Writing task one: double line graph

Task description
You will be given a graph with two lines. Your task is to describe the information given in the graph
by writing a 150 word report. You are not asked to give your opinion.

You should spend around 20 minutes on the task.

What is being tested is your ability to:

 objectively describe the information given to you
 compare and contrast
 report on an impersonal topic without the use of opinion
 use the language of graph description

Sample Task: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write a report for a university
lecturer describing the information in the graph below. You should write at least 150 words.

Your task
Complete the task one report writing exercise above. Spend only 20 minutes. Then look at the guidelines and
the sample answer below.

Guidelines for a good answer

Does the report have a suitable structure?

 Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?
 Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within sentences and paragraphs?
Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?
 Does it include a variety of sentence structures?
 Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?
Does the report meet the requirements of the task?
 Does it meet the word limit requirements?
 Does it describe the whole graph adequately?
 Does it focus on the important trends presented in the graphic information?
Now read sample answer one. How well does it follow the guidelines?

Sample answer one

The graph shows the rate of smoking in Someland.

In 1960, 600 men in every 1,000 was smoking. This number decreased gradually to 500 by 1974 and
continued to decrease but more steeply to 300 in 1995. In contrast the rate of women smokers in 1960 was
very low at only 80 in every 1,000. This number increased to 170 by 1968 and increased again but more
steeply to 320 in 1977. The rate of female smokers then remained stable at 320 until 1984 at which point the
figures began to decline and had dropped to 250 by 1995.

Teacher's comments on sample answer one

Here is what an IELTS teacher said about this sample answer:

The report structure lacks a clear introduction giving the parameters of the graph (should include who and
when) and lacks a statement summing up the main trends. The report also lacks any conclusion.

The candidate uses a variety of grammatical structures and vocabulary so that the writing is not repetitive.

In terms of task requirements, the report is short because the introduction and conclusion sections are
missing. However, the body of the report does describe the graph well.

Sample answer two

Now look at a better answer to this task. Notice how it follows the guidelines.

The graph compares the rate of smoking in men and women in Someland between the years 1960 and 2000.
It can be clearly seen that the rate of smoking for both men and women is currently declining and that fewer
women have smoked throughout the period.

In 1960, 600 men in every 1,000 were smoking. This number decreased gradually to 500 by 1974 and
continued to decrease but more steeply to 250 in 2000. In contrast, the rate of smoking in women in 1960
was very low at only 80 in every 1,000. By 1968 this increased to 170, and increased again but more steeply
to 320 in 1977. The rate of female smokers then remained stable at 320 until 1984 at which point the figures
began to decline and had dropped to 200 by 2000.

In conclusion we can see that the rate of smoking in men dropped throughout the whole period but was
always at a higher level than the female figures. The rate of smoking in women increased until 1977 but then
decreased for the rest of the period.

Strategies for improving your IELTS score

Selecting information
In completing this task it is important that you describe the whole graph fully. However, this does not mean
that you should note every detail. In most cases there will be too much information for you to mention each
figure. You will therefore need to summarise the graph in meaningful segments, as we saw in the section on
single line graphs.

Report structure
Like the single line graph, your report should be structured simply with an introduction, body and
conclusion. Tenses should be used appropriately.
Use two standard opening sentences to introduce the graph and your report. These opening sentences should
make up the first paragraph. Sentence one should define what the graph is about, that is the date, location,
what is being described in the graph etc. For example:

The graph compares the rate of smoking between men and women in Someland between the years 1960 and
2000.

Notice that in the single line graph we said that ‘the graph shows … ’ but with two lines we can more
accurately say ‘the graph compares … ’

Notice the tense used. Even though it describes information from the past, the graph shows the information in
the present time.

Notice that the sample opening sentence does not simply copy the words used on the graphic material.
Copied sentences will not be assessed by the examiner and so you waste your time including them.

Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend. For example:

It can be clearly seen that the rate of smoking for both men and women is currently declining and that fewer
women had smoked throughout the period.

