Lesson 1: IELTS Task 1

Describing a Graph Over Time

This lesson explains how to describe a line graph or bar chart for IELTS task 1 that is over time.
This uses an example of a bar chart, but it will be the same for a line graph.
When you get a chart or graph to describe, it is always important to check whether there is a time
frame or not. If there is, you will need to use the language of change.
However, it is not enough just to describe the changes of each element (ActiveX, Java and Net in
this case) on their own and ignore how they relate to each other.
Look at the question you are asked to compare the data as well. So you must also compare the
elements where relevant in your IELTS task 1.
You must also group data together to make sure you have a well organized and coherent
answer.
To do this, you need to look for similarities and differences when you first analyze the graph for
IELTS task 1, and decide what can be logically put together or not.
Now look at the bar chart below and read the IELTS task 1 model answer.
The bar chart shows the number of times per week (in 1000s), over five weeks, that three computer
packages were downloaded from the internet.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons
where relevant.

Model Answer
The bar chart illustrates the download rate per week of ActiveX, Java and Net computer
packages over a period of five weeks. It can clearly be seen that ActiveX was the most popular
computer package to download, whilst Net was the least popular of the three.
To begin, ActiveX and Java showed a similar pattern, with both gradually increasing from week
1 to week 5. However, the purchases of Active X remained significantly higher than for the other
product over this time frame. In week 1, purchases of ActiveX stood at around 75,000, while
those for Java were about 30,000 lower. With the exception of a slight fall in week 4,
downloading of ActiveX kept increasing until it reached a peak in the final week of just over
120,000. Java also increased at a steady rate, finishing the period at 80,000.
The product that was downloaded the least was Net. This began at slightly under 40,000, and, in
contrast to the other two products, fell over the next two weeks to reach a low of approximately
25,000. It then increased sharply over the following two weeks to finish at about 50,000, which
was well below that of ActiveX.
(Words 197)
Language of Change
As you can see, there are several examples of this in the graph, so it is important to learn how to
use these correctly in order to successfully write an IELTS task 1 chart over time. Here are some
examples:
gradually increasing
a slight fall
kept rising
reached a peak
increased at a steady rate
fell
increased sharply
a low of
finish at
stood at
finishing the period at
You will need to practice this type of language, and also make sure you know a variety of
structures to get a better score if you keep repeating the same kind of phrases this will show
you have a more limited range of lexis and grammar.
Making Comparisons
In IELTS task 1, you must also compare the data as you are asked to do in the rubric.
If you just write about what happened to ActiveX, what happened to Java, and what happened to
Net, without showing any relationship between them, this wont be enough.
Here are some examples of where comparisons are made between the products in the IELTS task
1 graph, and the language of comparison is highlighted in black:
It can clearly be seen that ActiveX was the most popular computer package to download, whilst Net was
the least popular of the three
ActiveX and Java showed a similar trend, with both gradually increasing from week 1 to week 5
However, the purchases of Active X remained significantly higher than for the other product
over this time frame.
In week 1, purchases of ActiveX stood at around 75,000, whilethose for Java were about 30,000
lower
Java also increased at a steady rate, finishing the period at 80,000
The product that was downloaded the least was Net. This began at slightly under 40,000, and, in
contrast to the other two products, fell over the next two weeks
It then increased sharply over the following two weeks to finish at about 50,000, which was well
below that of ActiveX
Grouping the Data
It is a good idea to divide your answer into paragraphs so it is well organized. To do this, you
should group similar things together into paragraphs or sections.
If you look at the chart, you will see that ActiveX and Java have a similar pattern, both steadily
increasing over the period (apart from the slight fall of ActiveX in week 4), so these could be put
together:
To begin, ActiveX and Java showed a similar trend, with both gradually increasing from week 1 to week
5. However, the purchases of Active X remained significantly higher than for the other product over this
time frame. In week 1, purchases of ActiveX stood at around 75,000, while those for Java were about
30,000 lower. With the exception of a slight fall in week 4, downloading of ActiveX kept rising until it
reached a peak in the final week of just over 120,000. Java also increased at a steady rate, finishing the
period at 80,000.
On the other hand, Net is the lowest and it has a different pattern falling and then rising again.
So this could be described in another paragraph:
The product that was downloaded the least was Net. This began at slightly under 40,000, and, in
contrast to the other two products, fell over the next two weeks to a low of approximately 25,000. It then
increased sharply over the following two weeks to finish at about 50,000, which was well below that of
ActiveX.
There is usually more than one way to group the data for an IELTS task 1, so this needs to be
your decision. As long as it is logical and makes your answer easy to follow and read, this should
be ok.








