Short answer: Academic Task 1 has four parts — a paraphrased introduction, an overview of the main trends, and two body paragraphs of specific detail. The overview is the single most important paragraph: without it, you can't reach Band 6 on Task Achievement, however accurate your figures.
✍️ Open Typehush and practise Task 1 alongside Task 2 →| Paragraph | Content |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Paraphrase what the chart/graph/table shows (1 sentence) |
| Overview | The 2–4 main trends or biggest features, no specific numbers |
| Body 1 | Detailed data for one group of features, with comparisons |
| Body 2 | Detailed data for the rest, with comparisons |
That's about 170 words and covers everything the examiner is looking for.
The overview is where you state the big picture — the highest and lowest values, the overall direction, the most striking contrast — without quoting specific numbers. The band descriptors are blunt here: an answer with no clear overview cannot score above Band 5 on Task Achievement, no matter how much accurate detail it contains. Many candidates dive straight into numbers and skip it. Always write a distinct overview paragraph (start it "Overall, …") — it's the cheapest band you'll ever earn.
The introduction is one sentence that restates what the visual shows, in your own words. If the prompt says "The graph below shows electricity production by source in France," you might write "The line graph illustrates how France generated its electricity, broken down by source, over the given period." Change the vocabulary ("shows" → "illustrates," "production" → "generated") and don't copy the prompt — copied words don't count. Keep it to one clean sentence and move to the overview.
The detail paragraphs report specific figures, but the skill is selection and comparison, not listing every number. Group related data logically (e.g. rising sources in one paragraph, falling in another), quote the key figures, and — crucially — compare them ("nuclear supplied roughly three times as much as hydro"). A Task 1 answer that just lists each value in turn, with no comparison, reads as a data dump and caps your Coherence score. Choose the figures that matter and relate them to each other.
A simple test for whether you've selected well: could a reader who can't see the chart picture its shape from your description? If yes, you've captured the important features. If they'd only end up with a scattered list of numbers, you've reported without selecting. Aim to quote perhaps six to ten key figures across the two body paragraphs — the extremes, the turning points, and the notable gaps — rather than every data point. Precision with a few well-chosen numbers reads as far more controlled than exhaustively transcribing the whole table.
Two quick rules. Match the tense to the data: past years take the past tense, projections take the future, an undated process takes the present. Never give an opinion in Task 1 — you're reporting, not arguing. Words like "unfortunately" or "this is a good trend" don't belong; they can't earn marks and signal you've misread the task. Report what the data shows, accurately and neutrally, and save all analysis for Task 2.
Task 1 is formulaic in the best sense: the same four-part shape fits almost every chart, so once the pattern is automatic you save planning time and can focus on the data. Reading and typing high-band Task 1 models trains the shape and the comparison language ("a marked increase," "remained stable," "the figure for") until they come without thought. On the computer test that fluency protects the 20-minute budget, leaving Task 2 its full 40 minutes — which is where most of your Writing band is actually won.
⏱ Test your typing speed — can you finish Task 2 in 40 minutes? →Four parts: a paraphrased introduction, an overview of the main trends, and two body paragraphs of specific data with comparisons — about 170 words in total.
Yes. An answer with no clear overview cannot score above Band 5 on Task Achievement, so always write a distinct overview paragraph starting with "Overall."
No. Task 1 is a neutral report of the data. Opinions or value judgements cannot earn marks and suggest you have misread the task.
No. Select the key figures and compare them. Listing every value with no comparison reads as a data dump and lowers your Coherence score.
Typehush — practise typing high-band IELTS model essays for the computer-based Writing test. Start practising · Model-essay library · Task 1 word count · Task 1 vs Task 2