IELTS Writing Preparation Notes: Part 1

IELTS Writing Test

Task 1: Report

1. Understand and interpret the graphic

2. Select the information

3. Write at least 150 words for 15-17 minutes, and check

Marking Criteria

Task Achievement (TA)

Key parts:

• cover all points

• overview

• present key features

• extend answers

• write 150 words

Coherence and Cohesion (CC)

Key parts:

• logically organises information

• cohesive devices

  • comparing and contrasting

    • Comparing: similarly / likewise / in the same way

    • Contrasting: on the other hand / while / whereas / conversely

  • sequencing, reasons, results(process and maps)

    • Sequencing: Firstly / Secondly / Thirdly / next / then

    • Reason: in order to / so that

    • Cause and Result: so / Therefore, / Thus, / Consequently, / As a result,

• referencing

  • this / that / these / those

  • pronouns

• paragraphing

  • paraphrase of the question

  • overview

  • one or two paragraphs containing main features

Lexical Resource (LR)

Key parts:

• range and accuracy of vocabulary

• awareness of style and collocation

• frequency of errors in spelling and word formation

Describing data

• synonyms for amounts

  • 25% / a quarter / one in four / one out of four / most / the majority / a small minority

• comparing

  • double the number of  / twice as many as / two times that of  / 100% more than

Graphs that change over time

• synonyms for change in value

  • go up: (a) rise, (an) increase, rocket, soar, shoot up

  • go down: decrease, (a) fall, drop, plummet, level out

  • remain stable / etc

Processes

• word families

  • grow / growing / growth

  • develop / developing / development

Maps

• synonyms for verbs of physical change

  • moved / built / destroyed / knocked down / replaced / constructed / installed / cleared

Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA)

Key parts:

• complex structures and accuracy

• number of errors

• punctuation

Complex sentence: A sentence made from two or more clauses connected by a linking word.

Clause: Part of a sentence containing a subject and a verb.

Complex linking words

Linking words - while / whereas / in order to / so as to / so that

All linking words apart from - for / and / nor / but / or / yet / so

Components and Overview

• Write a report based on an image / graph

• line graph / bar chart / pie chart / process / map / table

• structure always the same

Components

Structure

• Introduction (paraphrase the question)

• Overview of main features

• Body paragraphs (with data)

Paraphrase

• Synonyms

  • from … to … - between … and …

  • chart - graph

  • the number of - the amount of - how many

  • people - citizens

  • cities - urban areas

  • show - illustrate - represent

  • give - provide - present (information of …)

  • information - (numerical) data

  • men and women - male and female

• Word Families

  live v. - living adj. - alive adj. - lively adj. - life n.

The line graph shows the number of people travelling to one company by six different methods, namely walking, cycling, driving and public transport between 2012 and 2019.

The line chart illustrates the amount of employees at one company that travelled to work on foot, by bike, by car or using public means of transportation from 2012 to 2019.

The bar chart gives information about the number of men and women working full-time or part-time in the UK in two given years, namely 2000 and 2018.

The bar chart provides data on the amount of male and female employees in the UK working on full or reduced-hour contracts in the years 2000 and 2018.

Overview

• a word or phrase that show it is an overview - Overall, / On the whole,

• a summary of the main features

• no more than three or four main features

• NO SPECIFIC DETAILS (DATA)

Main Features

graph or chart

• group something together

• biggest changes

• comparisons

process

• start and end

• one or two diagrams

• man-made or natural

• cyclical or linear

• number of stages and main differences

map

• biggest changes

• more or less of something

• agricultural / residential / industrial / natural / commercial

General advice:

The report must consist of an introduction which says what your graph, chart, process or map shows and for what period of time; an overview which summarises the key features; and body paragraphs (one or two) that describe and compare the key features in detail using data and units of measurement. Do not use titles or bullet points in your report.

You need to start your Task 1 answer with an introduction to the graph, chart, process or map. You need to write what the graph, chart, process or map shows and over which period of time. It’s important to paraphrase the question and not copy the words directly.

An overview is a summary of the key features of the graph, chart, process or map. It can come after the introduction or at the end. It must be accurate, and it shouldn’t include any data nor any detail.

When writing an overview for a process, state the number of stages there are and what generally happens during the stages. Depending on the type of process, you may also want to mention if it is a man-made or natural process, what is produced and if it is cyclical or linear.

Make sure you identify the main trends of the overall map when writing an overview.  Focus on the main changes that you can see. Have they improved anything? Have they built anything in an area where there was nothing before? Have there been any dramatic changes?

An overview is a summary of the key features of the graph or chart. These are the things that are considered to be most important. They could be a comparison of different categories over time, how large the changes were, and if anything remained unchanged. When dealing with two sets of data try and identify a connection between the two graphs or charts if possible but be careful not to give your own opinion about any connections that may exist.

