IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: How to Score a Band 7

IELTS consists of two types of tests - IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training Test. IELTS Writing Task 1 comes under the Academic test. In the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, the candidates are required to write a general summary within 150 words on the given information which might be presented in the form of a chart, table, and graphs. The main goal of the test is to gauge a candidate’s ability to summarize details from given data, which helps in analyzing the skills of the candidate.

How to Get Band 7 in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

Attempting the Task 1 of IELTS Academic Writing isn’t a big deal but achieving band 7 and above requires a lot of learning and efforts. Candidates will be presented with visual information through one or more diagrams. While summarizing, the answer is categorized into three parts:

1. Write an introduction

2. Write an overview (a summary of the information being presented)

3. Presenting and highlighting the key features with figures (data)

Let’s delve deeper into the structure - the introduction, the overview, and the key features that need to be presented. 

a. Write an Introduction

The introduction should paraphrase the question and should convey to the examiner what the candidate thinks about the topic, and it should be completed in a sentence or two. There are certain do’s and don’ts that students need to follow while writing the introduction to score band 7.

Do’s and don’ts while writing an introduction:

b. Overview

The overview should consist of a summary of the visual data given. A clear overview can help students in achieving a band 7 or higher in the Academic IELTS Writing Task 1. Accurate keywords should be presented as it helps the candidate to score a band of 7 or higher. Avoiding necessary keywords can lead to getting a band 5 or lower than that. The overview should summarize:

• Developments
• Stages
• Trends
• Changes 
• Noticeable features 

Do’s and don’ts while writing the overview:

c. Key Features

In the response, candidates must present the key features that stand out in the diagram and support it with data. For example, if a diagram shows 5 countries, the description should talk about all of them and missing a country might lead to a lower band score. 

Do’s and don’ts for the key features:

There are several do’s and don’ts candidates need to know while responding to IELTS writing task 1 academic topics. Following these instructions can be useful and candidates can score band 7 and above.

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Do’s - IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Band 7

1. Give prompt and apt information

2. Paraphrase the sentences properly

3. Include all the charts, graphs, tables, etc.

4. Use proper keywords such as time, place, gender, date, etc.

5. Highlighting changes in the trend

6. Be efficient with the usage of words

7. Using linking words such as overall, to outline, etc.

8. Present the outline from the given data precisely

9. Use correct number format such as percentage, number, etc.

10. Supporting figures such as maximum and minimum data

11. Present it neatly with necessary data

12. Figures which increase and decrease regarding the comparison between data

13. Steps that may be involved in the process of development

14. Use less common vocabulary

Don’ts - IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Band 7

1. Use irreverent information

2. Use irreverent synonyms

3. Copy the question while paraphrasing the question

4. Include every detail as this is a summary and nothing else

5. Misread the keywords such as gender, place, etc.

6. Make spelling mistakes

7. Ignore keywords

8. Mention information that is neither accurate nor precise

9. Use data that isn’t mentioned

10. Present data in a mechanical manner

11. Repeat the data which has already been mentioned

12. Make grammar errors

13. Include their own opinion

14. Finish it by concluding the summary

Essential Information for IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

1. Writing Task 1 should be completed within 150 words. 
2. Candidates should not spend more than 20 minutes on the task.
3. The marks scored in Writing Task 1 is about 33% of the marks received in overall writing sections. 
4. A candidate will be marked on the basis of Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource (Vocabulary) and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. 
5. The responses in Writing Task 1 IELTS Academic are on the basis of a chart, table, diagram, graph, map, etc.

IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic Topics

The questions are usually asked on the following topics: 

• Profession
• Salary
• Technology
• People
• Language
• Lifestyle
• Education
• Money
• Society
• Traffic
• Travel
• Environment
• Entertainment
• Cinema
• Gender
• Production
• Immigration
• Transport
• Economy

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Samples with Answers

Here is an IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Sample with answers for aspirants to help them.

Sample:

Answer: The table indicates that the total number of factory staff declined throughout the duration of 50 years. While the number of employees witnessed a significant drop, the number of factories increased substantially.  

If we look at the employee numbers, the ratio of females to that of males was significantly lower. In 1851, the number of male employees in the factory were 287,100, whereas it was 190,000 for their female counterparts. However, the year 1861 was an exception since the number of female employees exceeded the male workers. Over the years, the figure declined rapidly for male employees and reached 31,000 in 1901. However, by 1901, the female staff numbers came close to the number of male employees. In summation, the workforce plummeted from 477,100 in 1851 to 61,000 by 1901. 

On looking at the data for factories, they accounted to 225 in 1851. After 1861, the figure jumped sharply, peaking at 721 factories by 1881, followed by a slight dropping of numbers, totalling to 600 by 1901.

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Conclusion 

Candidates who are going to attend IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 should practice old question papers and analyze the given data before concluding. While analyzing the given data, don’t miss out or ignore anything throughout the data as it can be significant. No data is insignificant in this test. Prepare well for the exam before attending it. For more guidance on scoring a band 7 or higher, connect with the IELTS experts of upGrad Abroad.