Notice that the Present perfect tense is used. Here we are talking about the rate of smoking in the past and up
to the present.

The body of the report will describe the graph or graphs in detail. You will need to decide on the most clear
and logical order to present the material. Line graphs generally present information in chronological order
and so the most logical order for you to write up the information would also, most probably, be from earliest
to latest. Bar graphs, pie charts, etc are organised in different ways and so you need to decide on the
organisation of each one.

Your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your report or draw a relevant
conclusion.

Writing task one: single line graph

You will be given a graph with a single line. Your task is to write a 150 word report to describe the
information given in the graph. You are not asked to give your opinion.
You should spend around twenty minutes on the task. Task one is not worth as many marks as task two and
so you should make sure that you keep within the recommended twenty minute time frame.

What is being tested is your ability to:

 objectively describe the information given to you
 report on a topic without the use of opinion
 use suitable language to describe the graph

Sample Task: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write a report for a university lecturer
describing the information in the graph below. You should write at least 150 words.
Guidelines for a good answer

Does the report have a suitable structure?

 Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?
 Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within sentences and paragraphs?
Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?
 Does it include a variety of sentence structures?
 Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?
Does the report meet the requirements of the task?
 Does it meet the word limit requirements?
 Does it describe the whole graph adequately?
 Does it focus on the important trends presented in the graphic information?

Sample Answer:

The graph shows the number of cases of X disease in Someland between the years 1960 and 1995. As an
overall trend, it is clear that the number of cases of the disease increased fairly rapidly until the mid
seventies, remained constant for around a decade at 500 cases before dropping to zero in the late 80s.

In 1960, the number of cases stood at approximately 100. That number rose steadily to 200 by 1969 and then
more sharply to 500 in 1977. At this point the number of cases remained stable until 1984 before plummeting
to zero by 1988. From 1988 to 1995 Someland was free of the disease.

In conclusion, the graph shows that the disease was increasingly prevalent until the 1980s when it was
eradicated from Someland.

What do you think?

What is your opinion of this sample answer? How well does it meet the requirements of the guidelines? Read
the next page for a teacher's comments on this answer.

Teacher's comments on the sample answer

Here is what an IELTS teacher said about the sample answer.

The report structure is easy to follow and logical with a clear introduction, body and conclusion. The
candidate uses cohesive words to connect pieces of information and make the writing flow such as ‘until’ and
‘before’ in the second sentence. 
The candidate uses a variety of grammatical structures and vocabulary so that the writing is not repetitive. 
In terms of task requirements the report is a little short but this is because the simple graph used as an
example does not have sufficient information for the candidate to describe. In the real IELTS test the graph
will have more information and so the need to look for trends will be even greater than in this example.

Strategies for improving your IELTS score

Selecting information
It is important that you describe the whole graph fully. However, this does not mean that you should note
every detail. In most cases there will be too much information for you to mention each figure. You will
therefore need to summarise the graph by dividing it into its main parts. This is what we mean by describing
the trends.

For example, in a chronological line graph it might seem sensible to describe the information year by year or
period by period. The graph above gives the information in five year sections so we could write our report
like this:

The number of cases of X disease started at 50 in 1965 and then went up gradually to 100 in 1965 and
continued up to 200 in 1970 and then went up more sharply to 380 in 1975.

While this way of describing the information may be accurate, it does not meaningfully sum up the
information in the graph. In fact, the information in the graph would most meaningfully be described in four
chronological sections following the shape of the graph.

In the Sample Task, the graph shows four main trends:

 first, a gradual increase from 1960 to 1968
 second, a steeper increase from 1968 to 1977
 third, a plateau from 1977 to 1983
 fourth, a drop from 1983 to 1988

The structure of the report must show these four main trends clearly.

Report structure
Your report should be structured simply with an introduction, body and conclusion. Tenses should be used
appropriately.

Introduction
Use two standard opening sentences to introduce your report. These opening sentences should make up the
first paragraph. Sentence one should define what the graph is about; that is, the date, location, what is being
described in the graph etc. For example:

The graph shows the number of cases of X disease in Someland between the years 1960 and 1995 …

Notice the tense used. Even though it describes information from the past, the graph shows the information in
the present time.

