IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: How to Describe Charts, Maps and Processes

In Academic Writing Task 1 you get about 20 minutes to write a report of at least 150 words describing visual information. You are not asked what you think: you are asked to select the most important information, summarise it and make comparisons where they matter.

What it tests

• Selecting the key features instead of describing everything.
• Summarising the big picture in an overview.
• Supporting your points with accurate figures from the visual.
• Comparing and grouping data, rather than listing it item by item.

It is marked on Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. See the Writing hub for how the criteria combine.

Task types

Type	What to focus on
Line graph	Trends over time: rises, falls, peaks, plateaus, and where lines cross.
Bar chart	Comparisons between categories, and changes between time periods if there are several.
Pie chart	Proportions: the largest and smallest shares, and how shares change between charts.
Table	Pick out the highest, lowest and most striking figures; tables tempt you to copy every number.
Process diagram	The stages in order, the start and end points, and how many stages there are. Use the passive voice naturally.
Map	Changes to a place over time, or a comparison of two plans: what was added, removed or moved.

Some tasks combine two visuals, for example a line graph and a pie chart. Describe each and link them where the data connects.

Step-by-step plan (20 minutes)

1. Read and analyse (2–3 minutes). What does the visual measure, in what units, over what period? Find two or three main features: the biggest change, the highest and lowest values, the overall direction.
2. Write the introduction (1–2 minutes). One sentence that paraphrases what the visual shows. Do not copy the question.
3. Write the overview (2–3 minutes). Two sentences on the main trends or differences, with no detailed figures.
4. Write two body paragraphs (10 minutes). Group the data logically, for example rising categories in one paragraph and falling ones in the other. Support each point with figures.
5. Check (2 minutes). Numbers, units, tenses (past for past dates, future forms for projections) and the word count.

Common traps

• No overview. Without a clear summary of the main trends, Task Achievement is held at a low band, however accurate your details are.
• Mechanical listing. Describing each line or bar one by one, with every figure, shows you cannot select. Group and compare instead.
• Missing data. The opposite problem: general statements with no figures to support them.
• Copying the prompt. Copied wording is not counted. Paraphrase the introduction in your own words.
• Giving reasons or opinions. "This is probably because…" is not required and wastes words.
• Misreading units. Percentages, thousands and millions are easy to confuse under pressure.
• Under length. Fewer than 150 words limits your score. Aim for 160–190.
• Memorised phrases. Stock openings and closings add little and are easy to spot.

Try it: mini-example

This prompt and model answer are original practice material written for Bee English.

Task: The table shows the percentage of journeys made by bicycle, car and public transport in the city of Harlow Bay in 2005 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Mode	2005	2025
Bicycle	6%	19%
Car	61%	44%
Public transport	33%	37%

Model introduction and overview

The table compares how journeys in Harlow Bay were divided between three forms of transport in 2005 and twenty years later. Overall, although the car remained the most common way to travel, its share fell considerably, while cycling grew more than threefold and public transport saw a small increase.

Model body paragraph

The most dramatic change was in cycling. In 2005, only 6% of trips were made by bicycle, the lowest figure in the table, but by 2025 this had risen to 19%. Public transport also gained ground, though far more modestly, moving from roughly a third of journeys to 37%. Car use, by contrast, dropped from 61% to 44%, meaning that cars accounted for fewer than half of all trips by the end of the period.

Why this works

• The introduction paraphrases the task ("divided between three forms of transport", "twenty years later") instead of copying it.
• The overview names the two main features (the car is still top but falling; cycling has grown most) with no detailed figures.
• The body groups the two rising modes together and contrasts them with cars, rather than describing rows in order.
• Figures are used to support points, and phrases like more than threefold and fewer than half turn numbers into comparisons.
• Linking is varied but not forced: by contrast, though far more modestly, by the end of the period.

Related guides

• IELTS Writing: complete guide
• Task Achievement and Task Response, band by band
• Coherence and Cohesion
• General Training Writing Task 1: the letter

Sources

• IELTS, Academic Writing format
• IELTS, Writing band descriptors (PDF)