IELTS WRITING TASK 1: HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR

ANSWER
This is a quick guide on how to organise an IELTS Writing Task 1 answer
into paragraphs. This applies only to the Academic module in which Task 1
involves describing a diagram or set of data. Note that the organisation of
the answer may change depending on the question type.

First paragraph: Introduction

Key technique: Be direct.
When writing an introduction to Task 1, get straight to the point as you
only have 20 minutes to write your answer. One or two sentences are often
sufficient. Two things you should try to include in the introduction are:
 Paraphrase of the question: What does the diagram show? (Don’t
describe the results yet!) @IELTSIELTS TELEGRAM
 General description: Are the differences great or small, many or
few? Is there one very obvious trend or feature that stands out?
Hint: Many people make the mistake of continuing with all the details.
Stop here and begin your first body paragraph.
Body paragraphs
Key technique: Divide the body into two or three paragraphs.
Use a logical way to divide the body of your report into two or three
paragraphs. Are there two or more sets of data? Great, then write a
paragraph about each one. Is there only one set of data? Count the variables
and divide them into two or three groups. You can divide by natural
similarity (e.g. some academic subjects are sciences; others are arts.) Or
you can divide by similarity of results (e.g. some exam scores went up;
others went down.) Or you can divide a process, a time period or age range
into two or three stages (e.g. the 20th Century can be divided into the early,
mid, and late 20th Century.)
Now that you have a paragraphing system, make sure each paragraph is
organised as follows:

IELTS WRITING TASK 1: HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR ANSWER @IELTSIELTS TELEGRAM

  Link to the previous paragraph: By contrast, turning to, finally, etc.
 Topic sentence: Describe the main point, change or comparison in

general terms without giving specific information.

 Supporting sentence(s): Quote a figure or other evidence that supports

the claim made in the topic sentence.

Hint: If you find yourself writing more than two consecutive supporting
sentences, include a general sentence (e.g. There were also significant
differences in…) to guide the reader, or consider starting a new paragraph.

Final paragraph: Conclusion

Key technique: Add overall coherence.
Due to lack of time, many people will omit the conclusion from Task 1.
However, there are several reasons you should write a conclusion. One is that
writing a summarising sentence takes very little time and may push you past the
150-word limit. Another is that a good summary can add coherence to your
answer, which could rescue your score if you have drifted a lot. Finally, since
the purpose of Task 1 is usually to compare, the conclusion allows you to make
direct comparisons of the different sets of data, which is especially important if
you have described them in separate body paragraphs. Here are some things that
can go in the conclusion to Task 1:
 Concluding signal: In conclusion, in summary, overall, etc.
 Summary: Paraphrase the overall trend or the two or three main points made
in the body. Never include statistics or other evidence in the conclusion.
 Direct comparison: If there are several sets of data, here is your chance to
make a connection between them. Don’t go into too much detail.
 Prediction: If the data includes a timeframe, you could make a prediction
about what is likely to happen next.
 Concluding comment: If you really need some extra words, you could add a
comment on the data. Is it surprisingly, alarming, expected? Comments
such as these are not required by the question but are better than incurring
a penalty for not meeting the word requirement.
Hint: You don’t need to include all of the above in your conclusion. Two
sentences are generally enough.

IELTS WRITING TASK 1: HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR ANSWER @IELTSIELTS TELEGRAM