When you sit down for the Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 on test day, you’ll see one or two visuals, such as a chart, diagram, or graph. You’ll then write a report to give information based on key features of these visuals. Overall, you have 20 minutes to write 150 words.

The good news? This is a very predictable exercise! In this post, we’ll look at what you need to know about IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 to get a high band score, from tips to sample questions.

(NOTE: This guide is a great supplemental material for any of the Magoosh IELTS study schedules. In fact, we even specifically recommend it as a source of quick reference for our one-week IELTS study plan.)

Table of Contents

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Basics

As I mentioned above, IELTS Writing Task 1 on the academic module of the IELTS Writing Test asks you to write about two visuals. The assignment is a lot like monthly report writing that an employee might do to submit to his or her supervisor at work: the boss only wants relevant facts and data based on the latest company numbers. This is also what the test wants!

However, you only have 20 minutes. With that in mind, here is a pacing plan that works for many test-takers. You can make modifications to the amount of time you spend on each step, as needed:

• Reading the prompt, planning the essay: 3 – 5 minutes
• Writing: 10 – 15 minutes
• Editing and proofreading: 3-5 minutes

As you practice, bear in mind that your essay should reflect some fairly detailed information. Make sure you are devoting enough time and attention to the essay prompt and the informational images.
 

 

 

Scoring Categories

What criteria will you be scored on for the IELTS Academic test? Check it out!

Task Achievement

IELTS defines “Task Achievement” as a measurement of “how appropriately, accurately and relevantly the response fulfills the requirements set out in the task, using the minimum of 150 words” (Source: IELTS, Test format in detail).

Basically, you’re supposed to follow every letter of the directions and the prompt in order to score well in this category. More importantly, it means you should NOT include things that do not belong or are not “appropriate” or “relevant” to IELTS Writing Task 1.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

According to the official IELTS rubric (PDF), Grammatical Range and Accuracy accounts for a quarter of your score. So what does this mean for you?

First of all, your grammar should be varied. It’s important to mix up different, complex sentences, for example, rather than having them all be simple. Try to avoid using “Be” verbs too often, as well.

Second of all, your grammar should be accurate; avoid grammatical errors. If you have at least a few months left before your test, it’s a great idea to get a solid English grammar workbook to practice polishing your writing skills in this area!

Lexical Resource

You can think of “Lexical Resource” as similar to “Grammatical Range and Accuracy.” Here, IELTS examiners are looking for a wide range of vocabulary—correctly used.

Work on building your vocabulary with resources, like Magoosh’s free IELTS vocabulary flashcards. Again, this will be most useful if you have a significant amount of time before test day. 15-20 words a day is a good goal!

Coherence and Cohesion

This a measurement of your ability to present ideas logically and clearly. In other words, the IELTS exam wants to see that your ideas make sense in the order you present them and that they work together in a logical way.

How can I get a 6.5 (or better) in IELTS Writing Task 1?

For a lot of students, 6.5+ is a great goal for IELTS. So what will boost your band score in the shortest amount of time?

First of all, make sure your paragraph structure is solid. This will help your Coherence and Cohesion score, and may even boost your Task Achievement score, as well!

Next, work on linking words. This will also serve a double purpose: it can boost both your Coherence and Cohesion and your Lexical Resource scores!

Finally, make sure you practice writing model essays to improve your IELTS Writing Task 1 skills. Just copying the template once won’t do much—you’ll need to put those skills to practice over and over again to truly polish them! Here are a few resources to look at for prompts and sample answers.

• Line Graph Band 9 Model Essay
• Bar Chart with Model Answer
• Pie Chart with Model Answer
• Two Graphics with Model Answer
• Map with Model Answer

Then, check out what you need to do to score Band 9 on Writing Task 1 here!

What’s the difference between IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 vs. Task 2?

If you’ve been studying for the IELTS already, you probably know that IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 and Task 2 are quite different. Task 2 is a standard five-paragraph essay in which you present your perspective on an issue.

Task 2 is worth more points than Task 1, and Task 2 requires more time to complete. Therefore, you may be tempted to brush aside IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 as you study, choosing instead to focus much more attention on Task 2. I encourage you to avoid this approach!

However, also putting a lot of effort into preparing for this section can really pay off. IELTS Writing Task 1 can present you with any chart or graph and, with enough preparation under your belt, you can quickly analyze it and write your response without wasting precious minutes.
 

