The IELTS writing test has two parts, or tasks. The first part is an information transfer task. This means you need to take information from a table, chart or diagram and present it in the form of a short written description. The second part is a discursive composition. For this task you are given a statement or an opinion about something and you must present your view.
The whole test takes an hour, but you will need more time for Task 2 than Task 1 because you have to write more words and it is worth more points. The test is organised like this:
Number of words150
20 minutes
Task 2:250
40 minutes
In this first lesson you’ll
learn about the different kinds of writing you may be asked to do in the testActivity 1 > The IELTS writing test - types of writing > 5 minutes
Click here for a list of the types of writing you have to do in the IELTS test. Sort the list into writing for Task 1 and writing for Task 2.
Activity 2 > Understanding Tables > 10 minutes
In IELTS Writing Task 1 you may be asked to describe data given in a table. Before you begin writing, take a few minutes to ‘read’ and understand the table. Think about the following:
Read the instructions carefully - these will tell you what the table shows.Read this IELTS task and then decide whether the statements which follow are true or false or if it is impossible to tell from the data. Click here to choose T / F or Im.
The table below shows how the percentage of British adults who use the Internet changed over a five year period.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.
Table for Task 1Activity 3 > Ways of expressing numbers > 5 minutes
There are a number of different ways of expressing the same figure in English. For example, we can say ‘a half’, ‘one in two’ or ‘fifty per cent’ and they all mean the same. It’s a good idea to vary the way you express figures in your description of the table or chart.
Click to group these phrases used to describe figures into phrases which mean the same.
Activity 4: Ways of expressing numbers > 10 minutes
Now look again at the table above about Internet usage from Activity 2. Click to use expressions from Activity 3 to complete these sentences about the table. Remember to use a variety of ways to describe the figures.
Activity 5: Using quantifiers (1) > 5 minutes
In Part 1 of the writing test you may have to describe amounts. You’ll need to be careful using quantifiers - words like ‘much’, ‘many’, ‘some’ etc.
Click here to put the words and expressions into the correct group.
Activity 6 > Using quantifiers (2) > 10 minutes
The table below shows how men and women spend their time each day. It’s a static table - i.e. it doesn’t show changes over time, but compares values at one point in time. Notice also that the table has two sets of figures: the black figures show time spent in minutes, the blue figures show the actual number of people asked who said that they do these activities.
Table of time spent on daily activities (over 16s), image
Now look at the table and click here to complete the description by choosing the best word or phrase for each gap.
Activity 7 > Example Task 1 > 10 minutes
Look at the example task 1 question below and then try to complete the sample answer using language we’ve looked at so far in this lesson.
Table about the prevalence of smoking in Great Britain, image
Click here to produce the sample answer. This is only one possible answer. You may put something different which could still be correct.
This lesson continues here.
LearnEnglish Professionals - IELTS
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