Lesson 4 of 8 · 12 min read

Writing Task 1

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Write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. Task 1 is worth one third of your Writing score; Task 2 is worth two thirds. So don't spend more than 20 minutes here.

Academic: describing visual information

You might get a line graph, bar chart, pie chart, table, map (how a place changed) or process diagram. You don't give opinions or reasons, only describe and compare what you see.

A four-paragraph structure that works

Introduction (1 sentence): paraphrase the task. "The chart shows…" becomes "The bar chart compares…".
Overview (2 sentences): the two or three most important features or trends. This is the single most important paragraph for your score.
Details 1: describe and compare the main features with figures.
Details 2: describe the remaining features with figures.

Missing an overview limits your Task Achievement score, however good your English is. Don't put it at the end as a "conclusion": put it right after the introduction.

Model answer (original)

Task: The chart shows the percentage of adults using mobile money in four countries in 2015 and 2023. The bar chart compares the proportion of adults who used mobile money services in four countries in 2015 and 2023. Overall, mobile money use grew in all four countries over the period. Kenya had the highest rate in both years, while the most dramatic increase was in Ghana. In 2015, almost three quarters of Kenyan adults (73%) used mobile money, far more than in Uganda (51%) and Tanzania (39%). Ghana had the lowest figure, at just 13%. By 2023, the Kenyan figure had risen to 84%. Ghana's rate more than quadrupled to 60%, overtaking Tanzania, which reached 52%. Uganda saw a steady rise to 66%, keeping it in second place.

The figures are invented for practice. About 150 words. Notice the overview, the comparisons ("far more than", "overtaking") and the variety of verbs (grew, rose, more than quadrupled, reached).

Useful language

To describe…	Try…
Increase	rose, grew, climbed, increased sharply / steadily / slightly
Decrease	fell, dropped, declined, decreased dramatically / gradually
No change	remained stable, stayed constant, levelled off
Highest / lowest	peaked at, reached a high of, hit a low of
Comparison	twice as many as, slightly higher than, by far the largest, whereas, while
Proportion	a quarter, just under half, the vast majority, a small minority

General Training: the letter

The task tells you who you're writing to. A friend means informal; a manager or company means formal.
Cover all three bullet points in the task, each in its own paragraph. Missing one lowers your score.
Formal: "Dear Sir or Madam," … "Yours faithfully," (or "Dear Mr Moyo," … "Yours sincerely,"). Informal: "Hi Tendai," … "Best wishes,".
State the purpose in the first sentence: "I am writing to complain about…".

Write a Task 1 answer and get it marked