 

 

Top 5 Tips to Succeed in Writing Task 1

• Start reading right away—you only have 20 minutes!
• Read the summary and titles first.
• Take note of categories / units.
• Decide which information to include in your response quickly.
• Use bullet points to remind yourself of what you want to include.

Bonus Tip: Ask yourself—if you had to give a report at a meeting or in a college class, which information would interest the audience most? Start with this. Try finding an interesting “angle” on the main features of the data (biggest/smallest, more/less, increase/decrease, peak/low point, or trends).
 

 

 

A Final Word on IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

Now you’re ready to go and practice IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 responses. You should practice regularly, including with full-length practice tests. Make every attempt to create real test conditions when you practice. In other words, find a time when you won’t be interrupted. Limit yourself very strictly to 20 minutes.

Taking IELTS test in General Training and need info about the General Training Writing Task 1? Check out Magoosh’s expert letter writing tips here! (And you can also read a guide to the entire IELTS Writing section!)

Some IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 questions present a map, which you’ll need to describe and explain. To give you a better idea of how to approach this Task 1 question type, we’ll show you a practice question with a model band 9 essay.

To see why this essay is band 9, see our Band 9 essay with scorer commentary, and check out the official IELTS rubric for Task 1 (PDF).

This particular prompt is an IELTS map. Your approach to this map should be the same as your approach to any other Task 1 infographic. Take a look at the information and think carefully. What is the best way to summarize the way the information is structured and the main points? From there, how can you best compare the most relevant pieces of information? Finally, how should you structure that summary and comparison? For more advice on how to approach this, see our article on IELTS Academic Task 1 paragraph structure, as well as our main page for IELTS sample questions and practice resources.

Try to do this prompt yourself. Then check out our band 9 model essay below the prompt and compare it to your own work to see how you did.

Model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Prompt: Describe a Map

The diagrams below show changes that have taken place in the Sawry District neighbourhood since 1920.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Model Essay

This pair of maps depicts change over the course of a century in the Sawry District neighborhood by showing the area in 1920 and 2020.

The overall change in the neighborhood is one of growth. By 2020 there are more businesses, more housing, and greater public services. However, not all businesses and services remained intact after 1920.

Business and housing saw the most change and growth. The cannery present in 1920 was replaced by an office complex. Two of the houses near the Elmwood River were demolished and replaced by a road and an apartment complex. Oak Avenue went from having two houses and a shop to having three houses, two shops, an apartment complex, and a petrol station.

The change in public services was less significant than the change in housing and businesses. Prestwich Primary School was demolished and then rebuilt as a bigger school, closer to Oak Street’s shops. And Elmwood River gained a bridge and a bike path, the latter of which replaced the small beach seen on the 1920 map.

More Practice IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample Questions with Model Essays

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Process Diagram with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Line Graph with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Pie Chart with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Comparing two Graphics with Model Answer

Also, make sure you are prepared for the entire Writing section. Click here for a page full of IELTS Writing resources.

On the IELTS Academic exam, Writing Task 1 requires you to look at an informational graphic and describe the contents of the graphic in writing. In this post, we’ll look at different IELTS Writing Task 1 samples to prepare you for test day. In addition to advice and practice, you’ll also get our IELTS Writing Task 1 Examples PDF with Answers for portable prompts and model answers.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Samples With Answers PDF

If you want a print-friendly version of the IELTS Writing Task 1 samples in this post, click below to access the IELTS Writing Task 1 examples PDF!

Note that all the IELTS Writing Task 1 samples are model essays for a band 9 IELTS score. The line graph sample prompt includes a detailed scoring explanation. You can learn more about scores for IELTS Writing Task 1 by consulting the official IELTS rubric.

• Take a good look at our guide to IELTS Writing Task 1 paragraph structure. The guide tells you everything you need to know about how Writing Task 1 essays and paragraphs should be structured, with an example question and model essay.

IELTS Writing Task 1 Samples: The Major Question Types

Below are questions for each common infographic in IELTS Writing Task 1: bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, process diagrams, and maps.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Line Graph with Model Answer and Scoring Explanation

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer

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Pie Chart with Model Answer

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Process Diagram with Model Answer

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Map with Model Answer

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Two Different Types of Graphics

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Additional Resources for Writing Task 1

Now that you’ve seen some models for how this task is done, you should be ready for some real practice! Here are some resources from Magoosh that should help.

