IELTS Writing Task 1 requires you to write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. What you actually write depends on which test you are taking. Academic Task 1 asks you to describe visual information, graphs, charts, maps or diagrams. General Training Task 1 asks you to write a letter responding to a specific situation. Both versions contribute one third of your overall Writing band score.
Task 1 at a glance
Most candidates spend too long on Task 1 because they want to make it perfect. This is a strategic mistake. Task 2 is worth twice as many marks, so leaving yourself short on Task 2 time to polish Task 1 lowers your overall band. Stick to 20 minutes maximum on Task 1, even if it feels incomplete.
Academic vs General Training, completely different tasks
Describe what you see
You receive a visual, a chart, graph, table, map or process diagram, and you describe what it shows in your own words. The task is purely descriptive. You report data, identify trends, and summarise key information.
- Line graph showing change over time
- Bar chart comparing categories
- Pie chart showing proportions
- Map showing how a place changed
- Process or cycle diagram
- Table of data
What to avoid: Personal opinions, predictions about the future, explanations of why the data looks this way. Pure description only.
Write a letter
You receive a situation (you need to complain about a faulty product, ask for time off work, invite a friend to a wedding) and three bullet points to cover. You write a letter responding to that situation.
- Formal letter, to companies, managers you don't know
- Semi-formal letter, to known roles like landlords
- Informal letter, to friends or family
What to avoid: Wrong tone. An informal "Hi mate" to your boss tanks your score, as does formal "Dear Sir/Madam" to your friend.
How Task 1 is marked
Task 1 is graded on the same four criteria as Task 2, each worth 25% of your Task 1 band:
Task Achievement
Did you cover all the required information? For Academic, did you identify the main features? For General, did you address all three bullet points?
25% of Task 1Coherence & Cohesion
Is your response logically organised with clear paragraphs? Do ideas flow naturally without forced linking?
25% of Task 1Lexical Resource
How accurate and varied is your vocabulary? For Academic, can you describe data without over-using "increase" and "decrease"?
25% of Task 1Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Do you use a mix of sentence structures correctly? Past tense for completed data, comparative forms for comparisons?
25% of Task 1The other three criteria are about language quality. Task Achievement is about whether you actually did what was asked. Missing one of the three bullet points in General Training, or failing to identify the main trends in Academic, caps your Task Achievement at band 5 regardless of how good your English is.
Academic Task 1, the four-paragraph structure that works
For Academic Task 1, a clear paragraph structure makes the examiner's job easier and lifts your Coherence score. The structure we recommend:
Introduction
Paraphrase the question in 1-2 sentences
Overview
Summarise the 2-3 most important features
Detail para 1
Describe the first half of the data with specifics
Detail para 2
Describe the second half of the data with specifics
The overview paragraph is critical. Without it, your Task Achievement score is capped at band 5, no matter how detailed your other paragraphs are. The overview should not include specific numbers; it identifies the big-picture trends.
General Training Task 1, choosing the right tone
Tone is everything in General Training Task 1. The wrong tone immediately signals that you have not understood the situation, even if your English is otherwise excellent. Match the formality to the relationship.
Opening: Dear Sir or Madam
Closing: Yours faithfully (if name unknown), Yours sincerely (if known)
Used for: Companies, organisations, people you have never met
Opening: Hi James, Dear Sara
Closing: Best wishes, Take care, See you soon
Used for: Friends, family, anyone you know personally
Semi-formal sits in between. For a known role (your manager, your child's teacher) you might open "Dear Mr Patel" and close "Kind regards" or "Best regards". Avoid mixing formality levels in the same letter, pick one register and stay consistent.
The mistakes we see most often
Writing under 150 words
The penalty for under-length responses is significant, typically half a band off your Task Achievement score. Always finish a complete paragraph after you hit the minimum. We see candidates submit 148-word responses thinking they are fine; they are not.
No overview paragraph (Academic)
An overview that summarises the main features of the data is essential. Without it, your Task Achievement score is capped at band 5. The overview should be the second paragraph and should contain no specific numbers, just the big picture.
Including personal opinion (Academic)
Academic Task 1 is purely descriptive. Phrases like "This is concerning", "The increase is positive", or "I think this trend will continue" lower your Task Achievement score. Describe what the data shows, do not interpret why or judge whether it is good or bad.
Missing one of the three bullet points (General)
General Training Task 1 always gives you three bullet points to cover in your letter. Missing one, or barely touching one, caps your Task Achievement at band 5. Some candidates over-elaborate on point 1 and run out of space for point 3.
Most candidates spend 25-30 minutes on Task 1 because they want to "finish properly". This is the single biggest scoring mistake in IELTS Writing. Task 2 is worth twice as much. Spending an extra 5 minutes on Task 1 to gain half a band there costs you 1 full band on Task 2.
Band 5 vs Band 7, the same description reworked
Here is a sentence describing the same data point at two different band levels. The data shows car ownership in the UK between 1980 and 2020.
"The graph shows that car ownership went up from 1980 to 2020. In 1980 it was 50% and in 2020 it was 80%. So it went up by 30%."
"Between 1980 and 2020, car ownership in the UK rose substantially, from 50% to 80%. This represents an overall increase of 30 percentage points across the four-decade period, with the steepest growth occurring between 1990 and 2000."
What examiners look for in a high-band Task 1
After examining thousands of Task 1 responses, certain patterns emerge in the ones that score band 7 and above. The differences are concrete and learnable.
- Variety in trend vocabulary. Not just "increase" repeated 8 times. A high-band response uses "rose", "climbed", "grew", "surged", "edged up", chosen for the magnitude of change being described.
- Comparative language built in. "Roughly twice as many", "marginally higher", "in stark contrast to". This signals lexical resource without forcing complex vocabulary.
- Specific data integrated smoothly. Not "It went from 50 to 80." Instead: "rising from 50% in 1980 to peak at 80% by 2020." The numbers support the description rather than interrupting it.
- Clear paragraph purpose. Each paragraph has one job. Mixing description of two different charts in one paragraph confuses the reader and lowers Coherence.
For full model answers with examiner commentary, see our Task 1 model answers page.
Choose your preparation path
Frequently asked questions
How many words should I write for Task 1?
Aim for 160-180 words. The minimum is 150 but going slightly over (without writing too much) gives you a safety margin if the examiner discounts any text copied from the question prompt. Writing more than 200 words wastes time you need for Task 2.
Do I need to include all data points in Academic Task 1?
No. Including every number actually hurts your score because it shows you cannot identify which data points matter. Focus on the most significant trends, comparisons and extremes. The overview paragraph should highlight 2-3 main features only.
Can I write the letter as bullet points in General Training Task 1?
No. Despite the bullet points being given in the question, your response must be written as connected prose, full sentences in paragraph form. Writing back in bullet points caps your Coherence and Cohesion at band 4.
Should I use first person ("I") in Academic Task 1?
Generally no. Academic Task 1 should be objective and impersonal. Avoid phrases like "I can see that" or "I think this shows". Use neutral phrasing instead: "The graph shows", "It is clear that", "The data indicates".
Is the Task 1 score weighted equally with Task 2?
No. Task 2 is weighted twice as heavily. Your Writing band is calculated as (Task 1 band + Task 2 band + Task 2 band) ÷ 3. This is why you should spend roughly 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 on Task 2, and never sacrifice Task 2 time to polish Task 1.