Notice that the sample opening sentence does not simply copy the words used on the graphic material.
Copied sentences will not be assessed by the examiner and so you waste your time including them.

Describing the overall trend

Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend. For example:
It can be clearly seen that X disease increased rapidly to 500 cases around the 1980s and then dropped to zero
before 1999, while Y disease fell consistently from a high point of nearly 600 cases in 1960 to less than 100
cases in 1995.

Notice the tense used. Here we are talking about the occurrence of the disease in the past.

Describing the graph in detail

The body of the report will describe the graph or graphs in detail. You will need to decide on the most clear
and logical order to present the material.
Line graphs generally present information in chronological order and so the most logical order for you to
write up the information would, most probably be from earliest to latest. Bar graphs, pie charts are organised
in different ways and so you need to decide on the organisation of each one.

Concluding sentences
Your report may end with one or two sentences which summarise your report to draw a relevant conclusion.

 Grammar and Vocabulary

Avoiding repetition
You will receive a higher mark if your writing uses a range of structures and vocabulary correctly rather than
a limited number. For example, the candidate who writes:

The number of cases of X disease started at 50 in 1965 and then went up to 200 in 1970 and then went up to
500 in 1980 and then went down to zero in 1990.

will lose marks for being repetitive. You should therefore practise writing reports using a wide variety of
terms to describe the different movements in the graphs and different structures to vary your writing.

Describing trends
Trends are changes or movements. These changes are normally expressed in numeric items, for example,
population, production volumes or unemployment. There are three basic trends:

Expressing movement: nouns and verbs

For each trend there are a number of verbs and nouns to express the movement. We can use a verb of change,
for example:

Unemployment levels fell

Or we can use a related noun, for example:
There was a fall in unemployment levels
 Direction Verbs Nouns
A rise
Rose (to)
An increase
Increased (to)
Growth
Went up (to)
An upward
Climbed (to)
trend
Boomed
A boom (a dramatic rise)
Fell (to)
Declined (to) A decrease
Decreased (to) A decline
Dipped (to) A fall
Dropped (to) A drop
Went down (to) A slump (a dramatic fall)
Slumped (to) A reduction
Reduced (to)

Levelled out (at)

Did not change
Remained stable (at) A levelling out
Remained steady (at) No change
Stayed constant (at)
Maintained the same level

Fluctuated (around)
Peaked (at)
Plateaued (at) A fluctuation
Stood at (we use this phrase to Reached a
  focus on a particular point, peak (of)
before we mention the Reached at
movement, for example: plateau (at)
In the first year, unemployment
stood at … )

Describing the movement: adjectives and adverbs

Sometimes we need to give more information about a trend as follows:

There has been a slight increase in the value of the dollar (degree of change)

Unemployment fell rapidly last year (the speed of change)

Remember that we modify a noun with an adjective (a slight increase) and a verb with an adverb (to increase
slightly).

Describing the degree of change

Adjectives  Adverbs 
dramatic dramatically
sharp sharply
huge  
enormous enormously
steep steeply
substantial substantially
considerable considerably
significant Significantly
marked Markedly
moderate Moderately
slight Slightly
small  
minimal Minimally

Describing the speed of change

Adjectives  Adverbs 
rapid rapidly
quick quickly
swift swiftly
sudden suddenly
steady steadily
gradual gradually
slow slowly

Exercise: Use the following terms and any others necessary to describe the graph below.
 initially, stood at, dip/dipped, peak/peaked, level/leveled out

Describing a trend
We can describe a trend by looking at:
 the difference between two levels
 the end point of the trend

Describing the difference between two levels

This year unemployment has increased by 20,000 cases (the difference between this year and last year is
20,000 cases).
This year there has been an increase in unemployment of 5%.

Notice the prepositions. We use to increase by (with the verb) and an increase of (with the noun).