• Practicing using these commonIELTS Writing Task 1 and Task 2 linking words.
• Familiarize yourself with the test with IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Ultimate Guide video, and use a Writing diagnostic quiz to assess your current strengths and weaknesses.
   
• Practice regularly with a free IELTS Practice Test. Make every attempt to create real test conditions when you practice. In other words, find a time when you won’t be interrupted. Limit yourself very strictly to 20 minutes. If you are studying for the paper-based IELTS, write your responses by hand. (And see these tips and tricks for IELTS handwriting.) If you’ll be taking the computer-delivered IELTS, type your responses.
  
  For a video version of our practice test, click here!

  
  
  

   

• Use study schedules to help you find time to study and stay motivated. To help you organize your time, use this IELTS study schedule if you only have a week to go before you will take the IELTS. If you have a month, this one month IELTS study schedule offers more extended practice.
   
• Find high-quality study materials. We offer a huge collection of study reources for the whole IELTS Writing seciton! Don’t forget about Magoosh IELTS Prep which includes lessons on IELTS Writing Task 1 (and all other sections of the exam!) to help you prep smarter. In addition to many video lessons and practice essays, the 6-month plan allows students to get feedback and scoring on four practice IELTS Writing essays; the 1-month plan includes feedback on one essay. You can also browse more recommended books and resources!

Good luck!

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 questions sometimes come with two graphics, which you’ll be asked to analyze. Let’s take a look at a practice Writing Task 1 question, with an accompanying model band 9 essay, for this question type.

To see why this essay is band 9, see the scorer commentary section in this article, right below the sample essay itself. Also be sure to and check out the official IELTS rubric for Task 1 (PDF). The scorer commentary is based on this rubric.

This particular prompt is a dual graphics prompt, where two different graphics (in this case a line graph and a table) are presented together. Your approach to this set of images should be the same as your approach to any other Task 1 infographic. Take a look at the information and think carefully. What is the best way to summarize the way the information is structured and the main points? From there, how can you best compare the most relevant pieces of information? Finally, how should you structure that summary and comparison?

For more advice on how to approach this, see our article on IELTS Academic Task 1 paragraph structure, as well as our main page for IELTS sample questions and practice resources. Try to do this prompt yourself. Then check out our band 9 model essay below the prompt and compare it to your own work to see how you did.

Model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Prompt: Compare Two Different Types of Graphics

The graph and table below show the average monthly rainfalls and average annual rainfalls for three towns in the district of Kona in Hawaii for a 30-year period (1971-2000).

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Model Essay (with scorer commentary)

The chart and table show the average monthly and annual rainfall for the towns of Kanaliu, Opihihale, and Holualoa from 1971 to 2000.

Average monthly rainfalls are usually higher from June to September and tend to be lower between October and May. However, rainfall can differ a good deal between towns, and these differences add up to distinctly different annual numbers.

Opihihale usually has the least rainfall but has slightly more (less than 2 cm difference) rainfall than the Holualoa around August, and slightly more than both towns for a time in November. In contrast, Kainaliu’s monthly rainfall is often the highest, 7-9 cm greater than Opihihale and 5-7 cm greater than Holualoa at the height of the summer and fall rainy periods.

The larger differences during the higher rainfall periods add up over the course of the year. In the table, Kainaliu clearly has the most annual rainfall, Opihihale has the least by far, and Holualoa sits between these two extremes, somewhat closer to Opihihale than to Kainaliu.

Scorer Commentary (Comparing Two Graphics, Band 9)

The score report below is based on the official IELTS Writing Task 1 rubric. This report also looks very similar to the Magoosh IELTS essay scoring service.

Overall Band Score: 9

What was done well in the essay:

• This essay has 161 words, more than the 150 minimum. Always make sure you exceed that 150 mark, so you can avoid the IELTS Writing word count penalty.
• The essay covers all the major details seen in the two infographics, describing the overall trends that apply to all three towns. It also covers month-to-month and annual differences, as well as differences between the towns.
• The paragraphs are neatly divided by topic, with a first paragraph overview, followed by a paragraph on overall trends, followed by a paragraph on monthly averages and a paragraph on annual rainfall.
• Great use of transitional phrases such as “however” and “in contrast,” as well as referential phrasing like “these differences” and “in the table.” This clearly illustrates the relationship between different ideas and different pieces of data.
• The vocabulary and grammar works well here. There are no serious errors, and there is a good variety of word choice and sentence structure so that nothing feels repetitive.

