DOCUMENT FOR IELTS WRITING

OVERVIEW OF IELTS WRITING TASK 1

I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION
 150 words in 20’
 One-third of total score
 6 forms: line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, tables, maps and processes; each with its own style of
writing and appropriate use of vocabulary
II. AIMS
The task is designed to test test-takers’ ability to
 Objectively describe the information given to you
 Report on a topic without the use of opinion
 Use suitable language to describe the graph
III. TASK 1 FORMAT
A. General format
Introduction

Overview

Detail paragraph 1

Detail paragraph 2

B. Way to write
1. Introduction: Paraphrasing 
2. Overview: The most noticeable features (highest, lowest, sharp rise, considerable fall…….)
3. Detail paragraphs: Describing & Making Comparisons
Each detail paragraph can be introduced by one of the following:
According to the table/chart,…
As is shown in the diagram, …
As is illustrated by the graph,…
As can be seen from the figures,…
It can be seen from the chart (that)…
It is clear/ apparent from the graph/figures (that)…
The above given graph shows…
The first obvious feature of this chart is that…

IV. EDITING
- Check the accuracy of written data in your writing
- Check word count (150 words or more)
- Check each paragraph 
      * clear introduction
      * clear overview
      * organize body paragraphs logically and state dominant points in the graphs
      * use correct connectives for coherence
- Check vocabulary
      * use a variety of words (don’t repeat them)
      * check spelling
- Check grammar
 * verb tense (look at the graphs to determine verb tense)
 * check punctuation marks
 WRITING LINE GRAPHS
I. WAY TO WRITE A LINE GRAPH:
The line graph below shows the household recycling rates in three different countries between 2005
and 2015countries.

 
1. INTRODUCTION
 1 - 2 sentence introduction
 Paraphrase the information given in the graph including the date, location, what is being described in
the graph etc.
 Notice the tense used. Even though it describes information from the past, the graph shows the
information in the present time.
 Introductory expressions
-The graph shows/indicates/illustrates/reveals/represents/ provides information about
- It is clear from the graph 
- It can be seen from the graph
- As the graph shows,
- From the graph it is clear
The line graph below shows the household recycling rates in three different countries between 2005
and 2015.
⇢ The line graph illustrates the regional household recycling rates in the UK, France and Germany
from 2005 to 2015.
Another example
The graph  below shows the figures for imprisonment in five countries between 1930 and 1980.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………

2.OVERVIEW
 Contains key information from the graph (Describe the overall trend: The most noticeable feature
(highest, lowest, sharp rise, considerable drop)
 Have no numbers, no percentages, no dates
 Be often introduced by     
 Overall,   
  It is clear that……, 
 It is noticeable that…….
 According to the table/chart,…
 As is shown in the diagram, …
 As is illustrated by the graph,…
 As can be seen from the figures,…
 It can be seen from the chart (that)…
 It is clear/ apparent from the graph/figures (that)…
 The above given graph shows…
 The first obvious feature of this chart is that
 The recycling rates of the UK and Germany showed a steady but significant rise over a period
while the percentage of recycled waste in France experienced a downward trend.

3. DETAIL PARAGRAPHS
 The body of the report will describe the graph or graphs in detail. You will need to decide on the
most clear and logical order to present the material.
 Line graphs generally present information in chronological order and so the most logical order for
you to write up the information would, most probably be from earliest to latest. Specfically:
 State specific data
 Group data in feature
     - By country
     - By similar trend (Look for similarities & differences of data and place them in 2 groups: each
group in a detail paragraph)
 Write a 3-4sentence detail paragraph
 

 
DETAIL PARAGRAPH 1: Only focus on group 1; mention group 2 for comparison
In 2005 the recycling rates of the UK and Germany were nearly 35% and 20% respectively. Germany’s rate
increased sharply throughout the period, exceeding France’s in 2009 and reaching almost 60% at the end
of the period. In the meantime, the percentage of recycled waste in the UK grew to 40% in 2007, and then
remained steady until 2009. During 2009-2011 it experienced a rapid surge to more than 50% and
continued with a gradual increase to 60% in 2015.

DETAIL PARAGRAPH 2: Only focus on group 2; mention group 1 for comparison

In early 2005 the recycling rate of France (50%) was the highest among these three countries. However, it
dramatically declined to 30% in 2013. Then, there was a growth of 10% in 2015, but France’s recycling
rate was the lowest at the end of the period.

