In Academic Task 1 of the Writing module, you are expected to write a short descriptive report based on visual information or data.

This visual information is most commonly presented as line and bar graphs, pie charts or tables.

You might be asked to describe two graphs or charts.

If this is the case, you need to compare and contrast the information and make connections between the two.

It is designed for students who want to achieve a score of 6.5-7.0 or higher in the Writing module of the Academic IELTS exam.

Key points in task 1-

Summarise the chart – don’t describe it all or give your opinions

Write at least 150 words

Use varied and accurate vocabulary

Give yourself time to check grammar

Remember to organise logically and use paragraphs

Sample IELTS Writing Task 1 -

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar chart shows the number of overseas students enrolled in a third year Computer Science course at a Canadian college.

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

Write at least 150 words




Model answer:

According to the bar chart, students from four Asian countries (China, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka) and one European country (France) are taking Computer Science at the collage. Some students are enrolled in the Database core option; the others are taking Networking.

Overall, the China has the largest number of enrolled students (17) and France has the smallest (5). Singapore and Sri Lanka both have 12 students; Malaysia has 11. It is noticeable that Singapore and Sri Lanka have similar profiles.

Students from all five countries are enrolled in Database, but more males are taking this option than females (21 and 9 respectively). For each nationality, the males taking Database outnumber the females, except in the case of French students with 3 females to only 1 male. The China has the most students studying Database (9); Sri Lanka is next with 7, while Singapore has 6. Malaysia and France have 4 Database students each.

As for Networking option, more females than males are enrolled from every country except France. In fact, no female French students are taking Networking. Only 1 male from each country is enrolled in Networking, except for 2 males from Sri Lanka.