More Practice IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample Questions and Model Essays

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Process Diagram with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Map With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Line Graph with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Pie Chart with Model Answer

After you’re done with those, make sure you practice other aspects of Writing Task 1, and prepare for the IELTS Writing section as a whole. This collection of IELTS Writing resources can help.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 questions can feature anything from diagrams to tables and graphs. To get you familiarized with these question types, let’s take a look at a process diagram practice question from IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, with a model band 9 essay.

To see why this essay is band 9, see our Band 9 essay with scorer commentary, and check out the official IELTS rubric for Task 1 (PDF).

This particular prompt is a process diagram. Your approach to this diagram should be the same as your approach to any other Task 1 infographic Take a look at the information and think carefully. What is the best way to summarize the way the information is structured and the main points? From there, how can you best compare the most relevant pieces of information? Finally, how should you structure that summary and comparison? For more advice on how to approach this, see our article on IELTS Academic Task 1 paragraph structure, as well as our main page for IELTS sample questions and practice resources.

Try to do this prompt yourself. Then check out our band 9 model essay below the prompt and compare it to your own work to see how you did.

Model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Prompt: Process Diagram

The diagram below gives information about the recycling of glass and plastic containers.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Model Essay

This flowchart shows the differences and similarities in the life cycles of glass and plastic containers, from creation and use to recycling and re-creation.

This diagram reveals both similarities and differences in the way that plastic and glass goods are made, recycled, and then made anew. The processes have more differences than similarities, but there are some more significant differences in the earlier stages of the recycling process.

The initial collection and transport of both goods are the same. However, after that, glass is sorted by color and may then be immediately crushed, while plastic is sorted by quality and must be bundled before it can be shredded.

Once the glass is crushed and the plastic is shredded, the processes become more similar again. At this point, both the glass and plastic pieces are washed, and then melted and reshaped into new products. These final steps are nearly identical, although the melting and reshaping of the glass must be done by two separate machines rather than one.

More Practice IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample Questions with Model Essays

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Map With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Line Graph with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Pie Chart with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Comparing two Graphics with Model Answer

And after that, you can hungrily seek out knowledge on the entire IELTS Writing section, starting with Magoosh’s handy complete IELTS Writing guide.

Wondering what to expect when it comes to bar charts on IELTS Academic Writing Task 1? Let’s examine a practice bar chart question with a model band 9 essay.

To see why this essay is band 9, and check out the official IELTS rubric for Task 1 (PDF). Then take a look at the scorer commentary that appears right underneath the model essay itself.

This particular prompt is a bar chart. Your approach to this chart should be the same as your approach to any other Task 1 infographic. Take a look at the information and think carefully. What is the best way to summarize the way the information is structured and the main points? From there, how can you best compare the most relevant pieces of information? Finally, how should you structure that summary and comparison?

For more advice on how to approach this, see our article on IELTS Academic Task 1 paragraph structure, as well as our main page for IELTS sample questions and practice resources.

Try to do this prompt yourself. Then check out our band 9 model essay below the prompt and compare it to your own work to see how you did.

Model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Prompt: Bar Chart

The chart below gives information about the ratio of income to spending (in dollars) by Americans by age range in 2013.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Model Essay

This graph compares how much Americans spent to how much income they made in 2013, by age group.

The data shows an overall rise and fall in both income and spending between young, middle-aged, and older Americans. Income rises and falls more sharply than spending.

Those under 25 and over 75 actually spent slightly more than they earned. In contrast, between the ages of 25 and 64, Americans earned 10,000 to 20,000 dollars more than they spent. This difference shrinks in the 65-74 age group, where spending was just a few thousand dollars less.

In terms of actual numbers, those under 25 or over 75 earned and spent around 30,000 and 35,000 dollars, respectively. 25-34 year-olds and 65-74 year-olds both earned in the 50,000s and spent in the 40,000s. In the middle, between ages 35 and 64, income was 70,000-80,000 dollars, and spending ranged from roughly 55 to 60 thousand.

