IELTS Writing Task 1: Describing Charts and Graphs

In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, you have about 20 minutes to describe a graph, chart, table, map or process in at least 150 words. You don't give opinions or reasons. Your job is to report the most important information clearly and accurately.

The four-paragraph plan

1. Introduction: one sentence that paraphrases the task.
2. Overview: two sentences on the main trends or features, with no specific numbers.
3. Details 1: a group of related data with numbers.
4. Details 2: another group, with comparisons.

The overview matters most

Many candidates describe every number and forget the big picture. Examiners look for an overview: a clear statement of the main trends.

Ask yourself: if I could tell someone only two things about this chart, what would they be?

Paraphrasing the introduction

Trend language

Up: rise, increase, grow, climb / a rise, an increase, a growth Down: fall, decrease, decline, drop / a fall, a decline No change: remain stable, stay the same, level off Movement: fluctuate, peak at, reach a low of

How much: sharply, dramatically, significantly, steadily, gradually, slightly

• Sales rose sharply from 200 to 450.
• There was a sharp rise in sales.

Comparison language

• twice as much as / three times as many as
• the highest / the lowest / the second largest
• compared with / whereas / while
• respectively (when you list values in the same order as the categories)

Grouping data

Don't go category by category. Group by behaviour: "the ones that rose", "the ones that stayed stable". This shows the examiner that you understand the data.

Common mistakes

• Giving reasons (because people bought more phones). Not your job in Task 1.
• Writing an opinion or a conclusion with new information.
• Copying the title word for word.
• Getting a number wrong. Check every figure before you finish.

Practise with the line graph, bar chart, pie charts and table.