Lesson 2: Describing an IELTS Pie Chart
This lesson will provide you with tips and advice on how to write an IELTS pie chart for task
1.
To begin, take a look at the pie chart below, and then answer the quiz questions.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The pie charts show the main reasons for migration to and from the UK in
2007.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features
and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.



IELTS Pie Chart Quiz

1. What is the best way to organize your answer?
Write one paragraph about immigration and one about emigration
Write about the pie charts together, comparing each of the reasons

2. What tense should you use to write about the IELTS pie chart?
Past
Present

3. Can you talk about increases and decreases when describing the information?
Yes
No

Now take a look at a model answer:

The pie charts illustrate the primary reasons that people came to and left the UK in 2007. At first
glance it is clear that the main factor influencing this decision was employment.
Having a definite job accounted for 30 per cent of immigration to the UK, and this figure was
very similar for emigration, at 29%. A large number of people, 22%, also emigrated because
they were looking for a job, though the proportion of people entering the UK for this purpose
was noticeably lower at less than a fifth.
Another major factor influencing a move to the UK was for formal study, with over a quarter of
people immigrating for this reason. However, interestingly, only a small minority, 4%, left for
this.
The proportions of those moving to join a family member were quite similar for immigration and
emigration, at 15% and 13% respectively. Although a significant number of people (32%) gave
other reasons or did not give a reason why they emigrated, this accounted for only 17% with
regards to immigration.
173 words
_________________________________________
As you can see, the pie chart description is easy to follow. Here are some key points in organizing your
answer.
Choose the most important points to write about first
These will be the largest ones. As you can see in the model answer, definite job, looking for
work, and formal study were all written about first, in order of importance, as these are the
main reasons that were chosen for moving.
Items such as other are usually less important and account for small amounts, so can be left till
the end.
Make it easy to read
When you write a task 1, you should always group information in a logical way to make it easy
to follow and read.
With an IELTS pie chart, the most logical thing to do is usually to compare categories together
across the charts, focusing on similarities and differences, rather than writing about each chart
separately.
If you write about each one separately, the person reading it will have to keep looking between
the paragraphs in order to see how each category differs.
Vary your language
As with any task 1, this is important. You should not keep repeating the same structures. The
key language when you write about pie charts is proportions and percentages.
Common phrases to see are "the proportion of" or "the percentage of"
However, you can also use other words and fractions. These are some examples from the
model answer:
A large number of people
over a quarter of people
a small minority
A significant number of people
less than a fifth
This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to fractions or ratios:
Percentage Fraction
80% four-fifths
75% three-quarters
70% seven in ten
65% two-thirds
60% three-fifths
55% more than half
50% half
45% more than two fifths
40% two-fifths
35% more than a third
30% less than a third
25% a quarter
20% a fifth
15% less than a fifth
10% one in ten
5% one in twenty
If the percentages are not exact as above, then you can use qualifiers to make sure your
description remains accurate. Here are some examples:
Percentage Qualifier
77% just over three quarters
77% approximately three quarters
49% just under a half
49% nearly a half
32% almost a third
This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to other phrases:
Percentage
proportion / number / amount /
majority / minority
75% - 85% a very large majority
65% - 75% a significant proportion
10% - 15% a minority
5% a very small number
The words above are interchageable, though number is for countable nouns and amount is for
uncountable nouns




Lesson 3: IELTS Process Diagram
It is less common in the writing test, but sometimes you will get an IELTS process diagram to
describe.
This should follow the same format as any task 1:
1. Introduce the diagram
2. Give an overview of the main point/s
3. Give the detail
What is an IELTS Process Diagram?
To begin, look at this question:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The diagram illustrates the process that is used to
manufacture bricks for the building industry.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.