II. LANGUAGE USE

Below is useful language and also a check list for you to follow to describe a line graph.
Adverbs: steadily, gradually, sharply, rapidly, steeply, slightly, dramatically, significantly, considerably
Adjectives: steady, gradual, sharp, rapid, steep, slight, dramatic, significant, considerable
Nouns and verbs:                                      
A. Describing accurate data
< 30 Just a little bit under 30 Quite a lot under
Under 30 Just under 30 Well under 30
Less than 30 Slightly under 30 Considerably less than 30
Below 30 Almost 30
Nearly 30
Close to 30
>30 Just a little bit over30 Quite a lot over 30
Over 30 Just over 30 Well over 30
Above 30 Slightly over 30 Considerably more than
More than 30 Marginally 30
About 30
Approximately 30
Around 30
More or less 30
 
B. Vocabulary for listing – Respectively
sales of handheld, online and mobile games reached peaks of 17, 9 and 7 billion dollars respectively.
C. Commonly used vocabulary
 Between 1995 and 2000
 From 1995 to 2000
 Sales rose from 200 to 250
 Sales fell to 150 in March
 Sales fell by 50%
D. Verbs & Nouns
 

 
 

Sentences
The number of cases in Someland increased steadily from 100 to 200 between 1983 and 1988.
There was a steady rise in the number of cases in Someland to reach 200 from 1983 to 1989.

Time phrases: over the next three days, three days later, in the following three days, the next three days
show, over the period, from….to….. / between .... and..., the last year, the final year, the first year, at the
beginning of the period, at the end of the period.
 BAR CHARTS
I. INTRODUCTION TO BAR CHARTS
II. BAR CHART ANALYSIS
It is good idea to dive your answer into paragraphs. To do this, group similar things together into
paragraphs.
III. IELTS BAR CHART ESSENTIAL TIPS
1. Introduction Paragraph
The chart shows the expenditure of two countries on consumer goods in 2010.

2. The overview
- Highlight 2-3 key features (highs, lows, main differences etc.), saying what the main trends or changes
are.
- Collect them together and present them in an overview.
- Make comparatives
3. Body Paragraphs
- Decide how you will divide the information in the bar chart into two body paragraphs 
- Describe the changes as precisely as you can. Use data and numbers from the bar chart.
- Compare the information. Talk about differences or similarities between the groups shown.
 NOTE 
- Use a range of complex sentences. 
- Use a range of linking devices (while / whereas / as opposed to / compared to / in comparison with…)
In terms of cars, people in the UK spent about £450,000 on this as opposed to the French who spent
£400,000. Similarly, the British spent more money on books than the French (around £400,000 and
£300,000 respectively). In the UK. expenditure on cameras (just over £350,000) was over double that of
France, which was only £150,000.

On the other hand, the amount spent on the remaining goods was higher in France. Above £350,000 was
spent by the French on computers which was slightly more than the British who spent exactly £350,000.
Neither of the countries spent much on perfume which accounted for £200,000 of expenditure in France but
under £150,000 in the UK.

IV.VOCABUBARY FOR BAR CHARTS

1. Introduction
This bar chart shows that S+V
This graph illustrates that
 It can be seen that
The data indicates that
The bar chart gives /provides information about +N
2. Overview & Body paragraph
 half of the adults in this survey eat pizza.
50% of the adults in this survey eat pizza.
 only 10% of those surveyed stated that they eat spaghetti.
one tenth of those surveyed stated that they eat spaghetti.
one in ten of those surveyed stated that they eat spaghetti.
 a third of this group eat cakes.
just over 30% of this group eat cakes.
one in 3 adults in this group eat cakes.
 almost two thirds of the adults questioned eat biscuits.
3. IELTS Vocabulary
    a. Accurate Data
    b. Language of Change
 gradually increasing
a slight fall
kept rising
reached a peak
increased at a steady rate
fell
 increased sharply
a low of
finish at
stood at
 finishing the period at
   c. Comparisons
- It can clearly be seen that ActiveX was the most popular computer package to download whilst Net
was the least popular of the three.

- Downloads of ActiveX and Java showed similar patterns, with both gradually increasing from
week 1 to week 5.

However, the purchases of Active X remained significantly higher than for the other product over
this
time frame.

- In week 1, purchases of ActiveX stood at around 75,000 while those for Java were about 30,000
lower.

- Java downloads also increased at a steady rate, finishing the period at 80,000.