Describing the end point

This year unemployment has risen to 10% (the end result is that unemployment is up to 10%).
This year there has been a rise in unemployment to 10%.

Notice the prepositions. We use to rise to (with the verb) and a rise to (with the noun).

Exercise: Write 3 sentences describing the graph below using by, of and to.

Expressing approximation
We use words to express approximation when the point we are trying to describe is between milestones on
the graph.

just under
just over
well under
well over
roughly
nearly
approximately
around
about

Writing task one: bar graphs

Task description
You will be given one or more bar graphs. Your task is to describe the information given in the graph by
writing a 150 word report. You are not asked to give your opinion.

You should spend around 20 minutes on the task.

What is being tested is your ability to:

 objectively describe some graphic information
 compare and contrast
 report on an impersonal topic without the use of opinion
 use the language of graph description

Sample task: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write a report for a university lecturer
describing the information in the graph below. You should write at least 150 words.
Guidelines for a good answer

Does the report have a suitable structure?

 Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?
 Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within sentences and paragraphs?

Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?

 Does it include a variety of sentence structures?
 Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?

Does the report meet the requirements of the task?

 Does it meet the word limit requirements?
 Does it describe the whole graph adequately?
 Does it focus on the important trends presented in the graphic information?

Now read sample answer one. How well does it follow the guidelines?

Sample answer one

The graphs compare the number of deaths caused by six diseases in Someland in 1990 with the amount of
research funding allocated to each of those diseases. It can be clearly seen that the amount of research
funding in many cases did not correlate with the seriousness of the disease in terms of numbers of deaths.

In 1990 there were around 0.2 million deaths from AIDS, 0.1 million deaths from leprosy, 0.3 million deaths
from tropical diseases, 0.5 million deaths from diarrhoea, 0.4 million deaths from malaria and 1.8 million
deaths from TB. These figures can be contrasted with the amount of funding allocated for each disease. In
1990 AIDS received 180 million dollars in research funding, leprosy 80 million dollars in research funding,
tropical diseases 79 million dollars in research funding, diarrhoea 60 million dollars in research funding,
malaria 50 million dollars and TB 20 million dollars in research funding.

In conclusion it is clear that funding allocation for disease research in Someland is not wholly determined by
the number of deaths for which each disease is responsible in a given year.

Strategies for improving your IELTS score

Selecting information
In completing this task, it is important that you fully describe all of the graphic information given. However,
this does not mean that you should note every detail. In most cases there will be too much information for
you to mention each figure. You will therefore need to summarise the graph in meaningful segments. In other
words, you will describe the significant trends in your report.

Report structure
Like the line graphs, your report should be structured simply with an introduction, body and conclusion.
Tenses should be used appropriately.

Use two standard opening sentences to introduce the graph and your report. These opening sentences should
make up the first paragraph. Sentence one should define what the graph is about, that is, the date, location,
what is being described in the graph etc. For example:

The graphs compare the number of deaths caused by six diseases in Someland in 1990 with the amount of
research funding allocated to each of those diseases.

Notice that in the single line graph we said that ‘the graph shows… but with two bar graphs we can more
accurately say ‘the graphs compare … ’.

Notice that the Simple Past tense used. Even though it describes information from the past, the graph shows
the information in the present time.

Notice that the sample opening sentence does not simply copy the words used on the graphic material.
Copied sentences will not be assessed by the examiner and so you waste your time including them.

Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend. For example:

It can be clearly seen that the amount of research funding in many cases did not correlate with the
seriousness of the disease in terms of numbers of deaths.

Notice the tense used. Here we are talking about 1990.

The body of the report will describe the graph or graphs in detail. You will need to decide on the most clear
and logical order to present the material. In this case it might be best to work through the diseases one by
one.

Ideally your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your report or draw a relevant
conclusion.

Grammar and vocabulary

When describing some bar graphs you will sometimes use the same language as the line graphs. This will be
the case if one axis of the bar graph gives a time scale. In that case, your report will generally describe the
information in terms of time from the earliest event to the latest. For example:

In 1990 X fell.
In 1990 there was a rise in X.