A process will have a number of stages that are in time order. So you should start at the
beginning, and describe each stage through to the last one.
In the example above, this is fairly clear. It begins with the digging of the clay, and ends with
delivery.
Processes are not always this clear, and you may have to look more carefully to spot the
beginning, and there may also be two things happening at the same time.
So it is important that you look at other sample processes to get a good understanding of how
they can vary.

Introduce the Diagram
As with any task 1, you can begin by paraphrasing the rubric:
The diagram explains the way in which bricks are made for the building industry.
As you can see, this has been taken from the question, but it has not been copied. You need to
write it in your own words.

Highlight the main points
An IELTS process diagram is different to a line, bar, pie chart or table in that there are not
usually key changes or trends to identify. However, you should still give an overview of what is
taking place.
The public band descriptors state that to achieve a band 6 or more for task response the
student must provide an overview in a task 1.
As there are no trends to comment on, you can make a comment on, for example, the number of
stages in the process and how it begins and ends:
Overall, there are eight stages in the process, beginning with the digging up of clay and
culminating in delivery.

Giving the detail
Now you need to explain the IELTS process diagram, and there are two key aspects of language
associated with this:
Time Connectors
A process is a series of events, one taking place after the other. Therefore, to connect your
stages, you should use time connectors. Here is the rest of the answer with the time
connectors highlighted (notice that you simply go from the beginning to the end of the process):
To begin, the clay used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a large digger. This clay
is then placed onto a metal grid, which is used to break up the clay into smaller pieces. A roller
assists in this process.
Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is turned into bricks by
either placing it into a mould or using a wire cutter. Next, these bricks are placed in an oven to
dry for 24 48 hours.
I n the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process. They are heated
in a kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging from 200c to 1300c), followed by a
cooling process in a chamber for 2 3 days. Finally, the bricks are packed and delivered to
their destinations.
These connectors are the same you would use to write a graph over time when you explain a
series of changes.
These are some common IELTS process diagram connectors:
To begin
Following this
Next
Then
After
After that
Before**
Subsequently
Finally

** If you use before, this means that you will be mentioning a later stage before an earlier stage,
so you need to use it carefully. If you can use it properly though, it will get noticed.
Here is an example using stages four and five:
Before being dried in the oven, the mixture is turned into bricks by either placing it into a mould
or using a wire cutter.
The Passive
When we describe an IELTS process, the focus is on the activities, NOT the person doing them.
When this is the case, we use the passive voice, not the active.
This is a brief explanation of how to use the passive voice, but if you are new or unsure about
using it, you should do some further study and practice.
Most sentences use this structure:
Subject + Verb + Object
(S) A large digger (V) digs up (O) the clay in the ground.
In the active voice (as above), the digger is doing the verb i.e. the digger is doing the digging.
When we use the passive voice, we make the object (the clay) the subject, and make the subject
(the digger) the object. We also add in the verb to be and the past participle (or Verb 3).
(S) The clay in the ground (V) is dug up (O) by the digger.
So throughout most of your description for your IELTS process diagram, you should be using the
passive voice.
This is difficult as some verbs cannot take the passive. For example, 'to go' cannot be passive, so
it is kept in the active voice:
...the bricks go through a heating and cooling process.
This is why you need to make sure you practice the passive so you know exactly how to use it.
Also, as you will see from the description, it is more usual to to comment on who or what is
doing the action so the 'by...." phrase is excluded.
Here is the same example description with uses of the passive highlighted:
To begin, the clay (which is) used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a large
digger. This clay is then placed onto a metal grid, which is used to break up the clay into smaller
pieces. A roller assists in this process.
Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is turned into bricks by
either placing it into a mould or using a wire cutter. Next, these bricks are placed in an oven to
dry for 24 48 hours.
In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process. They are heated in
a kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging from 200c to 1300c), followed by a
cooling process in a chamber for 2 3 days. Finally, the bricks are packed and delivered to their
destinations.

