Writing - Task 1 FAQs - www.ieltswritinghelp.com

· Academic Module: For the academic module, there is a limited range of questions, which involve comparing data; these are bar and column charts, line graphs, pie charts, and data tables. Alternatively, you may be asked to describe the steps involved in a natural or industrial process. Examples of these are the industrial process of making paper or the natural process of the water cycle. Another less common question is to describe and/or compare maps. Be aware that quite often the task 1 question will ask you to write about more than one chart. For example, you might be asked to describe a line graph and a data table in the same question or a bar chart and a pie chart. If this is the case, the two charts will be connected in terms of data items and usually have the same or a similar time reference. You can watch videos on how to write about all task 1 questions in the sidebar.

· General Training Module: For the general training module, you have to write a letter. Although people mostly send emails today, the ability to write letters is still important whether they are sent by traditional post or by email. Therefore you are expected to be able to write general letters in a variety of writing styles.

2. What kind of letters can I expect to write about for task 1 GT?

There is quite a wide range of letters that you could be asked to write about. The following list covers many common situations:

· making complaints,

· making arrangements,

· making an offer,

· requesting information,

· writing to a friend to give news or advice,

· resigning from a job,

· making a job application,

· writing to report a problem,

· accepting an invitation,

· showing appreciation,

· making recommendations,

· apologising.

Of course, there are hundreds of different situations that you could be asked to write about, but the key is knowing whether to use a formal, informal or semi-formal tone. You can find out more about this in the tab in the sidebar for task 1 GT letter writing and from my E-Books

3. Is GT letter writing easier than task 1 academic writing?

· The short answer is no. It would be fair to say that both task 1 questions are equally challenging if you want to prepare for them thoroughly. Indeed, if you were asked to write a simple letter reporting a lost bag or smartphone on a train, the letter would seem to be quite straightforward, but remember there are hundreds of different letter situations that you could be asked to write about. For this reason, it would be foolish to think that the GT letter writing for task 1 is in any way 'easy'. Letters are not easy to write if you do not practice writing them on a regular basis. Similarly, task 1 academic data charts are not easy to write about if you haven't written about them before. Therefore, the tasks become easier to write about the more you practice. You will find plenty of practice tests, video lessons and advice in the sidebar to help you improve by practicing more. Thinking that any of the writing tasks on IELTS writing tests are 'easy' is a step on the road to failure. Understanding the size of the challenge you must overcome is a step in the direction of success.

4. Is GT task 1 marked by a different (easier) standard?

· No. Again, it would be very foolish to think the examiner is going to mark your task 1 letter more leniently than he/she would mark a task 1 data chart for the academic module. In fact, task 1 academic and GT are marked according to almost the same criteria. In particular, although there are some differences in marking as to how well you have achieved the task (task achievement marking criteria), there are no differences for the criteria of cohesion and coherence, grammar and vocabulary. They are marked according to the same strict descriptors. Thus, it is a good idea to read the public band score descriptors so that you will know the kinds of things the examiner is looking for in your answers.

5. Do I use UK or US spelling?

· Use either UK or US spelling. It doesn't matter. Both are equally recognised.

6. How many paragraphs should I write for task 1?

· General Training. When you write a letter, you will write a greeting, like "Dear Sir" or "Dear Mr Smith" etc, and you need to write a salutation (Your sincerely, Best wishes, etc). As well as that, you will write a sentence to state why you are writing, and you should write a short paragraph for each bullet point. Before the salutation, you could write a short sentence to show you are finishing the letter. For example, for a letter about a lost bag "Finally, I look forward to hearing from you soon with some positive news about my lost bag". Go to the sidebar and select GT letters for more information and free vocabulary practice using Quizlet about how to structure letters.

· Academic Module. For the academic module, you should write an introduction, 2 short body paragraphs that describe and compare the data, and an overview paragraph that provides an overview of general trends in the data. Knowing how to structure the answer correctly is essential because it will help you to get a higher band score. In the sidebar, you will find a large section for task 1 data charts, where you can watch video lessons and get very detailed information about how to structure answers for different types of questions.

7. What should I write for the introduction?

· For General Training, you only need to state why you are writing.

· For the academic module, you could just paraphrase the question, but this might not give you exactly the introduction you need to get a good band score. In short, you need to include in your introduction what the data is about, the time period, where the data is about, and how the data is measured. For describing a process and maps it is obviously different because data is not being compared. To see how to write better introductions that will help to get you a higher band score for all task 1 charts, watch my videos in the sidebar.

8. What should I write about in the body paragraphs?

· Academic Module. For bar charts, pie charts, line graphs and data tables, you will describe and compare the data in the charts in detail. In doing so, you should give a description of the trend, when the trend happened, and how the data changed in the unit of measurement.

For example,

"There was a slight increase in production (describes the trend) over the 6 month period from March to August (describes the time it happened) reducing output from 5800 to 5400 tonnes of coal (describes the change in the unit of measurement).