Look at the following graph and read the description.

In this graph of Electro Inc’s television sales between 1996 and 1999, we can see that purchases of
televisions went up in 1996 and continued to rise steadily until 1998 when they dropped slightly.

In some cases, however, it will not be appropriate to describe the bar graphs in terms of time and different
language will need to be used. For example, in the following graph we could not say:

In 1990 there was a rise in holiday makers from Indonesia.

because the word ‘rise’ implies that the graph also shows a lower number of holiday makers at an earlier
time, which in fact it doesn’t.

In this case we can say:

Someland was the most popular destination for holiday makers from Indonesia.

Writing task one: pie charts

You will be given one or more pie charts. You task is to describe the information given in the graph by
writing a 150 word report. You are not asked to give your opinion. You should spend around 20 minutes on
the task.

What is being tested is your ability to:

  objectively describe some graphic information
 compare and contrast
 report on an impersonal topic without the use of opinion
 use the language of graph description

Sample task: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write a report for a university lecturer
describing the information in the two graphs below.
You should write at least 150 words.

Guidelines for a good answer:

Does the report have a suitable structure?

 Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?
 Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within sentences and paragraphs?

Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?

 Does it include a variety of sentence structures?
 Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?

Does the report meet the requirements of the task?

 Does it meet the word limit requirements?
 Does it describe the whole graph adequately?
  Does it focus on the important trends presented in the graphic information?

Now read sample answer one. How well does it follow the guidelines?

Sample answer one

The pie charts compare the highest level of education achieved by women in Someland across two years,
1945 and 1995. It can be clearly seen that women received a much higher level of education in Someland in
1995 than they did in 1945.

In 1945 only 30% of women completed their secondary education and 1% went on to a first degree. No
women had completed post-graduate studies. This situation had changed radically by 1995. In 1995, 90% of
women in Someland had completed secondary education and of those, half had graduated from an initial
degree and 20% had gone on to postgraduate studies. At the other end of the scale we can see that by 1995 all
girls were completing lower secondary, although 10% ended their schooling at this point. This is in stark
contrast with 1945 when only 30% of girls completed primary school, 35% had no schooling at all and 35%
only completed the third grade.

In conclusion, we can see that in the 50 years from 1945 to 1995 there have been huge positive developments
to the education levels of women in Someland.

Teacher's comments on the sample answer

Here is what an IELTS teacher said about the sample answer.

The report structure is clear and well organised with an introduction, body and conclusion.

The candidate uses a variety of grammatical structures and vocabulary so that the writing is not repetitive.

In terms of task requirements, the report meets the word limit. Although the candidate has not included every
figure presented in the charts, the answer does accurately reflect the content of the graphic material and gives
a strong impression of the trend of change in the education of women which is the main point of the
comparison of those particular charts.

The sample answer above is therefore a very good one.

Strategies for improving your IELTS score

Selecting information
In completing this task, it is important that you fully describe all of the graphic information given. However,
this does not mean that you should note every detail. In most cases there will be too much information for
you to mention each figure. You will therefore need to summarise the graph in meaningful segments. In other
words, you will describe the significant trends in your report.

Report structure
As in the line graphs task, your report should be structured simply with an introduction, body and conclusion.
Tenses should be used appropriately.

Use two standard opening sentences to introduce the graph or graphs and your report. These opening
sentences should make up the first paragraph. Sentence one should define what the graph is about, that is the
date, location, what is being described in the graphs etc. For example:

The pie charts compare the highest level of education achieved by women in Someland across two years,
1945 and 1995.

Notice that in the single line graph we said that ‘the graph shows' but with two charts we can more accurately
say ‘the pie charts compare’.

Note the tense used. Even though it describes information from the past, the graph shows the information in
the present time.

Notice that the sample opening sentence does not simply copy the words used on the graphic material.
Copied sentences will not be assessed by the examiner and so you waste your time including them.

Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend. For example:

It can be clearly seen that women received a much higher level of education in Someland in 1995 than they
did in 1945.

