic and you will have to write an essay of 250 words.
This task has more weight than the Writing task 1. It also takes longer – 40 minutes, whereas Writing task 1 takes only 20 minutes.

The topic of an essay can be one of 3 possible types: a description of an opinion, an argument or a social problem.

Any essay you write on any topic must have structure – you can receive (or lose :() points for it. Structure means having at least 4 paragraphs (5 is better). The first paragraph is introductory, the next two or three are the actual essay body, and the last one is the conclusion.

The first thing to do is to understand what kind of topic is before you.

Next:

for an argument – you need to explain both sides and agree with one of them

for an opinion – you need to present another point of view and say which one you agree with and why

for a problem – you need to explain it, discuss and offer a solution and discuss it too.

No matter what type of essay you are writing, you must provide some facts, evidence and information. When you explain the problem – evaluate it; say when/where/who for it is especially difficult. If you present an idea of solution – discuss it; say what its good and bad sides are. Add examples from your own experience to support what you’re saying.

In any essay the logical sequence of information is very important. Jumping from one idea to another is very bad for you score, all ideas must be connected logically. Another important thing is “smart” words – try to use them as much as you can, because this also affects your score. Punctuation is important too. Take a look at some Examples Of Writing Task 1 and Writing Task 2 here. This file is from the IELTS official site – it can be trusted.

That’s all for today – keep up the good work!