100% Sure Techniques to WIN in Writing Task 1 in ACADEMIC IELTS

Sure shot techniques for Task 1

How to write an opening paragraph?

Type of the chart (subject or topic)		Main verb	Object noun clause
The given	Chart	Shows
	Graph	Indicates	The number of
	Table	Illustrates	The proportion of
	Diagram	Describes	Information on
	Table	Gives	Information about
		Presents
	Figures	Show	Data on
	Data	Indicate	That
	Statistics	Illustrate
	Maps	Depict
	Pictures	Express
		Give

How to write the body paragraph

According to the	Table / chart
As (is) shown in the	Diagram
As can be seen from the	Graph
	Figures
It can be seen		Table / chart
We can see	from the	Diagram
It is clear / apparent / evident	Graph		That…
		Figures

How to write a closing paragraph?

Therefore	It	Can	Be	Interpreted	That..
Thus				Deducted
On this basis		May		Derived
Given this				Inferred

From	The	Table,	It	Can	Be	Seen
		Figures,				Shown
		Data,				Estimated
		Results,		May		Calculated that….
		Information,				Inferred
		Graphs,				Derived
		Charts,				Deduced

Finally	We can see / we may say	That…
All in all	It can be seen / it can be observed
In the closing	It is clearly seen / it is evident

How to describe a process or a picture or a map?

There are two possible types of diagrams that may be asked in the IELTS.

1.    The first type is a picture or a map or an object. We should look for the following points when we are given to describe such a task.

·         Look at the object in the picture and observe its shape, size, color, and location of various parts, condition of past and present (if applicable), texture, direction, contents. Also see if the functions of any parts are given in the picture or not.   

·         If you have two pictures, you have to compare their features. Thus, identify the features which are different. You will have to describe the most striking change or difference and you will also have to cover the areas where there is no change. The only difference in this covering is that you can group all the features that are similar or less important and describe in one or two sentences also. But you should describe the major and noticeable changes in detail.

·         Provide details of the key changes and describe them accordingly.  

2.    The second type is a process or a flow chart. We should look for the following points when we are given to describe the task.

·         The most important point is that you must try to understand the defining stages of the process or the flow chart or the diagram. You should also make a note of their sequence so that you can write them in proper order in your response.

·         You can use the same technique that I have mentioned earlier to write the opening paragraph of process or flow chart. However, in process, you may not need to write the closing paragraph. In some cases, if you cannot reach the 150 word mark, I suggest that you should add a closing paragraph. Please note that some of my responses do have a closing paragraph. I have included them as an example for the students. 

How to define pie charts?

 These are generally used to show proportion / percentage / sharing and if you get more than one pie charts, you are expected to compare proportion / percentage / sharing.

I am giving you some example sentences that can be useful in describing pie charts. Some of them may be useful to you in describing bar chart and line graph as well.

Company A and company B both had 40% each.

The values remained steady at 20%.

The sales rose to 60%.

The sales peaked at just about 90%.

The quarterly profit increased / fell (by 15%) or (from 15% to 25%) or (from 25% to 15%).

University A had 15% of the male students.

20% of the male students studied / enrolled in university A.

University A accounted for 15% of the total students.

They made twice / three times / half of the profit / percentage of profit in June than in April.

There were more boys than girls (25% and 18% respectively)

Company A’s profit contribution rose steadily, whereas that of company B fell slightly / sharply.                    

How to make sentences for expressing the trends in graphs / trends

1.    Subject + verb + adverb + time i.e.

Subject	Verb that indicates changes	Adverb	Period of time (if mentioned )
The popularity of (mobile phones) Or The number of (international tourists)	Increased	Suddenly	In the last quarter or from Or (2005) to (2007) Or Consistently Between January to June
	Rose	Dramatically
	Swelled	Significantly
	Shot up	Steeply
	Climbed up	Sharply
	Went up	Rapidly
	Jumped up	Quickly
	Promptly
		Smoothly
		Decreased
	Dropped	Continually
	Fell	Gradually
	Reduced	Suddenly
	Went down	Slowly
		Slightly
		Steadily
	Fluctuated
	Varied

2.    Period of time + Subject + verb + adverb

Period of time	Subject	Verb that indicates changes	Adverb
In the last quarter, Or From (2005) to (2007) Or Between January to June	The number of (Laptops) Or The quantity of (international tourists)	Increased	Sharply
		Went up	Slightly
		Shot up	Slowly
		Grew	Dramatically
		Swelled	Significantly
		Rose	Greatly
		Dropped
		Tumbled	Drastically
		Declined	Moderately
		Fell	Gradually
		Reduced
		Went down

3.    There + be + a (very) + adjective + noun + in the number of something (subject) + from…to / between…and….

	There + be	Adjective that indicates changes	Noun that indicates changes	In the scale or  subject	Period of time
	There was a (very)	Sudden	Increase	The quantity of (international tourists)	In the last Quarter or from Or (2005) to (2007)
		Rapid	Jump
		Dramatic	Rise
		Significant	Growth
		Sharp	Steep
There was a (very)		Large	Decrease	or The number of international tourists	Or Between (January) to (June)
		Marked	Drop
			Fall
		Steady	Decline
		Gradual	Reduction
		Slow
		Small	Fluctuation
		Slight	Variation

4.    Subject + verb that indicates top or bottom + expression of time or point of time

Subject	Verb that indicates top or bottom	Expression of time or point of time
The number of international tourists Or The number of laptops	Topped	In the last quarter or in Or In January Or at 1000 (number) At 22% (percentage)
	Peaked
	Bottomed out

    

5.    Subject + verb that indicates a transition + a noun that indicates top or bottom + expression of time or point of time

Subject	Verb	A noun that indicates top or bottom	Expression of time or point of time
The number of laptops Or The number of international tourists	Reached	A peak	In the last quarter or In January at 22% (percentage) or at 1000 (number)
	Hit	A high point
	Touched	A low point
	Kissed	The bottom

6.    Subject + main verb + adverb of degree of comparison + fraction + the scale of comparison

Subject + main verb	Adverb of degree of comparison	Fraction	The scale of comparison
Organization A	Nearly a / one third Almost	a / one quarter	Of the (total) number of (people)
		Half
		Three quarters
	Approximately About Just over	A quarter	As many (people) as organization B As much (profit) as organization B
		Three quarters
		Twice
		Three quarters
		Twice
		Three times
		Half