IELTS Writing Task 1 Revision

1. Task 1Task 1
RevisionRevision

3. Which activity was the most popular?Which activity was the most popular?
Which activity was least popular for men?Which activity was least popular for men?
Which activity was least popular for women?Which activity was least popular for women?
Which activity shows the biggest difference between menWhich activity shows the biggest difference between men
and women?and women?

4. IntroductionsIntroductions
In order to achieve a band 6 for Task achievement, candidates must
‘present and adequately highlight key features’ and be able to ‘present
an overview with information appropriately selected’.
In Task 1, they could use the first paragraph to show their overall
understanding of the data. This overview can be based on information
taken from the title, the axes and the key of the chart.

5. TaskTask
Look at three introductions and write someLook at three introductions and write some
notes on which you think is best and why. Thennotes on which you think is best and why. Then
compare your notes with the comments belowcompare your notes with the comments below

6. Introduction a:
The table below shows how much time male and female adults spent on non-work
activities in one European country during 2005. Some of the most important
activities reported in the table are sleep and rest, audio-visual entertainment and
housework and childcare. Women did more housework and childcare and
therefore needed more rest.
Introduction b:
The table shows how adult men and women spent their leisure time in 2005. Eight
main activities were identified. Looking at the table, we can see that the most
popular activity for both groups was sleep and rest and the least popular activity
was voluntary work.
Introduction c:
The table shows that men spent 15 per cent more time on audio-visual
entertainment than women. Men also spent 50 minutes a week on hobbies.
Women did 1 hour and 32 minutes of socialising a week, compared with 1 hour
and 22 minutes for men. For both men and women, reading was the least popular
activity.

7. CommentsComments
Introduction b is the best. It uses the information in the question and the
table to give an overview of what information is being presented and to
highlight the main points.
In Introduction a, the candidate starts by copying out sections from the
question and the table. It is important for candidates to write in their own
words about what they see, to show their understanding of the data. The
candidate also explains why he thinks women spent more time on sleep
and rest. In Task 1, candidates should describe what they see but not try
to give reasons or opinions.
In Introduction c, the candidate has immediately started writing about
specific details, but these should not be described until after an overview
has been given. Also, some of the information is inaccurate – reading
was not the least popular activity.

8. Lexical resourceLexical resource
For a band score of 6, candidates need to have an 'adequate range of
vocabulary' and for a band score of 7, they need a 'sufficient range of
vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision'. One way that
candidates can be more precise when describing graphs is by using
adverbs and adjectives.

9. Task- 2 minsTask- 2 mins
Look at the following sentence. How could you change it to
make it more precise? Think about changing verbs and nouns
as well as adding adverbs or adjectives:
Between 1992 and 1994 the number of 50-year olds rose.

10. Possible solutionsPossible solutions
You could add an adverb:
• Between 1992 and 1994 the number of 50-year olds rose dramatically.
• You could add an adjective to the noun:
• Between 1992 and 1994 there was a dramatic rise in the number of 50-
year olds.
• You could change the verb to a more interesting synonym:
• Between 1992 and 1994 the number of 50-year olds rocketed.

11. Grammatical rangeGrammatical range
In any Task 1 that involves a graph, table or bar chart, candidates will
need to compare information. They should use a variety of structures to
compare the facts given in the visual data – a candidate who uses a
limited range of structures will not get higher than a band 5 for
Grammatical range. The use of some complex structures is needed for a
band 6. Here are some examples of different grammatical structures that
learners could use:

12. There were (comparative) X than Y.
There were more male customers than female customers.
The amount of X was (multiples, e.g. double, triple, half) the amount of
Y.
The amount of spending on cars was double the amount of spending on
clothes.
The number of X was as (adjective) as Y.
The number of customers in 2010 was as high as in 2011.

13. The second paragraph
Having given an overview in the first paragraph,
in the second paragraph of the writing the
candidate should go on to describe other key
points using information from the visual data to
support what they are saying. They can then
use a third paragraph to summarise and
conclude.
It is important for candidates to remember that
they should only describe the information given
in the data. They should not invent any
information.

14. Look at it againLook at it again
Write what you think are the answer's strengths and
weaknesses and decide which band it would be awarded.
Then look at the comments and compare your ideas.

15. Sample answerSample answer
The table shows how much time men and women spent on leisure activities. Men spent more
time on hobbies, games, sport and audio-visual entertainment. Whereas women spent more time
on all the other categories. They both spent almost the same amount on time on reading,
sleeping and audio-visual entertainment. Yet there is a big difference in the category of
‘housework and childcare’. Men spent about one and a half hour on this. Whereas women spent
more than twice as much time on this chore.
Women spent one fourth more time on voluntary work compared to men. However. Men spent 25
minutes more time on audio-visual entertainment as women do.
Women and men spent both most time on sleep and rest. In addition, they spent the least amount
of time on voluntary work, reading, personal care and hobbies.
It was surprising that women spent much more time on housework and childcare. That leaves the
question open if there is a lack of emancipation in that category.

16. ReviewReview
This response presents the key information, but the introduction does not present the topic or the
context accurately. An appropriate summary is given, but more figures could be used to give a
clearer picture of the information. Nevertheless, the main comparisons are highlighted.
The information is grouped and organised in a relevant way. There is some good use of linking
words to connect the information, but there are also errors in the use of some contrasting linking
words.
A lot of vocabulary comes from the table and the task. Nevertheless, enough additional
vocabulary is used accurately to address the task in an appropriate way.
The range of sentence types is rather restricted. There are not many examples of accurate
complex sentences, although some are successful. There are more simple sentences that are
accurate and there are some good examples of complex structures, such as comparative forms,
within these.
This piece of writing was awarded a Band 6. Look at the descriptions for Band 6 in the IELTS
Task 1 writing assessment criteria.