Notice the Simple Past tense is used. Here we are talking about what happened in the past.

The body of the report will describe the chart or charts in detail. You will need to decide on the most clear
and logical order to present the material. In this case it might be best to work through the charts one by one.

Ideally your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your report or draw a relevant
conclusion.

Grammar and vocabulary

You will receive a higher mark if your writing uses a range of structures and vocabulary correctly rather than
a limited number.

Pie charts generally show figures in percentages and your language in writing the report should reflect this.
You will talk about ‘the percentage of graduates’ or the ‘proportion of people who completed secondary
school’.

Make sure that you are confident with comparatives and superlatives used to compare and contrast and the
language used to describe pie charts.

Comparing and contrasting

One syllable
Adjectives with one syllable form their comparatives and superlatives like this:

cheap cheaper cheapest

large larger largest
bright brighter brightest

Exceptions:

good better best

 bad worse worst

Two syllables
Some adjectives with two syllables form their comparatives and superlatives like this:

pretty prettier prettiest

happy happier happiest

But many form their comparatives and superlatives like this:

striking more striking most striking

Although some can form their comparatives and superlatives like this:

common more common most common

more clever / most clever /
clever
cleverer cleverest

Three or more syllables

All adjectives with three or more syllables form their comparatives and superlatives like this:

more most
attractive
attractive attractive
more most
profitable
profitable profitable
more most
expensive
expensive expensive

Exercise: What are the comparative and superlative forms of these adjectives:

  COMPARITIVE  SUPERLATIVE 
accurate    
certain    
convenient    
correct    
dangerous    
happy    
likely    
modern    
new    
possible    
probable    
up-to-date    

Describing one part of the chart

Starting with the adjective:

The highest percentage of women are employed in the X

 The greatest proportion of cars sold category

The lowest number of holiday are red

makers
The most come from Spain

A significant

The smallest

The largest

Starting with the subject:

Red is the most popular car colour

Professional is second/third most prevalent employment

category
the least common
holiday
Spain is the destination
Describing two parts of the chart

Starting with the adjective:

As many

Twice as many

Three times as as …

many

Not as many

More are sold

Far more red cars

are

Much more women

employed in

Many more holiday

X
makers
A lot more come from X
than
Substantially more

Considerably more

Significantly more

Slightly more

Fractionally more

Starting with the subject:

as common as …
Blue cars
are quite as popular

Women are just as prevalent

Spain is nearly as

almost as

not as

more women than

 much more cars sold

far more holiday

makers
substantially more

considerably more

slightly more

fractionally more

less

much less

far less

considerably less

fractionally less

Writing task one: tables

You will be given one table of figures. Your task is to describe the information given in the graph by writing
a 150 word report. You are not asked to give your opinion. You should spend around 20 minutes on the task.

What is being tested is your ability to:

 objectively describe the information presented in a table
 compare and contrast
 report on an impersonal topic without the use of opinion
 use language appropriate to the description of tables

Sample task: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write a report for a university lecturer
describing the information in the table below. You should write at least 150 words.
Guidelines for a good answer

Does the report have a suitable structure?

 Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?
 Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within sentences and paragraphs?

Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?

 Does it include a variety of sentence structures?
 Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?

Does the report meet the requirements of the task?

 Does it meet the word limit requirements?
 Does it describe the whole graph adequately?
 Does it focus on the important trends presented in the table?

Sample answer one

The table shows how people in different age groups spent their leisure time in Someland. It can be clearly
seen that the amount of leisure time available varied considerably across the age groups.

Teenagers in Someland spent 1,200 hours a year watching TV and those in the over 70s group spent 100
hours less at 1,100. They spent 150 hours on socialising with 4 or less people compared with 200 hours at the
other end of the scale. They spent 350 hours socialising with 4 or more people compared with 25 hours. The
teenagers spent 450 hours on group exercise but retired people didn’t do any.

In conclusion, we can see that in Someland the teenagers and retired people prefer to spend their free time in
different ways.

Teacher's comments on the sample answer

Here is what an IELTS teacher said about the sample answer.

