The document provides guidance on writing a report based on a graph or diagram for IELTS Task 1. It emphasizes considering varying vocabulary, grammatical structures, organizing information coherently, focusing on both details and the overall picture, and finding suitable comparisons. The ideal time to spend is 20 minutes. Key points include interpreting data, paraphrasing, choosing relevant details, and providing an overall statement in addition to paragraph details. Templates are given for introducing trends, comparisons, and supporting details. Guidance is also provided on focusing details for different types of charts, tables, diagrams, processes, and maps.

1. Raihanul Islam

2. Task1
Writing a report based on a given graph, diagram or
process.
Things to consider: varying vocabulary and grammatical
structures, being careful not to include opinions, organising
information into coherent paragraphs, not only focusing on
details but also “the big picture”, finding suitable
comparisons and/or contrasts between given data.

3. Task 1
1/3 of total writing mark
Min 150 words (no maximum)
101-141 words = -1 TA
51-100 words = -2 TA
0-50 words = -3 TA
Ideal time to spend: 20 minutes

4. Things to Focus on:
GraphsPlanning:
Interpeting the given data
Choosing relevant details (draw/underline/circle
them!)
Paraphrasing the given sentence(s)
Synonyms, different grammatical structure,
add/omit words
Words that are copy-pasted directly with no sign
of change will not be counted!
Choosing something general for the “overall”
statement

5. Different Kinds of Chart Question
All of these charts do one principal thing- represent numbers. Your task is
to describe these numbers.
There are four different types of chart you may have to describe. They are:
1. Line Chart (sometimes called a line graph)
2. Bar Chart
3. Pie Chart
4. Proportional Bar Chart

7. • IELTS task 1 does have other kinds of questions, including
maps, process diagrams and comparing two different charts.
These require a different approach and I will write about
these in the future.
• You also need to ask yourself if it is
a static or dynamic chart. A static chart shows data from
one time period. A dynamic chart shows change over
time. These will obviously require different tenses.

8. Structure of Writing
 Introduction
 Overall Statement
 Details of the figure

9. Paragraph 1 (Introduction)
Sentence 1- Paraphrase Question
Paragraph 2 (Overview)
Sentence 1- Overview of first main feature
Sentence 2- Make comparison, if appropriate
Paragraph 3 (Details of significant feature )
Sentence 1- Supporting details
Sentence 2- Supporting details
Sentence 3- Supporting details/comparison details, if appropriate

12. Main Focus
What
When
How (optional)

13. Line no. 01
 Paraphrase the question …
Example:
 The given graph illustrates + “essential part of the question”
 The (bar/pie) chart here is depicting + “essential part of the
question”
 The given line graph is describing + “essential part of the
question”
 The above given diagram is showing + “essential part of the
question”

14. Line no. 02
Setting of the survey
 Time
 Place
 Participants

15. Example:
 The survey has taken place in the year
1995 among 100 people in Rome.

17. What is an “Overall”
Statement?
Quite literally it means a piece of information that can be seen
(sometimes quite obviously upon first glance) and is generally true
for the given graph/diagram/map.
This is marked under TA, so there should be some general
statement either at the beginning or end of Task 1.
The information follows a phrase.

18. Example
“Overall, what stands out from the graph is there was a
gradual upward trend in the number of visitors of the
National Gallery, which became the most popular museum
from being at last place, while the Victoria and Albert
Museum followed the opposite trend. ”

20. Sentence 1- Supporting details
Sentence 2- Supporting details
Sentence 3- Supporting details/comparison details, if appropriate
In this paragraph you take the first general statement from paragraph 2 and support it with details from the
graph. The examiner is looking for your ability to choose the correct data and ability to describe data,
trends, comparisons etc..

22. The diagram shows the levels of charitable donations of people living in Britain, separated by
age, between 1990 and 2010.
Overall, there was a general decrease in the percentage of people who donated money to
charity over the two time periods. However, the pattern differs between the three age
groups before 50 and the two age groups after the age of 50.
The highest decrease is in the 18-25 category, which saw a decrease of 10%, from 17% in
1990 to 7% in 2010. 42% of people in the 36-50 age group gave to charity in 1990, the
highest on the chart, and this fell to 35% in 2010. There was also a significant decline in
donations among 26-35 year olds, from 31% to 24%.
The exception to this general trend downwards was among the 51-65 and over 65s. In
2010, the 51-65 year olds gave the highest percentage with nearly 40 per cent and this
rose from 35% in 1990. Finally, those over 65 displayed a slight percentage increase of 3
per cent.

23. Instructions
1. Read the question twice very carefully.
2. Look at the data. What data is represented on the axis? What
groups are represented? What time periods are shown? What are
units of measurements?
3. What are the main features?
4. Can I make any comparisons?
5. Make a quick plan using above structure.
6. Write introduction by paraphrasing question.
7. Write second paragraph, which is summary or overview of main
features.
8. Support the second paragraph with more detail in third and fourth
paragraph.
9. Make sure I've not repeated any words and used a range of
vocabulary.
10. Check for any grammar mistakes and make sure I've got at least
150 words.

24. TEMPLATES:
Making an overview of statement:
We can see from the chart/table……….
The chart/table shows that……………….
Introducing an overall trend:
From an overall perspective………………………….
Looking at the figures, we can see that…………
One of the first things to note is that…………….
It is generally true to say that……………………….
One thing that is clearly stands out is……………

25. Introducing a point of interest:
It is interesting to see that…………………………….
A striking point is that…………………………………..
Interesting/Surprisingly………………………………..
Introducing supporting details:
For example……
For instance……………
More specifically………….
Moreover………………
This fact is born out (by the figures)………………
When we look at…………………………………………..

26. Comparing Data:
There is three times as much as X as Y
In comparison to X,Y is…
The former…
The percentage/amount/quantity of X is…..er than Y
There are (slightly/significantly)more/fewer X than Y
There are twice as many X as Y

27. Approximately/about/roughly
Just above/over/under/below
A little/slightly -less/more than
Describing Trends:
•
•
•
• (The figures) increased/rose/went up from…….(1)………..to……
(2)
(The figures) decreased/fell/dropped from…….(1)………..to……
(2)
(Thefigures)……………………….(increased/decreased)….
(dramatically/sharply/significantly/steadily/gradually/slowly)
………(over the year/in the same period/between X and Y).
There was a little/no change ……
Approximating:

28. Time
 From the beginning of this period
 From then until March,
 Between March and June
 During this period….
 Ending the year
 Once/when/as soon as……..
Making Forecast
 The trends looks set to continue………(is/are). …seems
likely to ……
 The trends are predicted to…………

29. Things to Focus on: Graphs
Vertical/horizontal axis
Highest/lowest points,
periods of stability
Similarities/differences
Trend vocabulary
Significant vs slight changes

30. Things to Focus on: Pie
Charts
Fractions
Paraphrasing:
The language of
numbers
Trends
Time
references

31. Things to Focus on:
Tables
Similarities/differences
Paraphrasing:
The language of
numbers
Trends
Titles

32. Things to Focus on:
Bar
Trends
Time
references
Similarities/differences
Titles
Vertical/horizontal axis

33. Things to Focus on: Diagrams
Titles, given words/phrases
Similarities/
differences
Paragraphing
Things to add, expanding
given words/terms
Passive voice

34. Things to Focus on: Processes
Titles, given words/phrases
Paragraphing
Things to add, expanding
given words/terms
Order words
Passive voice

35. Things to Focus on: Maps
Similarities/differences
Paragraphing
Passive voice
Including given
details (key,
direction,
geographical
features)