- The product that was downloaded the least was Net.  This began at slightly under 40,000, and, in
contrast to the other two products, fell over the next two weeks. It then increased sharply over the
following two weeks to finish at about 50,000, which was well below that of ActiveX.
 PIE CHARTS
I. INTRODUCTION TO PIE CHARTS
II. IELTS PIE CHART ESSENTIAL TIPS
1. Read the Question and Select Information

 Read the question carefully and understand it well to find the basic information of what the chart is about 

2. Analyse the Question well

- The first and most important thing is to analyze the pie chart to detect key features or the similarities
+ Time: Use of correct tenses and correct comparisons
+ Location: country, city….
+ Unit of measurement: age, percentage
- Notice each of the following in the chart:
+ Biggest part
+ smallest part
+ Increasing part in the other chart
+ Decreasing part in the other chart
+ Unchanging part in the other chart
+ Those which are not mentioned in the other chart 
+ The biggest contrasts
+ The closest similarities
As in the line graphs task, your report should be structured simply with an introduction, an overview,
body. Tenses should be used appropriately
3. Write an introduction
- Paraphrase the information
4 Write an overview. 
- Contains the key features of the charts.
5. Write 2 body paragraphs: Each paragraph
- Give details 
- Add data (percentages and dates) 
 Introduction
The pie charts illustrate the changes in energy production from five different sources (oil, natural gas,
coal, hydroelectric power and nuclear power) for the USA in two different years (1980 and 1990).
Overview: Sum up the overall trend
Overall, oil constituted the main source of energy production in both years, while hydroelectric power
produced the least energy. There was a slight decrease in production from oil and natural gas whereas an
increase can be seen in the figures for coal and nuclear power.
Body paragraphs 1: Give details about oil and hydroelectric power, which we highlighted in the overview
above.

■ Write one sentence about oil comparing the percentage each year and then one sentence about
hydroelectric power comparing the years.
■ Add data (percentages and dates) to support each sentence

III. GRAMMAR AND IELTS VOCABULARY FOR PIE CHARTS

1. Verbs:  represent, occupy, constitute, account for or make up + percent / numbers
o People aged 60 or over accounted for almost a quarter of the Italian population
o The demand of everyday life makes up 21% of the total need of paper.
2.  Percentage: used after the, a, this, that and after adjectives: small, big…
o A small percentage of students have lived on the campus for more than 2 years.
o The percentage of workers who live in the building has fallen sharply since the fire.
3. A number at the beginning a sentence should be expressed in words
o Twenty-five workers were from UK.
4. Change percentage into fraction and vice versa.

Percentage Fraction Percentage Fraction

80% Four-fifths 40% Two-fifths
75% Three-quarters 35% More than a third
70% Seven in ten 30% Less than a third
65% Two-thirds 25% A quarter
 60% Three-fifths 20% A fifth
55% More than half 15% Less than a fifth
50% Half 10% One in ten
45% More than two fifths 5% One in twenty

- If the Start with Adjective

Percentage
The highest Qualifier
77%
The greatest Just over three quarters
percentage of women are employed in the X category
77%
The lowest Approximately three quarters
49%
The most Justofunder a half
proportion cars sold are red
49%
A significant Nearly a half
number of holiday makers come from Spain
The smallest
32% Almost a third
The largest

Start with Subject

Red is the most popular car color

Professional is the second/third most prevalent employment category

Spain is the least common holiday destination

percentage is estimated (in exact), they can be described as follows

Proportion/ number/ amount/

Percentage
majority/ minority
75% - 85% A very large majority
A significant proportion
65% - 75%
A large proportion
35% A good proportion
15% - 25% A small number
A minority
10% - 15%
A small minority
A very small number
5%
A significant amount

5. Commonly used expressions 

+ Describe one part of a pie chart.

 +
Start with Adjective
Describe
As many two parts
Twice as many of a pie
as…
Three times as many
Not as many
 
More red cars are sold
Far more
Much more women are employed in x
Many more
holiday makers come from x
A lot more
than
Substantially more
Considerably more
Significantly more
Slightly more
Fractionally more
Start with Subject
as
quite as common
just as
popular as…
nearly as
almost as prevalent

not as
Blue cars more
much more
Women are far more
substantially more
considerably more women
Spain is
significantly more
slightly more cars sold than
fractionally more
less holiday makers
much less
far less
considerably less
fractionally less
 DESCRIBING MAPS: LANGUAGE USE 
I. Describing Locations
The forest to the south of the river was cut down.
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 was located/situated in the north-west corner of the city.
There was an airport to the south of the lake.
⧫ Use of prepositions:  in the center, in the corner, on the left/ right, in front of, behind, next to, opposite,
between…and…., among, across, on the bank of the river, on the top of…, on the coast sea, etc.
 