· In addition, it is necessary to make comparisons of the data for data tables, pie charts, line graphs and bar charts. By contrast, when you describe the steps in a process, you will describe the steps in more detail using the a combination of active and passive tenses, relative clauses, and prepositional phrases. For maps, you will usually describe how maps have changed over time. To find out detailed information about how to write successfully for these tasks, have a look at task 1 writing in the sidebar, which provides videos, e-books and specific information about how to write successfully for task 1.

9. Do I write a conclusion for task 1?

· No. You could write your overview as your last paragraph, but this is not a conclusion; rather, it is a general description of the main trends in the chart data, or an overview of the steps in the process. Because it is better to outline the data in general terms before you write about it in detail, it is better to put the overview after the introduction.

10. Can I miss out the overview and just write more detail about the chart?

· No. If you do not write an overview somewhere in your answer, you will lose marks. In fact, the requirement to write an overview is specifically mentioned (task achievement) in the public band score descriptors, which you should read to inform yourself what the examiners are looking for in your answer. Your answers on the IELTS writing test need to be structured in a very specific way. I provide free Quizlet vocabulary practice in the sidebar using successfully structured answers that will help you understand how to write better answers. In my videos I explain step by step how and why you should write answers using specific structures.

11. Is vocabulary, spelling and grammar important?

· Yes. You need to use a wide range of academic vocabulary to get a high band score. If you use vocabulary incorrectly, use the wrong part of speech and/or have frequent spelling mistakes, you will get a lower band score. Similarly, your range and accuracy of grammar is assessed, so try to write in the correct tense and use a combination of simple, compound and complex sentence structures to meet this criteria. Always try to leave about 2 to 3 minutes at the end of your test to check your spelling and grammar. Also, try to read a sentence immediately after you write it to check it. This will also help you to write with a better 'flow' because you will be able to think more easily about the next idea you want to write.

12. How is my task 1 writing scored?

· You are scored according to the band score descriptors, which enable the examiners to determine the following criteria: 1) How effectively you have answered the question (task achievement); 2) How effectively you have structured the answer (cohesion) and how easy it is to understand (coherence); 3) Range and accuracy of vocabulary items (lexical resource); and 4) Grammatical range and accuracy. See "Band Scores Explained" in the sidebar.

13. What if I go over the word count or under the word count?

· Writing less than 150 words. If you write less than 150 words, you will be penalised by at least half a band. The less you write the more your band score goes down according to how little you write. Practice writing answers in 20 minutes and see if you can manage 150 words with the ideas you plan for your answer. If you cannot write 150 words, you probably do not have enough ideas planned or you are not writing enough detail. Have a look at how I plan and write in my timed video demonstrations in task 1 (see the sidebar).

· Writing more than 150 words: Obviously, if you go over the word count, it is okay as the question states that you must write at least 150 words. However, you do not gain extra marks for writing more. You could get a band 9 by writing only 150 words, but that is unlikely. Most students who get a high band score write in excess of 150 words because they tend to include more detail, but if the writing is peppered with mistakes then the band score will go down. Therefore, it is important to plan carefully so that you know exactly how many ideas you will include in each body paragraph. By practicing, you will also start to write a certain number of words in the time limit of 20 minutes. I would aim for between 170 to 200 words. If you are a fast writer, you might write more, but if you are a slow writer, you really need to focus on your speed and timing as well as your accuracy. Practising more is the best way to see if you are writing the correct number of words in the time allowed.

14. What if I go over 20 minutes? Will I be told to stop writing task 1?

· No. You have 60 minutes to complete task 1 and task 2. Nobody will stop you in the test from using more time on task 1, but if you do, you will have less time for task 2. Most students need all 40 minutes for task 2, so taking more time on task 1 is a big mistake. Of course, you need to practice writing a full test (both task 1 and task 2) to see if you can handle both tasks in 60 minutes. Everybody is different. I have known many students who take time to 'warm up', so tend to write task 1 slower causing them to go slightly over the 20 minutes, but who were able to complete task 2 within the time and still score a high band score. However, I have known far more students who use too much time on task 1, and then cannot finish writing task 2, which often results in a task 2 answer that has only half a second body paragraph, which is left in mid-sentence and without a summary conclusion. To avoid this, plan your answers carefully and practice writing practice tests under timed conditions. If you do not practice, you will probably not be able to handle the time limits and word count as effectively.

15. Will the examiner reduce my band score if my handwriting is messy?

· Maybe. If your writing is so messy that it is not legible then your band score could go down. The examiner will do his/her best to read what you have written, but if he/she cannot read it, then there is a very real danger of you getting a lower band score because parts of your answer cannot be assessed. If you know that you have untidy writing, make an effort to practice improving your hand-writing, or you could opt to sit the computer-based test, which requires you to type your answers. For some people this is better.

Frequently Asked Questions - Click to Search.

- Top 20 General Questions for the IELTS Test.

- Top 10 General Questions for the Writing Test.

- Top 15 Questions for Task 1 Writing - G.T. and Academic (this page).

- Top 20 Questions for Task 2 Writing - G.T. & Academic.