Scorer Commentary (Bar Chart, Band 9)

The score report below is based on the official IELTS Writing Task 1 rubric. This report also looks very similar to the Magoosh IELTS essay scoring service.

Overall Band Score: 9

What was done well in the essay:

• This essay is borderline risky when it comes to word count. But it still manages to sit at 158 words, just above the exact 150 word minimum. So the writer has managed to avoid the IELTS Writing word count penalty.
• The response includes all important details listed in the instructions. The basic topic of the grpah (debt to income for different age groups) is stated, followed by an overview of the tends, and some detailed comparisons of specific age groups and income levels.
• Each aspect of the essay gets its own paragraph, with a paragraph for the basic purpose of the graph, a paragraph for overall trends, and so on. This helps to clearly divide each different type of important information.
• Transitions and referential phrases are used effectively to show how ideas are interlinked.
  Examples include “in contrast,” “this difference” and “in terms of actual numbers.”
• Vocabulary and grammar are both excellent. No errors here, and some nice variety of sentence structure and word choice too. This makes the essay both easy and interesting to read.

More Practice IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample Questions and Model Essays

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Process Diagram with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Map With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Line Graph with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Pie Chart with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Comparing two Graphics with Model Answer

From there, you can study the “big picture” with Magoosh’s comprehensive guide to the entire IELTS Writing section.

On IELTS test day, you may encounter line graphs in the Academic Writing Task 1 section. To help you understand what components make up a good response to a line graph question, let’s take a look at a model band 9 essay.

To see why this essay is band 9, see our scorer commentary after the model essay below, and check out the official IELTS rubric for Task 1 (PDF).

This particular prompt is a line graph. Your approach to this graph should be the same as your approach to any other Task 1 infographic Take a look at the information and think carefully. What is the best way to summarize the way the information is structured and the main points? From there, how can you best compare the most relevant pieces of information? Finally, how should you structure that summary and comparison? For more advice on how to approach this, see our article on IELTS Academic Task 1 paragraph structure, as well as our main page for IELTS sample questions and practice resources.

Try to do this prompt yourself. Then check out our band 9 model essay below the prompt and compare it to your own work to see how you did.

Model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Prompt: Line Graph

The chart below gives information about population growth in three major Australian cities from 1992 to 2016.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Model Essay

This line graph shows the change in population for the cities of Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane from 1992 to 2017.

While all cities saw a net increase in annual population growth by 2011, the most dramatic increases happened between 2007 and 2010. In spite of this overall trend, there were a number of rises and falls in growth, with all cities showing a decrease in growth in 2011.

Although it started out with the least annual growth, Melbourne’s growth accelerated the most overall, starting with only a roughly 23k increase in people in 1992, but gaining around 110,000 people in 2017. Brisbane started out with nearly as little growth as Melbourne, but had a lower net gain, rising from slightly over 23k growth in 1992 to a gain of merely 50,000 by 2017. Sydney started out with the highest growth rate at 30,000 in a year, but ended with 105,000 annual growth by the end of the period, just behind Melbourne.

Why does this essay have a band 9 score?

All of Magoosh’s model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 essays are meant to be band 9. But this model essay is special. Here, we’re going to give you a detailed explanation as to why this is a band 9 essay! Our scoring rationale is based on the band 9 category descriptors in the official rubric for Writing Task 1.

Task achievement

Per the instructions, this essay summarizes the information by identifying the main features in paragraph one, reporting the general content of the main features in paragraph two, and making relevant comparisons between the cities in the graph in paragraph three. This matches the band 9 descriptor “fully satisfies all the requirements of the task.

The essay organizes its paragraphs clearly, identifying the characteristics of the graph in the first paragraph, reporting the main features in the second, and making comparisons in the third. Each paragraph’s ideas are connected with appropriate linking words, such as “while,” “in spite of,” “although,” and so on. This matches with “clearly presents a fully developed response” in the band 9 task achievement section.

Coherence and cohesion

Coherence and cohesion are tied closely to the points I mentioned above in task achievement. This essay organizes similar ideas closely together in paragraphs without any distracting less relevant details and uses natural-sounding transitions. In doing this, the essay “uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention” and “skillfully manages paragraphing.”