PREPOSITIONS OF
EXPLANATION EXAMPLES
PLACE
at exact position or particular place I met her at the bus station
in or into the space which separates two The town lies halfway between Rome
between
places, people or objects and Florence.
further forward than someone or She started talking to the man in
in front of
something else front of her.
I live across from a supermarket (=It
across from=opposite On the other side of something
is on the other side of the street.)
A new school was built next to the
Refers to a thing or a person that is at
next to/beside swimming pool.
the other side of another thing

Similar to next to/beside but more of a The building is near a subway

near/close to
distance between the two things station

II. Describing General Changes

1. Over the period, the area witnessed dramatic changes.

2. From 1995 to 2005, the city centre saw spectacular developments.
3. During the 10-year-period, the industrial area was totally transformed/ reconstructed
4. The central business district was completely modernized during the time period.

III. Describing Specific Changes

HOUSES: be constructed , be
erected, be established
VERBS TREES: be planted Skyscrapers were erected
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
APPEARANCE/
mushroom, appear, emerge
CONSTRUCTION
HOUSES: the construction of
There was a construction of
NOUNS GENERAL: the appearance of, the
a new hospital.
emergence of, the birth of
 HOUSES: be deconstructed,
The school was demolished/
vanish, be destroyed, be
knocked down.
demolished, be knocked down
VERBS
DISAPPEARANCE/ TREES: be cut down / chopped
All the trees were cut down.
DECONSTRUCTIO down, be devastated
N GENERAL: disappear
destruction, demolition devastation,
NOUNS
disappearance

Be extended, Be widened, Be
The car park near the river
VERBS enlarged/ be expanded
was expanded
EXPANSION Be lengthened, Become bigger

The extension of, The enlargement

NOUNS
of
Be narrowed/
Be reduced in size/
REDUCTION/
VERBS Be diminished/ -The railway was shortened.
NARROWING Become smaller

UNCHANGED Remain/ stay unchanged The airport still

VERBS
STATE Be still there/still exist remained/existed

- The airport was demolished

Make way for/ give way to
VERBS to make way for a new
REPLACEMENT Be replaced by/ be converted
hospital.
NOUNS The replacement
-The stadium was moved/
MOVEMENT VERBS Be moved/ relocated relocated to the north.
 DESCRIBING PROCESS
I. INTRODUCTION TO PROCESS DIAGRAM
A process is a series of events, one taking place after the other.  There are two 
      1. Natural process
     2. Manufacturing process
II. IELTS PROCESS ESSENTIAL TIPS
A process will have a number of stages that are in time order. So you should start at the beginning, and
describe each stage through to the last one.
1.Observe the process diagram carefully 
- Find out the beginning stage and the end one
  - Master the number of stages 
2. Write an introduction
- Paraphrase the question.
-Introduce the process by one of the following (optional)
The production of……………..
The process of producing/ making………………

The diagram illustrates the process that is used to manufacture bricks for the building industry.

The diagram explains the way in which bricks are made for the building industry.

3. Write an overview

- First say how many steps there are in the process

- Then say where/how the process begins and ends (look at the first and the last stages).

a. Natural process In general, the process includes a series of stages like a natural circle / a life cycle
of………….., but involves……………..main steps which begins with……………………..and finishes
with…………………….

b. Manufacturing process
- begin
There are………………..main steps/ stages in…………………..
The …………………….involves ………………….main steps/ stages beginning with ……………………
finishing with………………………
EXAMPLE
Overall, there are eight stages in the process, beginning with the digging up of clay and culminating in
delivery.
4. Write body paragraphs
- Describe the process step by step. Include the first and the lasts steps mentioned in the overview, but
describe them in more detail or in a different way
-  Break the description into two paragraphs. Begin paragraph 4 somewhere in the middle of the
process.
- Mention every stage in the process.
- Use  time connectors and passive voice
- Use simple present tense
 - Time Connectors
A process is a series of events, one taking place after the other.  Therefore, to connect your stages, you
should use ‘time connectors’. 

-To begin with,

Beginning
- First of all,
step
- In the first step,
- Following this,
- After that,
- Next
Then
- After
Subsequent steps
Subsequently,
- The second stage is that………….
- In the next /subsequent step,
-
-……………………followed by…………..
 - At the same time,………………..
Simultaneous steps
 - Simultaneously,
- Finally,
Ending step
- The last/final process is that…………………..