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A Complete Guide on IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

In Academic Writing Task 1, you will be given one or multiple diagrams that can be in many forms such as, graphs, pictures, data tables etc. You will be asked to write an essay on the given diagrams.

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You will need to write at least 150 words for this essay. Yes, you can write a few more than 150, but never go below 150. If you write even 149 words, you will lose marks. To be in the safe zone, write 170-180 words. However, we recommend not exceed 190. If you write 195/200/200+, it will be too many words and will damage your score.

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In fact, you are required to show how well you can communicate in English. Understanding the question properly and then answering precisely is one of the important communication skills. If you write less than the instructed number of words, or if you write too many words, the examiner will get the impression that you have  failed to understand the basic instruction sentence.

3 Simple Steps for Academic IELTS Writing Task 1

You need to do three simple things for Academic IELTS Writing Task 1. This is all you have to do for this task:

If you can cover just these 3 bullet points within 160-180 words, you are absolutely fine. 

Task 1 Question Types 

There are 7 types of questions for Academic IELTS Writing Task 1. Click on each question type to read their step by step detailed discussions.

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Pie Chart

A pie chart is a circular statistical graph which is divided into slices that illustrate proportional relationship.

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Line Graph

A line graph is a line that is connected with individual data points showing quantitative variations over the time. 

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Bar Chart

A bar chart presents categorical data with rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent.

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Table Chart

You might be given one or two data tables. You will need to describe the significant data changes for the given time.

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Process Diagram

You will be given a picture or a drawing that shows the production steps of a final product, or the working procedure of a mechanical device/machine etc. Most of the students fear this question not because it is difficult, but because of their confusion how to answer this.

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Map

This is a very easy question to answer. There will be no data to analyse in this question type. It will be all about comparing between 2 or 3 maps.

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Multiple Graphs

There will be more than one data diagrams. You will need to describe major changes or relations among them.

Writing Task 1 Essay Structure

  1. Paraphrasing the question sentence

  2. Overview paragraph

  3. The first body paragraph

  4. The second body paragraph

It's actually very easy to get a good score in IELTS writing task 1. Just write the major features that are very obvious in the graphs. Don't write anything that is minor or not in the graph. Click Academic IELTS Task 1 essay structure and jump to the detailed discussion.

Check the following resources:

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