Lexical resource

While this essay does repeat sum specialized terms related to the graph, such as “annual,” it uses a variety of language to describe the same thing when possible. As one example, when describing the beginning point on the graph for each of the three cities in the final paragraph, the essay uses the terms “started out,” “began,” and “initially had.” The means that the essay “uses a wide range of vocabulary,” per level 9 of the rubric.

Not only are the words varied, but they are also very suited to the context and meaning. For instance, sophisticated phrasing such as “net increase” and “the most dramatic increases” appear in paragraph 1. Overly wordy terms such as “the total increase for each year combined” are avoided for the most part. So are slightly awkward-sounding phrases like “the very shocking increases.”

Moreover, the mistakes in word use that do appear in the essay are minor. “Amounts of people” in the first paragraph is overly simple and slightly awkward, but the essay uses the much better term “population” after that initial slip. Similarly, the use of the term “trending” when “trends” would be a more commonly used word with more accurate meaning, is a very minor word form error.

Ultimately, this links to the rubric’s description of “very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features,” where “rare minor errors occur only as “slips.”

Grammatical range and accuracy

This essay shows a level of grammar variety that’s comparable to its variety of vocabulary. The first paragraph consists of a sentence with a relatively simple structure, but with a sophisticated prepositional phrase modifying the noun “change.” The paragraphs that follow have compound sentences (the first sentence of paragraph 2), and the use of a variety of modifying phrases (ex: “with all cities…”, “rising from slightly…”).

There is a minor error in parallel structure in the first sentence of the second paragraph, with a shift from present participle “starting” to past tense “gained.”
Together, these aspects of grammar in the essay satisfy the level 9 rubric descriptor “uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’.”

More Practice IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample Questions and Model Essays

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Process Diagram with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Map With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Pie Chart with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Comparing two Graphics with Model Answer

This IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 question type might make you a little hungry. That’s because we’re going over pie charts today! To help give you an idea of what to expect and how to write a response, let’s look at this pie chart practice question with a model band 9 essay.

To see why this essay is band 9, see our Band 9 essay with scorer commentary, and check out the official IELTS rubric for Task 1 (PDF).

This particular prompt is a pie chart. Your approach to this chart should be the same as your approach to any other Task 1 infographic Take a look at the information and think carefully. What is the best way to summarize the way the information is structured and the main points? From there, how can you best compare the most relevant pieces of information? Finally, how should you structure that summary and comparison? For more advice on how to approach this, see our article on IELTS Academic Task 1 paragraph structure, as well as our main page for IELTS sample questions and practice resources.

Try to do this prompt yourself. Then check out our band 9 model essay below the prompt and compare it to your own work to see how you did.

Model IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Prompt: Pie Chart

The chart below gives information about the household percentage of spending on essential goods in China for the years 1995 and 2011

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The two pie graphs show differences in Chinese household spending in four essential categories. These categories are marked as percentages of total spending, with differences in spending for 1995 and 2011.

Food and clothing remained the largest categories in both years, with medicine and household goods remaining the smallest. Nonetheless, there were measurable changes in all four categories over the years. Changes to the household budget shares of food and medicine were particularly noticeable.

Both of the top two categories, clothing and food, shrank during this 16 year period. Clothing lost just 1% of its share, going from 19% to 18%, while food dropped more dramatically, starting at 68% but losing 9 points of share by 2011.

In both 1995 and 2011, medicine and household goods represented the lowest and second-lowest spending categories, respectively. Still, both gained a larger share of household spending in China by 2011. Medicine jumped 7 points from 4% to 11%, while household goods made a smaller but still-noticeable increase from 9 to 12 percent.

More Practice IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample Questions and Model Essays

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Process Diagram with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Map With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Line Graph with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Comparing two Graphics with Model Answer

And don’t forget to use Magoosh’s complete guide to IELTS Writing.

If you’re taking the IELTS, it’s likely that you want to get a top score on both writing tasks. So just what does it take to move up in writing band descriptors and get IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic band 9? In other words, how do you get a perfect score in the graph writing task?

Overall, your IELTS Writing band scores are determined using an official rubric, marking your tasks from 0 (lowest) to 9 (highest) in four categories: Task Achievement; Coherence and Cohesion; Lexical Resource; and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. In this post, I’ll take a close look at each one and how to build your skills in each area. This, in turn, will lead you to a higher band score. So here it is: what you need to get a top score on Task 1!

