In this tutorial, we help you with a writing task. We take a look at a comprehensive academic task 1 checklist that you can use in your IELTS exam, to ensure that you do not lose any unnecessary marks on your test.

REMINDER: USING CHECKLISTS is a great way to check your STRATEGY has worked!

It is a great idea to use a checklist to make sure you have covered everything you should in Writing Task 1.

Checklist

* Have you paraphrased the rubric in your introduction or just copied it?

* Have you written a clear overview?

* Have you summarised the information and not just listed every piece of data?

* Have you included any information that is not in the data?

* Have you left any important data out?

* Have you just listed information, or have you compared it?

* Have you divided your answer into clear paragraphs?

* Have you mentioned any striking features?

* Have you avoided repetition of words and structures?

* Have you used a range of grammar, vocabulary and complex structures?

* Have you used the correct tenses and verb form?

* Have you used appropriate linking devices such as adverbs and conjunctions?

* Have you checked your writing for mistakes?

* Have you completed the task according to the rubric?

* Have you written at least 150 words?

Here is the sample question they will be reviewing:

The question has been taken from the course book “Ready for IELTS (Macmillan, 2020)

Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below compares the number of visits to two new music sites on the web.

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

Writing Task 1 Model Answer:

The graph shows how many times two new music websites were visited over a period of 15 days.

Overall, the trends in each case are upward with Music Choice being more popular than the Pop Parade site for most of the period and while clicks on the Music Choice site fell over the first 10  days the sites following similar fluctuating patterns on days 7-9.  

Regarding the Music Choice streaming website, visit numbers rose from just under 120,000 hits on the first day to approximately 170,000 which was the highest, at the end of the period. On days 7 and 9, there were two noticeable lows at about 40,000 and 45,000 visits respectively, followed by a dramatic jump to a high of about 150,000 hits on day 11.

By contrast, while there were only about 40, 000 visits to Pop Parade on the first day, numbers more than doubled to around 80,000 hits at the end of the period. There was a peak in visits to the Pop Parade site at about 120,000 hits on day 12 when visit numbers briefly overtook those of Music Choice.

Commentary:

This answer manages to include all the key data summarising the overall increasing trends as well as some of the more unusual features such as the steep rises / falls and cross over points. The data includes information on both sites, using relevant topical vocabulary and presents the numbers correctly. The past tense is used to refer to the 2 week period and some dynamic language is appropriate for describing the movement in the graph.

Useful language to note and use:

Comparatives: more popular than, the highest, more than doubled to.

Other good fragments: two noticeable lows, fluctuating patterns, dramatic jump, briefly overtook.

Verbs: were visited (passive), being more popular than,  regarding the MC.

Linking expressions: while, by contrast, when.

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