IELTS Academic Writing

Guide on IELTS Academic Writing Task

The IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 demands that you write a description of at least 150 words after assessing and comprehending a specific graph (bar, line, or pie chart), table, map, or procedure. Its assignment measures the ability to select and report key features, describe and compare data, identify factual information and its importance, or describe a process.

IELTS academic writing task information

Here are some essential facts about task 1. Having full detailed and proper information of an exam helps you to make necessary improvements for achieving your target score and make sure that you prepare well for the test. These facts will help you to understand the exam better.

It is suggested that you do not spend more than 20 min on IELTS Academic writing task 1. However, time is yours, and you can manage according to your wish and as you feel comfortable. You need to write more than 150 words. IELTS Writing Task 1 of IELTS is worth only about 33% of your total marks

You will be marked on:-

  • Achievement of the task (25%)
  • Consistency & cohesion (25%)
  • Vocabulary (25%)
  • Grammatical range and consistency (25%)

IELTS Academic Writing task 1 question types

Charts:-

Charts are probably the most common Task 1 question. You will likely have to answer a question on charts in Part 1 of the writing examination. Our IELTS writing coaching will assist you in answering IELTS writing task 1 chart questions effectively. There are four different types of charts you may have to describe. They are the line chart, bar chart, pie chart and comparative bar chart. Task 1 of IELTS has other questions related to maps, method diagrams, and the comparison of two tables.

Maps:-

Maps are not very popular in IELTS exam, but in my humble opinion, they are the easiest. If you don’t know how to do them and if one appears in your article, then you will regret it. There are three major kinds of maps: one map for which you have to write the description in present tense and two other maps which you have to describe in present tense and one in the future tense.

Occasionally, the second type comes up and would allow you to use present and future tenses. There is also a third type of map that is the most popular as it includes writing descriptions in both past and present tenses.

Multiple graphs:-

A line graph and a bar chart, a pie chart, or any other combination could also be given. Students usually score less on these kinds of questions, not because they are more complicated, but because they are unfamiliar with this kind of subject. Do not worry about leaving out information; the examiner will look for your ability to leave out insignificant information, as this shows you are summarizing and reporting only the main features.

Tips to improve Writing Skills

No matter how good your English is before you attempt task 1, you still need to learn some IELTS writing skills to score well in the exam.

Here are the useful instructions which will be helpful to improve your writing skills for the IELTS exam:

Write an overview paragraph correctly

An overview paragraph is simply a description of a graph, chart, or map of the major or most important points. It is normally 2-3 sentences long. Summarize details by choosing and reporting the key features and, make comparisons wherever applicable. Therefore, a brief description of the main features must be given. In the overview paragraph, you do this by choosing 3 to 4 of the most important things you can see and write them in general terms.

Write paraphrases correctly

Paraphrasing is merely rewriting a sentence or phrase to depict the same meaning, but with different words. Before taking your IELTS test, paraphrasing is one of the essential skills to learn. You can get a better score if you know how to paraphrase. The mental processes required to paraphrase will also help you to understand the questions entirely.

Use Synonyms

Synonyms are handy, but if misused, they can reduce your marks. Synonyms help us to use different better words in pace of certain words. We can use synonyms to demonstrate the examiner that we have a vast vocabulary. When you use the same keywords at the same time, it tells the examiner you don’t know any other ways to express those words, and you have a small vocabulary.

Conclusion

We hope that you enjoyed the above mentioned IELTS Academic Writing tips which can be very helpful for you to improve your writing skills. If you want to get high band score then take best IELTS coaching by Shivangi, who is a British Council Certified IELTS Trainer.

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