Table of Contents

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Scoring Categories
  • Task Achievement
  • Grammatical Range and Accuracy
  • Lexical Resource
  • Coherence and Cohesion
• Example IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Band 9 Essay
• Final Takeaways for IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Band 9

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Scoring Categories

As you study for IELTS Writing Task 1, your goal should be to focus on making improvements that will have a significant impact on your score. To accomplish this, it helps to understand the four scoring categories for Academic Task 1 (graph writing).

Here are the resources that can help you maximize your IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 band 9 essay score in each of the categories!

Task Achievement

This is a measurement of how well you fulfilled the basic requirements of the task, based on the instructions. In other words: are you doing what’s being asked, completely?

According to the official rubric, the criteria for Band 9 in this area are:

• Fully satisfies all the requirements of the task
• Clearly presents a fully developed response

Curious how to do this? Check out the IELTS Writing Task 1:Paragraph Structure post to see our recommended template!

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

This is a measurement of your ability to use a wide range of grammatical structures without making a lot of grammatical errors. If you have enough time (a few months or more) before you take the IELTS, consider taking an English class or investing in a good grammar book for self-study. I often recommend this grammar book to intermediate and advanced students. It offers clear grammar explanations and contains many practice exercises.

Just how important is this? Very! In fact, the only criteria for an IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Band 9 essay score in this category is:

• Uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’

Click here for our full guide to grammmatical range and accuracy for IELTS Writing Task 1.

Lexical Resource

This is your ability to use a wide range of vocabulary correctly (without errors) and appropriately (in the proper context) in your written responses. It should go without saying that studying vocabulary regularly will help you improve most in this area. Magoosh has (free!) IELTS vocabulary flashcards to get you started. You should try to learn 15-20 new words each day!

This will help you meet the IELTS official criterion for this category:

• Uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’

What does this mean? Glad you asked! We have a full article on lexical resource for IELTS Academic Writing Task 1.

Beyond reading that full guide learning new words, however, there are a few additional steps you can take to improve your “Lexical Resource” score.

First, check out Magoosh’s video guide to IELTS Task 1 for tips!

Coherence and Cohesion

This a measurement of your ability to present ideas logically and clearly. In other words, the IELTS wants to see that your ideas make sense in the order you present them and that they work together in a logical way. One of the best things you can do to improve your “Coherence and Cohesion” score is to master useful transition words.

Here’s how the IELTS rubric describes the criteria for a Band 9 score in this area:

• Uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention
• Skilfully manages paragraphing

To learn more about how to skillfully manage your paragraphs, check out our blog post all about coherence and cohesion for IELTS Academic Writing Task 1.

Example IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Band 9 Essay

Now that you’ve looked out for all this advice, check out Magoosh’s model band 9 essay. This essay comes with an answer explanation that explains how the writing meets IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Band 9 standards.

For other model band 9 essays, check out:

• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Process Diagram with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Map With Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Bar Chart with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Pie Chart with Model Answer
• IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Comparing two Graphics with Model Answer

Final Takeaways for IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Band 9

Approaching the graph writing task can feel overwhelming at first. Luckily, though, the IELTS rubric is really clear about what it takes to get an IELTS Writing Task 1 academic band 9 score!

By staying on topic, developing your grammar skills, using a broad and precise vocabulary, and building coherence and cohesion, you’ll boost your IETLS Task 1 (graph writing) band score—and your English skills as well. And once you’ve mastered this task, don’t forget the biog picture: getting a top score ont he exam as a whole. To get started on that larger goal, check out our podcast episode “What is a Good IELTS Band Score“? And from there you can go even bigger, and check out our complete guide to every aspect of IELTS Writing.

We’re going to go through each paragraph in the IELTS Writing Task 1 structure one by one below, showing an IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 prompt and full answer. It will be helpful to study the question carefully before we cover how to write body paragraphs in IELTS Task 1.

• Note: Since the time of writing, IELTS has changed the official prompt. Use the examples in this post as a guide, then try writing your own response to this IELTS sample prompt!