The report structure is clear and well organised with an introduction, body and conclusion.

The candidate uses repetitive grammatical structures and vocabulary which would bring the mark down
considerably. The tense used is not appropriate as there is no indication on the table that the figures refer to
the past. Also the reader doesn’t know who is being referred to in the two sentences on socialising. The word
‘prefer’ in the conclusion is inappropriate because the table does not give any indication of people’s reasons
for spending their time on one activity rather than another. Someone may choose indoor rather than outdoor
activities because of their health although they would prefer to go outside.

In terms of task requirements the report has serious problems. Although in writing about a table you will
have the difficulty of there being too much information to put into a 150 word report, you can’t solve this
problem by ignoring whole sections of the table. In this case the candidate simply compared two age levels
and ignored the rest.

Sample answer two

Here is an example of a better answer to this task. Notice how it follows the guidelines.

The table shows how people in different age groups spend their leisure time in Someland over the course of a
year. It can be clearly seen that the amount of leisure time available varies considerably across the age groups
and that people of different age levels have very different ways of spending their leisure time.

According to the figures, as people age in Someland their social lives reduce. Teenagers and people in their
twenties spend on average 500 hours per year on socialising and 350 hours of that time is with a group of
more than 4 people. Although the total hours of socialising in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s is fairly constant
(between 300-350), socialising with more than 4 people drops dramatically to 50 hours in the 30s and 40s
age groups and only 25 from 50 years old. Group and individual exercise follow a similar pattern.

People of all ages spend a good part of their leisure time on entertainment such as TV/video viewing and
cinema. In both cases, teenagers and retired people spend around twice as much time as those who are at
working age. Home entertainment ranges from just over a thousand hours for teenagers and retired people
and an average of 600 hours for everyone else. Cinema accounts for 100 hours of the teenagers and retired
people’s leisure time and 25-50 hours for the rest.

In conclusion we can see there is a significant trend towards solitary and smaller group activities as people
grow older and that teenagers and retired people spend a lot more time on entertainment than those of
working age do.

Strategies for improving your IELTS score

Selecting information
Like the line graphs your report should be structured simply with an introduction, body and conclusion.
Tenses should be used appropriately.

Use two standard opening sentences to introduce the table and your report. These opening sentences should
make up the first paragraph. Sentence one should define what the table is about; that is, the date, location,
what is being described in the graphs etc. For example:

The table shows how people in different age groups spend their leisure time in Someland over the course of a
year.

Notice that the sample opening sentence does not simply copy the words used on the graphic material.
Copied sentences will not be assessed by the examiner and so you waste your time including them.

Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend. For example:
It can be clearly seen that the amount of leisure time available varies considerably across the age groups and
that people of different age levels have very different ways of spending their free time.

Notice the tense used. In this case there is no date given and so we must take the table information as being
current now.

The body of the report will describe the information presented in the table in detail. You will need to decide
on the most clear and logical order to present the material. Generally you will choose one of the categories
given in the table; that is, the age or activity in the example task above. Your choice would depend on
whether you could see the most significant trends occurring by age group or by activity. In this case
distinguishing the age group is your primary concern in describing this table, and you would do this by
highlighting some differences between the activity preferences of the age groups.

Ideally your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your report or draw a relevant
conclusion.

Grammar and vocabulary

You will receive a higher mark if your writing uses a range of structures and vocabulary correctly rather than
a limited number.

Selecting your information

In completing this task it is important that you cover all of the information given. However, this does not
mean that you should note every detail. In tables there is invariably too much information for you to mention
each figure. You will therefore need to summarise the table in meaningful segments. In other words, you will
describe the significant trends in your report.

To see the trends in a table, start by finding patterns under the horizontal and vertical headings. In the sample
task you would analyse the age groups and activities. We can see that at different times in their lives
Someland people have more or less free time and their priorities for how they spend their free time are
different. In analysing the activities we can look for which age groups spend more time on individual or
group, cheap or expensive, home or outdoor, strenuous or restful activities. By describing trends in this way,
we can avoid having to describe every age group across every activity.

