CD IELTS Prep

Task 1 — Academic

Describe charts, graphs, tables, or diagrams. 150 words min.

Writing
All guides

What you see on screen

A chart, graph, table, or diagram appears beside a text box with a live word counter. Write at least 150 words describing it, budgeting about twenty minutes.

How it is marked

Task 1 carries one third of the writing score, judged on achievement, coherence, vocabulary, and grammar. Falling under 150 words loses task achievement marks.

Strategy

  • Include an overview naming the main trend; without it, task achievement caps around band 5.
  • Group the data into two body paragraphs by pattern instead of narrating every number in order.
  • Report only figures supporting the trend; quoting every value wastes words and blurs the message.
  • Vary comparison language: 'twice as high', 'marginally greater', 'plummeted', instead of repeating 'increased'.

Traps that cost marks

  • Speculating about causes of the data is never asked for and dents task achievement.

  • Copying the prompt's wording into your introduction; copied rubric is excluded from your word count.

Now try it under exam conditions.

Practise Task 1 — Academic