The body paragraph(s) describe the key features summarised in the overview in more detail. Your description must be accurate, contain enough detail and use figures and units of measurement. Be sure to make comparisons where appropriate.

Line Graphs / Two Sets of Data

Describing Change Over Time

• go up

• go down

• stay the same

• go up and down

• big or fast changes

• small or slow changes

Vocabulary for change over time

• Go up

  increase v. / an increase n.

  rise v. / a rise n.

  grow v. / a growth n.

  rocket v.

• Go down

  decrease v. / a decrease n.

  fall v. / a fall n.

  drop v. / a drop n.

  plummet v.

  plunge v.

• Stay the same

  remain the same

  remain stable

• Go up and down

  fluctuate v. / fluctuation n.

• Big or fast changes

  dramatic adj. / dramatically adv.

  considerable adj. / considerably adv.

  significant adj. / significantly adv.

  substantial adj. / substantially adv.

  sharp adj. / sharply adv.

• Small or slow changes

  slight adj. / slightly adv.

  steady adj. / steadily adv.

  gradual adj. / gradually adv.

Two common grammatical structures:

• There was a + adjective + noun + in + subject

• Subject + verb + adverb

Describing change more specifically

• use data from the graph

• use dates

• more accurate subjects

Describing Line Graphs and Two Sets of Data

Line graphs

Analysing line graphs

• understand it before writing

• look at the title

• look at the x and y axis and what they represent

• look at the different lines

• past / present / future

• small / big change

• main features

Main features

• can’t talk about everything

• can you group anything?

• biggest changes

• comparisons

Two Sets of Data

• same as with one graph

• analyse question

• analyse the graphs

• one paragraph for each graph

• comparisons where necessary

• select main features

General advice:

It is important to look at the graph in detail and make sure you understand exactly what it is showing. Line graphs will usually show fixed percentages or numbers over a period of time, often a year or some months. Make sure to check the time shown. Is it past, present or a future prediction?

You could be given a line graph and a bar chart, a pie chart and a line graph or any other combination of graphs and charts. Tackle these in the same way you would for any other graph or chart. It is important to look at the graphs or charts in detail and make sure you understand exactly what they are showing. Check both axes (the vertical and horizontal lines) in graphs, the units of measurement used and what the graphs or charts are generally showing you.

The instructions ask you to select the main features from the graph. These are the most important features. You don’t need to write about everything in the chart. Make sure you identify the main trends and don’t write too much detail about the less important ones.

Remember to compare and contrast the important sets of data. This may be data that is very similar or very different. It may also be data that represents a change. Make sure these differences are highlighted clearly.

You must include data in your response. Remember to make sure your data is categorised and described accurately. Be sure to include the correct unit of measurement. Make sure you check how the data is presented in the chart (percentage, amount, time etc.).

Bar Charts / Tables / Pie Charts

Making General Comparisons

• line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, tables

• maps

Basic structures with ‘more’ and ‘less’

1. X + is / are + more / less + adj. + than +Y

2. There is / are + more / less + n. + of + X + than + Y

3. X + v. + more / less + n. + than + Y

4. n. + of + X + is / are + more / less + than + Y

Synonyms

• two times - double

• 25 percent - a quarter

• a fifth - 20 percent

• half - 50 percent

• the same as - equal to

• just over - slightly more than

• nearly - almost

• roughly - about

• a lot more than - well over

• a bit - marginally

Making Detailed Comparisons

Linking words

• Linking an adverb to a clause:

  • In comparison with / In contrast to B, A has a larger amount.

• Linking two clauses:

  • A has 200 while / whereas B has 140.

• Linking two sentences:

  • A has 200. However, B has 140.

  • A has 200. In comparison, / In contrast, B has 140.

Examples:

• The average amount of meat consumed in Brazil is more than 15 times that of in India.

• The amount of meat consumed in India is one fifteenth of that in Brazil.

• Alcohol consumption in India is half as much as in India.

• Brazil consumes twice / two times / double the amount of alcohol as India.

• Brazil consumes 6.02 kg of coffee per person while the US consumes 3.1, which is about half.

• Coffee consumption in the US of 3.1 kg per person a year is roughly 100 times more than in India, which is only 0.03.

General advice:

It is important to look at the graph / chart / table in detail and make sure you understand exactly what it is showing.

• Bar charts will usually show fixed percentages or numbers for a period of time, often a year or some months. Make sure you check the time shown. Is it past, present or a future prediction?

• Tables will usually show numbers for specific groups in different times and sometimes a total or an average. Make sure you check the figures in the table and understand how they are presented.