Varying your Language
Sometimes it may be appropriate just to use the same language that you are given in the IELTS
process diagram to describe it, but you should try to vary it.
You may be able to use nouns from the diagram as your verbs. For example, the noun
packaging in stage seven becomes:
Finally, the bricks are packed

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The diagram illustrates the process that is used to manufacture bricks for the
building industry.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.


The Brick Manufacturing Process



IELTS Process Model Answer
The diagram explains the way in which bricks are made for the building industry. Overall, there
are seven stages in the process, beginning with the digging up of clay and culminating in
delivery.
To begin, the clay used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a large digger. This clay
is then placed onto a metal grid, which is used to break up the clay into smaller pieces. A roller
assists in this process.
Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is turned into bricks by
either placing it into a mould or using a wire cutter. Next, these bricks are placed in an oven to
dry for 24 48 hours.
In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process. They are heated in
a kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging from 200c to 1300c), followed by a
cooling process in a chamber for 2 3 days. Finally, the bricks are packed and delivered to their
destinations.
Words 173






Lesson 4:
IELTS Bar and Line Graph
This is an example of an IELTS bar and line graph together. It is not uncommon to get two
graphs to describe at the same time in the IELTS test.
It can look a bit scary at first. However, when you look more closely, you'll see it is probably no
more difficult than having one graph.
Take a look at the question and the graph:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The line graph shows visits to and from the UK from 1979 to 1999, and
the bar graph shows the most popular countries visited by UK
residents in 1999.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features
and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.



These are the steps you need to take to describe a bar and line graph together (or any two graphs)
that may differ slightly from when you describe one graph.

Introduction
When you state what the graph shows, mention both of them. Here is a sample first sentence of
the introduction:
The line graph illustrates the number of visitors in millions from the UK who went abroad and
those that came to the UK between 1979 and 1999, while the bar chart shows which countries
were the most popular for UK residents to visit in 1999.
Remember to write this in your own words and not to copy from the question.
Next you need to mention the key points from the graph. When you do this, mention the most
interesting things from each:
Overall, it can be seen that visits to and from the UK increased, and that France was the most
popular country to go to.

Body Paragraphs
If there are two graphs and a lot of information, you will have to be careful not to describe
everything as you may then have too much information.
Also, the examiner is looking to see that you can select the important things and not describe
every single detail.
So the key skill when you have two graphs is being able to pick out the important information or
summarize things in a concise way, otherwise you will end up writing too much and probably
run out of time.
Here is an example description for the bar and line graph:
To begin, the number of visits abroad by UK residents was higher than for those that came to the
UK, and this remained so throughout the period. The figures started at a similar amount, around
10 million, but visits abroad increased significantly to over 50 million, whereas the number of
overseas residents rose steadily to reach just under 30 million.
By far the most popular countries to visit in 1999 were France at approximately 11 million
visitors, followed by Spain at 9 million. The USA, Greece, and Turkey were far less popular at
around 4, 3 and 2 million visitors respectively.
As you can see, the first paragraph discusses the line graph, and the second the bar chart.
You will not usually need to mix up the descriptions. This will only make things complicated
and difficult to follow. Writing about the first one and then the second one is ok.
As with any task 1, you will need to make sure you use the right language, make comparisons,
and group data appropriately.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The line graph shows visits to and from the UK from 1979 to 1999, and
the bar graph shows the most popular countries visited by UK
residents in 1999.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features
and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.


IELTS Line and Bar Chart - Model Answer
The line graph illustrates the number of visitors in millions from the UK who went abroad and
those that came to the UK between 1979 and 1999, while the bar chart shows which countries
were the most popular for UK residents to visit in 1999. Overall, it can be seen that visits to and
from the UK increased, and that France was the most popular country to go to.
To begin, the number of visits abroad by UK residents was higher than for those that came to the
UK, and this remained so throughout the period. The figures started at a similar amount, around
10 million, but visits abroad increased significantly to over 50 million, whereas the number of
overseas residents rose steadily to reach just under 30 million.
By far the most popular countries to visit in 1999 were France at approximately 11 million
visitors, followed by Spain at 9 million. The USA, Greece, and Turkey were far less popular at
around 4, 3 and 2 million visitors respectively.
(Words 171)