IELTS Writing Task 1: Paragraph Structure

• Paragraph 1: Introduce the visuals (1-2 sentences)
• Paragraph 2: Summarize the visuals
• Paragraphs 3 and (sometimes) 4: Use data/details to highlight a key feature of the visual(s)
• Optional: Concluding sentence

IELTS Writing Task 1 Introduction and Overview

Paragraph 1: Introduce the Visuals (1-2 sentences)

Introducing visuals is very straightforward, but it can present challenges because it tests your grammar and vocabulary. Basically, all you need to do in these introductory lines is explain, in very general terms, what the visuals contain. You should try to do this in just one or two sentences if possible.

Fortunately, you can find this information easily because it’s provided for you very clearly in the question prompt. In our example, this is the sentence just below the second chart above (“The graphs above give information about…”) The titles of your visuals also provide useful information for your IELTS Writing Task 1 introduction phrases.

Paragraph 1 requires a lot of practice because you have to paraphrase the language from the prompt and the titles. That means you need to put this information in your own words. Do your best to avoid using the same vocabulary and sentence structure as the prompt. Failing to do this will definitely lower your score! The IELTS is testing your vocabulary and grammar here. Please note, however, that you don’t always have to paraphrase key terms. In our example, the phrase “computer ownership” would be difficult to replace, for example. Everything else should be paraphrased!

• Below is a model for Paragraph 1. Notice how the vocabulary and sentence structure differ from both the question prompt and the titles of the visuals.

How to Write Body Paragraphs in IELTS Task 1

Paragraph 2: Summarize the visuals (2-4 sentences)

In this paragraph, you will provide a summary of the visuals without going into too much detail. IELTS Writing Task 1 instructions tell you to, “summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features” of the visuals (Source: IELTS, Test format in detail). Paragraph 2 is your opportunity to do just that.

Avoiding details in this paragraph helps to focus your answer on the most important points contained in the visual(s). You don’t want your summary to get lost in numbers and figures. Save these details for your next paragraph(s). Instead, in Paragraph 2, you’ll need to provide an accurate overview, or summary, of the contents of the visuals.

In the previous paragraph (Paragraph 1), you explained what the visuals are about—the topic. Now, in Paragraph 2, you need to describe the main information contained in the visuals. You should select the information that stands out to you most. It might be a general trend in the data, or a striking or interesting overall pattern. In Paragraph 2, you should report in very general terms, whatever seems most noteworthy in the visuals.

• Take a look at this example below:

Paragraphs 3 and (sometimes) 4: Use data/details to highlight a key feature of the visual(s)

Now that you’ve presented a summary of the main information in the visual(s), you’re ready to go into details in Paragraph 3. This is where you report data related to the summary information you just provided in Paragraph 2. You should not attempt to describe ALL of the data you see in the visuals. This would probably be impossible within the time limit even if you tried. You have to make choices. Instead, you should report about data that relate directly to the main feature(s)—the key information—that you just presented in Paragraph 2.

In Paragraph 2 of the model response, I focused on how 1) computer ownership rose steadily from 2002-2010 in general and across education levels, but that 2) those with the least education increased their computer ownership most over this period. Therefore, it would make sense to follow this paragraph with detailed information on these trends. As I described earlier in this post, these are the “angles,” or perspectives, I’ve taken on the graphs.

At this point, you have a second choice to make. Should you present all of the data in one paragraph (Paragraph 3), or should you separate it into two shorter paragraphs (Paragraphs 3 and 4)?

It is not necessary to include a 4th paragraph in your response, and it won’t always add to your score to include one (unless you haven’t met your 150 word minimum!). However, many times having two shorter paragraphs can be best. This is especially true in cases where you need to present data/details about two distinct key features. In these cases, a 4th paragraph helps you to present different ideas clearly. For this reason, I chose to present the information in two shorter paragraphs in our example response.

• Below are example paragraphs 3 and 4 for our practice question:

When to Include an IELTS Task 1 Conclusion

Concluding Sentence (Optional)

Now that you know how to write body paragraphs in IELTS Task 1, you may include a concluding sentence, but this is optional. It can be very helpful to include one if you’re struggling to reach your word count minimum of 150 words. Otherwise, a concluding sentence won’t help your score significantly.

• Review the following model concluding sentence:

On a final note, review sample questions and example essays for further practice. And check out our complete guide to IELTS Writing for advice on the whole section!