• Pie charts will usually show amounts as a percentage between two time periods, locations or reasons for doing something. Make sure to check time periods and which categories are presented in which pie charts.

The instructions ask you to select the main features from the chart / table. These are the most important features. You don’t need to write about everything in the chart. Make sure you identify the main trends and don’t write too much detail about the less important ones.

Remember to compare and contrast the important sets of data. This may be data that is very similar or very different. It may also be data that represents a change. Make sure these differences are highlighted clearly.

You must include data in your response. Remember to make sure your data is categorised and described accurately. Be sure to include the correct unit of measurement. Make sure to check how the data is presented in the chart (percentage, amount, time etc.).

Maps

Physical Changes

Maps show physical changes from one time to another.

• locations

• verbs of change

Vocabulary for describing change and locations

Change

• Create - build / construct / add / install (facilities)

• Destory

  • buildings - knock down / pull down / tear (torn) down / demolish

  • natural areas - remove / cut down (trees) / clear (fields) / flatten

• Change - move / relocate / renovate / reconstruct / convert (into) / transform (into) / replace (with)

• Get bigger / smaller - expand / extend / enlarge / grow / shrink / increase (decrease) in size

Positions on a map

• in the centre / north / south / west / east

• to the north / south / west / east of …

• next to / beside / above / below

• to the right / left of …

Example:

• Lenton Woods has been cut down and replaced with a housing estate.

• The fields in the southwest have been cleared and a cinema and railway station have been built / constructed.

• Just above Lenton housing estate, Lord Westley’s house has been converted into The Red Lion Pub and Lenton Hotel.

• The residential area has expanded / grown and now also includes businesses and shops.

Grammar for maps

• two maps in the past - past simple

• one map in the past and one map now - mostly present perfect / past simple / present simple

• one map in the past and one map in the future - past simple / future forms

• one map now and one map in the future - present simple / future forms

• a lot of passive forms

• some active forms

• comparative structures

Example:

• Lenton Woods has been cut down and replaced with a housing estate.

• The museum will be converted into a primary school.

• The city is going to become less agricultural. Most of the farms will be cleared to make way for new houses and shops.

• Jammers Park was replaced with an industrial estate.

Overall, Westley has seen some dramatic transformations throughout the time period. It has gone from being an agricultural area with some housing and lots of trees to a much more residential and commercial area. A number of key additions have also been made including a shopping centre, train line, pub and hotel.

General advice:

It is important to look at the map in detail and make sure you understand exactly what it is showing. It might be outside in a city or inside in a building. Maps will usually show changes to a place that have happened (in the past) or changes that are going to happen (future) and you may have to compare these with the present day. Make sure you understand what kinds of features are being shown in the map; this could be roads, buildings, parks, rooms, or hallways.

The instructions ask you to select the main features from the map. These are the most important features. You don’t need to write about everything in the chart. Make sure you identify the locations of different features of the map and things that have changed. Don’t write too much detail about the less important ones.

Remember to compare and contrast the important features of the map. This may be features that are very similar or very different. It may also be features that have changed maybe in size, location or things that have appeared or disappeared. Make sure these differences are highlighted clearly.

You must include data in your response. In a map, this data must take the form of the location of the key features on the map. This could be North, South, East or West, distance or the location of a feature in relation to another one. Remember to make sure your data is categorised and described accurately. Make sure to check how the data is presented in the map (direction, location, distance etc.).

Processes

• Stages of a process

• Natural process, mechanical system or manufacturing process

• No data

• Useful language:

  • passives

  • linking language: sequencing

  • linking language: cause and effect

Understanding the diagram

• Read the question

• How many diagrams?

• Where does it happen?

• Cyclical or linear?

• How many stages?

• Where does it start / finish?

• Can we compare and contrast anything?

• What do the labels refer to?

Sequencing language

Once / When the kaolinite has been extracted from the ground, it is transported to a factory where it is mixed with water in large containers. This clay is then / subsequently pushed through a tube and cut into pieces with a wire. Next / After that, a conveyor belt transports the pieces of clay to a hydraulic press, which presses the pieces so they become flatter, in the shape of the plate.

Cause / effect language

During the day, the sun heats the land, causing the air above it to become hotter. As a result, this hot air rises and so it pulls in air from the sea. This means that during the day, the wind blows towards the land, whereas at night the wind travels in the opposite direction. This is due to the cooling of the land during the night while the sea stays the same temperature.

Planning your paragraphs

• Introduction: paraphrase the question - What does it show?

• Overview:

  • two diagrams - main differences

  • one diagram - number of stages + first and last

• Body paragraphs:

  • two diagrams - features of both diagrams that are similar / different

  • one diagram - the whole stages