Do you know how the examiner marks your writing paper? The key to success in IELTS Writing Task 1 is to give the examiner exactly what they want and nothing else.
Below are links to all the resources you will need on this site to do well in IELTS Writing Task 1.
IELTS Writing Task 1
IELTS Writing Task 1 Essential Information
Below are 7 essential facts about Task 1. Many students worry about these small details instead of focusing on what really matters- improving your performance. These facts will help you understand what the test is and how it is scored so that you can move on to improving your performance.
- People doing the Academic test will write a report on a data set, map, or process. People doing General Training will write a letter.
- You must write 150 words or more.
- You should spend around 20 minutes on this part of the test.
- Task 2 is worth 1/3 of your total mark on the Writing test.
- You will be assessed in four areas:
- Task Achievement (25%)
- Coherence and Cohesion (25%)
- Lexical Resource (25%)
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy (25%)
- The most important thing is that you can demonstrate that you can clearly communicate in English.
- The key to doing well is to know exactly what the examiners want and giving it to them.
Task 1 Academic Writing Skills
No matter how good your English is you still need to learn some IELTS writing skills before you do task 1. Below are helpful guides that will take you through each of the skills step-by-step.
Your overview paragraph is the most important part of your whole Task 1 essay. This article will show you how to pick out the main features and how to include them in your overview.
Paraphrasing is one of the most essential IELTS skills, not just in Writing Task 1, but in all parts of the IELTS test. You should paraphrase the question in every essay and I recommend doing this in the very first sentence to help boost your vocabulary score.
Complex sentences help you boost your score for grammar. Complex sentences are actually very simple to write and are not complex at all- in this article we show you how.
Around 150 words? Exactly 150 words or over 150 words? How many words over? How do I know how many words I have? This article answers all those questions.
This is a quick checklist that you can use for any Task 1 question to help you make sure you have everything you need to get your best possible score.
Here is a list of all the tips I give my students doing Task 1.
Synonyms are very important, but they can also really reduce you mark if used incorrectly.
The six most common mistakes that stop students getting over a Band 6.
This article will show you how to make your writing as clear and as easy to read as possible. It will also give you advice on whether to use a pen or pencil.
Full Writing Task 1 Lessons
Here are some lessons that I have used when teaching students about task 1. I have changed them so that you can easily learn at home.
Task 1 can seem really difficult if you haven’t seen one before. This lesson breaks the question down into 5 easy to understand steps.
Charts are probably the most common Task 1 question. We show you what data to choose and how to describe it.
Maps are not very common, but they are the easiest (in my humble opinion). If you don’t learn how to do them, you will really regret it if one appears on your paper.
What should you do if you get two different charts or graphs? This lesson shows you how.
Sometimes you will be shown a process such as a life cycle or how something is manufactured. This requires a very specific approach and we cover everything here.
IELTS Writing Task 1 Sample Answers
It’s very important that you have some good examples so that you can compare your writing and see if you are on the right track.
- Bar Chart Sample Essay (Cars in Asia)
- Process- Cement and Concrete Production
- Pie Chart (Italy and Yemen Populations)
- Process Question
- Bar Chart Question (UK Telephone Usage)
- Line Graph (US Consumption of Energy)
- Bar Chart Sample Answer (International Students)
Grammar and Vocabulary
There are some very specific grammar structures and phrases you need to score high in IELTS Writing Task 1. We show you all you need to know.
Here are some common grammar mistakes I have found after marking hundreds of tests.
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General Training Lessons
For those of you taking the General Paper here are full lessons on how to write a letter in the first part of the Writing test.
- IELTS General Writing
- How to Write an Informal Letter
- How to Write a Formal Letter
- Letter Writing Tips
- GT Task 1 Strategy
IELTS Writing Course
We offer help to a very small number of students with IELTS Writing Task 1 and all other areas of the test. I do not believe that simply offering students lots of videos helps them, so we do things very differently on our online courses.
We believe that students do best when they have full support and can get feedback and help with their particular problems. We treat our students as individuals, not numbers in a classroom. If you would like more information about our courses, please feel free to check them out here.
Due to the success of our courses and overwhelming demand, there is normally a waiting list
Summary
We are constantly adding to our IELTS Writing Task 1 resources, so if you have a suggestion please let us know. In the meantime, thanks for your patience 🙂
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