IELTS · Guide 5 · 4 min read
IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic: charts, graphs, processes and maps
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 explained: describing charts, tables, processes and maps in 150 words or more, with structure, timing and common mistakes.
What Task 1 asks you to do
In Academic Writing Task 1, you are shown a piece of visual information and asked to summarise and describe it in your own words. You must write at least 150 words, and you should spend about 20 minutes on it. The full Writing test lasts 60 minutes and Task 2 carries more weight, so do not let Task 1 run over.
This is a report, not an essay. You describe what the visual shows. You do not explain why it happened or give your opinion.
The kinds of visual you may see
| Visual | What it shows | What to describe |
|---|---|---|
| Line graph | Change over time | Trends: rises, falls, peaks, levelling off |
| Bar chart | Comparison between groups, sometimes over time | Largest and smallest, clear differences |
| Pie chart | Parts of a whole | Biggest and smallest shares, how they compare |
| Table | Exact figures in rows and columns | The patterns behind the numbers |
| Process diagram | Stages of a natural or man-made process | The order of the stages, from start to finish |
| Map | A place, often before and after a change | What was added, removed or moved |
Sometimes you get two visuals together, such as a pie chart and a table. You then describe both and link them where it makes sense.
A reliable structure
Most strong answers follow four short parts.
- Introduction: one or two sentences that say what the visual shows, in your own words. Do not copy the question.
- Overview: two or three sentences that state the main features or overall trends. This is the most important paragraph.
- Detail paragraph 1: the key features of one group, period or stage, with figures.
- Detail paragraph 2: the key features of another group, period or stage, with comparisons.
No conclusion is needed if your overview is clear. A conclusion that repeats the overview adds words but no marks.
Exam tip: an answer with no clear overview will struggle to score well, however accurate the details. Write it near the start so the examiner sees it straight away.
Choosing what to include
You cannot mention every figure in 150 to 200 words, and you are not expected to. Pick the features that matter most: the highest and lowest values, the biggest changes and any clear exceptions. Group similar items together.
An invented example. A line graph shows visits to three city museums from 2010 to 2020. Rather than giving every year's figure for each museum, you might write:
Visitor numbers at the science museum more than doubled over the decade, while the other two museums saw only small changes. The art gallery remained the least visited throughout.
That two-sentence overview captures the main story. Your detail paragraphs then add the figures that support it.
Language for each visual type
- Trends: rose, climbed, increased steadily; fell, declined, dropped sharply; peaked at; levelled off; fluctuated.
- Comparison: twice as many as; slightly higher than; by far the largest; the same proportion as.
- Processes: first, next, once this is done, after that, finally. Use the passive where the person doing the action is unimportant: "the leaves are dried", "the mixture is then heated".
- Maps: was replaced by, was extended, was converted into, to the north of, next to, opposite.
Vary your language, but accuracy matters more than variety. A plain sentence that is correct is better than an ambitious one that is wrong.
Common mistakes
- Copying the question. Copied words do not count towards your total, and they do not show your own language.
- Giving reasons or opinions. "This was probably because of the economy" goes beyond the data.
- Listing numbers with no comparison. The task is to summarise, which means selecting and comparing.
- Writing well under 150 words. Short answers are penalised.
- Mixing tenses. Past data needs past tenses; future projections need language such as "is expected to".
Exam tip: check units carefully. Percentages, thousands, millions and tonnes are easy to misread under time pressure.
Timing in 20 minutes
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| Study the visual and find the main features | 3 minutes |
| Plan the overview and two detail paragraphs | 2 minutes |
| Write | 12 minutes |
| Check grammar, figures and spelling | 3 minutes |
How it is marked
Task 1 is marked against four criteria: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Each counts for a quarter of the Task 1 score. See our guide to the Writing band descriptors for what each one means.
For the current rules, check ielts.org.
Check yourself
- What is the minimum word count for Task 1, and how long should you spend on it?
- Which paragraph is most important in a Task 1 answer?
- Should you explain the reasons behind a trend?
- Which verb form is often useful when describing a process?
- Do words copied from the question count towards your total?
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