06/07/2016
Found on Facebook, hope it could assist our prospecitive candidates who are going to face the exam smile emoticon:)
Tips of IELTS TASK ONE.
There are several different graphs you could see in a Writing Task 1:
• Single line graph –
• Double line graph –
• Bar graph (Single, Double or Triple bar graph) –
• Pie chart –
• Table –
• 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
Body
Conclusion
The Introduction should describe the purpose of your report and say what overall trends you see.
For example, if the graph is climbing up or dropping down, you should mention that. You need to remember that you are describing a graph to someone who doesn’t see it. Write what the graph is about, its dates and location.
The Body should describe the most important trends, while all information is summarized to avoid unnecessary details. 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.
Introducing the topic
• The graph shows… / The table reveals…
• The chart displays… / The diagram illustrates…
• Some interesting facts concerning… are revealed in the diagram.
• Several key trends are revealed by the graph showing…
Introducing the first set of data
• Beginning with the…
• To begin with the…
• Let me begin by describing the…
Introducing the second set of data
• Meanwhile, the… shows that…
• As for the… , it shows that…
• Turning to the… , it can be seen that…
Introducing the first major trend
• First of all, it is clear that…
• Most noticeably of all, it can be seen that…
• The first result worth pointing out is that…
Introducing lesser trends
• Another trend that can be observed is that…
• It is also worth pointing out that…
• Also worth noting is that…
Exceptions to the main trend
• However, this was not always the case.
• However, it should be pointed out that…
• There was one noticeable exception, however.
Comparing and contrasting
• Similarly, … / By contrast, …
• A similar trend can be observed in…
• The results for… , however, reveal a markedly different trend.
Adding figures
• The figures were X and Y respectively.
• …, at X. / …, with Y. (Usage note: use ‘at’ when you mean ‘the figure was’; use ‘with’ when you mean ‘something had’)
• …, at/with X and Y respectively.
Concluding and summarising
• To sum up, … / In summary, … / In short, …
• Overall, … / On the whole, …
• The main thing that can be observed here is that…
Vocabulary to show the changes:
Trends Verb form Noun Form
Increase rise / increase / go up / uplift / rocketed / climb / upsurge / soar. a rise / an increase / an upward trend / a growth
Decrease fall / decrease / decline / plummet / plunge / drop / reduce a fall / a decrease / a reduction / a downward trends /a downward tendency / a decline/ a drop
Steadiness unchanged / level out / remain constant / remain steady / plateau / remain the same / remain stable / remain static a steadiness/ a plateau / a stability/ a static
Gradual Increase
------ an upward trend / an upward tendency / a ceiling trend
Gradual decrease
------ a downward trend / a downward tendency / a descending trend
Standability leveled off / remained constant / remained unchanged / remained stable / prevailed consistency / plateaued / reached a plateau / stayed uniform /immutable / leveled out
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Vocabulary to represent changes in graphs:
Type of Change Adverb form Adjective form
Rapid change dramatically / rapidly / sharply / quickly / hurriedly / speedily / swiftly dramatic / rapid / sharp / quick / hurried / speedy / swift
Moderate change moderately / gradually / progressively / sequentially moderate / gradual / progressive / sequential
Slight change slightly / slowly / mildly / tediously slight / slow / mild / tedious
Type of Change
Verb form
Noun form
Rapid ups and downs
wave / fluctuate / oscillate / vacillate / palpitate
waves / fluctuations / oscillations / vacillations / palpitations