IELTS Task 1 Table: Museum Visitors
Summarise a table showing visitor numbers at three museums over five years, including a sharp fall and recovery.
- Time
- 20 min
- Length
- 150-190 words
Writadia · C1 · IELTS Task 1
NameClassDate
Your task
| Science Museum | Art Gallery | History Museum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 820 | 640 | 410 |
| 2020 | 310 | 220 | 150 |
| 2021 | 450 | 380 | 260 |
| 2022 | 700 | 590 | 380 |
| 2023 | 860 | 610 | 520 |
Data invented for practice purposes.
The table shows the number of visitors to three museums in the city of Harbourton between 2019 and 2023.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Read across rows and down columns before writing.
- Overview: the shared pattern (fall in 2020, recovery) and which museum was most popular.
- Paragraph 1: the fall and the recovery, comparing the three.
- Paragraph 2: 2023 compared with 2019: who recovered fully?
- Don't describe every number.
Useful phrases
Pattern
Comparison
Numbers
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- plummet
- fall very quicklyNumbers plummeted in 2020.
- recover
- return to a normal stateTourism recovered slowly.
- surpass
- become greater thanIt surpassed the 2019 figure.
- attract
- make people comeThe gallery attracted 610,000 visitors.
Model answer (175 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
The table compares how many people visited Harbourton's science museum, art gallery and history museum each year from 2019 to 2023.1
Overall, all three museums followed the same pattern: visitor numbers plummeted in 2020 and then recovered gradually. The Science Museum was the most popular throughout, and by 2023 two of the three museums were attracting more visitors than before the fall.2
In 2019, the Science Museum received 820,000 visitors, compared with 640,000 at the Art Gallery and 410,000 at the History Museum. In 2020, figures fell by well over half at all three, to 310,000, 220,000 and 150,000 respectively.
Recovery was steady from 2021 onwards, but its final extent varied.3 The Science Museum surpassed its 2019 level in 2023, reaching 860,000 visitors. More remarkably, the History Museum ended the period with 520,000 visitors, over a quarter more than in 2019. The Art Gallery, by contrast, was the only museum that had not quite returned to its original level, with 610,000 visitors in the final year.
- Introduction.
- Overview: shared pattern + key comparison.
- Topic sentence for the second body paragraph.
Teacher notes
Tables tempt candidates to describe every cell. Limit students to eight numbers in total.
Accuracy check: 410 → 520 is +27%: "over a quarter more" is correct.
Extra challenge
Write a one-sentence overview that a journalist could use as a headline.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 6 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: plummet, recover, surpass, attract.
- 7 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “All three museums followed a similar pattern: ...”, “Visitor numbers plummeted in ..., before recovering steadily.”, “The Science Museum attracted the most visitors in every year.”.
- 15 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (150-190 words)
- 5 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 2 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | Band 7+ | Band 6 | Band 5 | Band 4 or below | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task Achievement | Clear overview; key features selected and compared. | Overview present; some details irrelevant or missing. | No clear overview; details listed mechanically. | Task largely not addressed. | |
| Coherence and Cohesion | Logical flow; varied, natural linking; clear paragraphs. | Generally organised; linking sometimes mechanical. | Weak organisation; few or faulty linkers. | Ideas not linked. | |
| Lexical Resource | Wide, precise vocabulary; few slips. | Adequate range; some errors that do not block meaning. | Limited range; noticeable repetition and spelling errors. | Very limited; meaning often lost. | |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | Variety of complex structures; most sentences error-free. | Mix of simple and complex forms; errors rarely reduce clarity. | Mostly simple forms; frequent errors. | Errors seriously affect understanding. | |
| Total | |||||
Criterion names are the official IELTS criteria; descriptors are short classroom summaries. Each criterion carries equal weight.
Task checklist
- I described the shared pattern.
- I compared final figures with 2019.
- I used "respectively" or a similar structure to group numbers.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I described the shared pattern.
- I compared final figures with 2019.
- I used "respectively" or a similar structure to group numbers.
Writadia · C1 · IELTS Task 1
Assessment rubric: IELTS Task 1 Table: Museum Visitors
| Criterion | Band 7+ | Band 6 | Band 5 | Band 4 or below | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task Achievement | Clear overview; key features selected and compared. | Overview present; some details irrelevant or missing. | No clear overview; details listed mechanically. | Task largely not addressed. | |
| Coherence and Cohesion | Logical flow; varied, natural linking; clear paragraphs. | Generally organised; linking sometimes mechanical. | Weak organisation; few or faulty linkers. | Ideas not linked. | |
| Lexical Resource | Wide, precise vocabulary; few slips. | Adequate range; some errors that do not block meaning. | Limited range; noticeable repetition and spelling errors. | Very limited; meaning often lost. | |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | Variety of complex structures; most sentences error-free. | Mix of simple and complex forms; errors rarely reduce clarity. | Mostly simple forms; frequent errors. | Errors seriously affect understanding. | |
| Total | |||||
Criterion names are the official IELTS criteria; descriptors are short classroom summaries. Each criterion carries equal weight.
Task checklist
- I described the shared pattern.
- I compared final figures with 2019.
- I used "respectively" or a similar structure to group numbers.
Teacher comment
Writadia · C1 · IELTS Task 1
Peer-review sheet: IELTS Task 1 Table: Museum Visitors
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I described the shared pattern. | |||
| I compared final figures with 2019. | |||
| I used "respectively" or a similar structure to group numbers. |
Questions
- Does the text cover every point in the task?
- Are there paragraphs? What is each one about?
- Write two linking words the writer used.
- Is there a sentence you had to read twice?
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Writadia · C1 · IELTS Task 1
Lesson plan: IELTS Task 1 Table: Museum Visitors
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 6 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: plummet, recover, surpass, attract.
- 7 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “All three museums followed a similar pattern: ...”, “Visitor numbers plummeted in ..., before recovering steadily.”, “The Science Museum attracted the most visitors in every year.”.
- 15 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (150-190 words)
- 5 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 2 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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