Writing task one: processes

You will be given a diagram of a process. Your task is to describe the information given in the diagram by
writing a 150 word report. You are not asked to give your opinion.

What is being tested

Task one questions asking you to describe a process rarely appear on the IELTS test. They are different from
table, graph and chart description because they test your ability to:
 describe each important stage in the process and expand where necessary
 link your descriptions of each stage
 use the present simple passive

As process tasks can vary widely, it is essential that you look at a lot of examples in IELTS preparation
books.
Sample task: The flow chart below shows how national examination papers are marked in Someland.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

You should write at least 150 words.

Guidelines for a good answer

Does the report have a suitable structure?

 Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?
 Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within sentences and paragraphs?
Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?
 Does it include a variety of sentence structures?
 Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?
Does the report meet the requirements of the task?
 Does it meet the word limit requirements?
 Does it describe the whole process adequately?

Sample answers
The sample task given is simplified for the sake of explaining this kind of report task clearly. In a genuine
test you can expect the process to be more complex.

The flow chart shows the marking procedures for national exam papers in Someland.

After the papers are collected, the Reading and Listening papers are marked by an administrator and then
collated. The writing papers are treated differently. After collection, the writing papers are marked by an
examiner. The marks are then sent to an administrator for collation while the exam papers are sent to an
examination board. The board either stores the papers or reassesses them.

Strategies for improving your IELTS score

Meeting the task requirements

When you begin the writing test, look at the illustration (flow chart, diagram etc) and try to work out what
the important stages are, the order they occur and any obvious reasons for the order. Your report must
include every stage shown in the diagram or flow chart.

When looking at the illustration, be careful to distinguish stages which happen concurrently. (A is performed
at the same time as B) and others which are alternatives (either A or B is performed). The flow chart given in
the Sample Task demonstrates this problem. Look at the stages for the writing test. In the second stage we
can see that the writing paper is marked by an examiner. It is then sent to the examination board while at the
same time the marks are sent to an administrator. These events occur concurrently. In the final stage, the
papers are either stored or reassessed. These events are alternatives.

It may happen that the diagram does not make much sense to you at first glance. Look for a starting point and
follow through the stages in your mind before beginning to write. If it’s still not making sense, then go on to
Task Two but make sure that you give yourself 20 minutes to complete the report before the end of the
writing test time. It often happens that our brains can sort problems out for us even when we are focusing on
something else.

Report structure
Like the line graphs, your report should be structured simply with an introduction, body and conclusion.
Tenses should be used appropriately.

Use one standard opening sentence to introduce the report. This opening sentence will make up the first
paragraph. You should state simply what the process is. For example:

The flow chart shows the marking procedures for national exam papers in Someland.

Notice that the sample opening sentence does not simply copy the words used in the task instructions. Copied
sentences will not be assessed by the examiner and so you waste your time including them.

The body of the report will describe the process in a logical order.

A conclusion will generally not be necessary in this kind of report.

Grammar and vocabulary

If the flow chart is simple and linear then you may be able to link the stages together by simply using some
of the following transition signals.

To begin with// First of all// First -->Secondly, thirdly, etc -->Then// Next// After that --> Finally

If the process is more complex, as in the example above, then you may need to also use these words

Alternatively// Otherwise// In addition// At the same time// Concurrently

Using the present simple passive

The passive is associated with an impersonal formal style. It is often used in notices, announcements and
describing processes. Compare the following sentences:

Active: The examiner marks the test paper --> Passive: The test paper is marked

The two sentences have the same meaning but the emphasis is different. In the active sentence we are more
interested in the person or thing doing the action (the agent).

In the passive sentence we are more interested in the person or thing affected by the action. If we want to
mention the agent we use by:
The test paper is marked by the examiner ---- But often the agent is not important.

The passive is not another way of expressing the same sentence in the active. We choose the active or passive
depending on what we are more interested in. In the first sentence we are more interested in the examiner. In
the second sentence we are more interested in the test paper.