Lessondownloads>IELTSAcademicModulepreparation>Writing>Lesson1

Introduction
TheIELTSwritingtesthastwoparts,ortasks.Thefirstpartisaninformationtransfertask.This
meansyouneedtotakeinformationfromatable,chartordiagramandpresentitintheformofa
shortwrittendescription.Thesecondpartisadiscursivecomposition.Forthistaskyouaregivena
statementoranopinionaboutsomethingandyoumustpresentyourview.
Thewholetesttakesanhour,butyouwillneedmoretimeforTask2thanTask1becauseyou
havetowritemorewordsanditisworthmorepoints.Thetestisorganisedlikethis:

Task1:InformationTransfer
Task2:DiscursiveComposition

words
150
250

suggestedtime
20minutes
40minutes

Inthisfirstlessonyoull

learnaboutthedifferentkindsofwritingyoumaybeaskedtodointhetest
practisereadingandunderstandingtables
lookatdifferentwaysofexpressingnumbers
practisebrainstormingideasforcompositions
reviselanguageforexpressingpurpose,causeandeffect
lookatwaysofwritingproblemandsolutiontypecompositions

Activity1>TheIELTSwritingtesttypesofwriting>5minutes
BelowisalistofthetypesofwritingyouhavetodointheIELTStest.Sortthelistintowritingfor
Task1andwritingforTask2.
compareandcontrastpointsofview
describeanobjectorsystem
evaluateandchallengeideasoranargument
explainhowsomethingworks
justifyanopinion
organise,presentandcomparedata
describethestagesofaprocess
presentasolutiontoaproblem
presentevidencetosupportanopinion
Task1:InformationTransfer

Task2:DiscursiveComposition

IELTSWRITINGTASK1:TABLES

Activity2>UnderstandingTables >10minutes
InIELTSWritingTask1youmaybeaskedtodescribedatagiveninatable.Beforeyoubegin
writing,takeafewminutestoreadandunderstandthetable.Thinkaboutthefollowing:

Readtheinstructionscarefullythesewilltellyouwhatthetableshows.
Doesthetablehaveatitle?Ifitdoes,readitcarefullysothatyouknowwhatthetableis
about.
Isthetablestaticordynamic?Statictablesshowdataatonepointintimedynamictables
showhowdatachangesovertime.Thiswillaffectthelanguageyouuseinyourdescription.
Whatdothecolumnsandrowsrepresent?
Whatunitofmeasurementdoeseachcellrepresent?Kilometres,euros,litres??
Beclearaboutwhatthetabledoesnotshow!

ReadthisIELTStaskandthendecidewhetherthestatementswhichfollowaretrueorfalseorifitis
impossibletotellfromthedata.ChooseT/ForIm

ThetablebelowshowshowthepercentageofBritishadultswhousetheInternetchanged
overafiveyearperiod.
Writeareportforauniversitylecturerdescribingtheinformationshownbelow.

Age
groups

PercentageofadultsinGreatBritainwhohaveusedtheInternetfor3monthsbeforebeing
interviewed

1624
2544
4554
5564

October
2000

October
2001

October
2002

October
2003

October
2004

October
2005

70
53
46
24

78
61
50
30

85
73
59
41

88
76
64
45

90
79
67
48

87
81
75
51

Source:NationalStatistics(seehttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/copyright.aspforcopyrightdetails)

Questions:
1ThetableshowsthenumberofpeopleinGreatBritainwhousetheInternet. T/F/Im
2ThetableshowsthepercentageofpeopleinGreatBritainwhousedtheInternetbetweenJuly
andOctobereachyear.T/F/Im
3Thetableshowschangeovertime(dynamic).T/F/Im
4InOctober2000,more16to24yearoldsusedtheInternetthan25to44yearolds.T/F/Im
5ThelowestpercentageofInternetuseiswiththe55to64yearolds.T/F/Im
6InOctober2004,onlyfortyeight55to64yearoldsusedtheInternet.T/F/Im
710percentof1624yearoldsdidntusetheInternetinOctober2004. T/F/Im
8ThepercentageofpeopleinGreatBritainwhousedtheInternetincreasedoverthefiveyears.T/
F/Im

Activity3>Waysofexpressingnumbers>5minutes
ThereareanumberofdifferentwaysofexpressingthesamefigureinEnglish.Forexample,we
cansayahalf,oneintwoorfiftypercentandtheyallmeanthesame.Itsagoodideatovary
thewayyouexpressfiguresinyourdescriptionofthetableorchart.
Allthephrasesbelowcanbeusedtodescribefigures.Groupthemintophraseswhichmeanthe
same.
afifth
aquarter
atenth
athird
justoversixtypercent
justoverthirtypercent
oneinfive
oneinfour
oneinten
oneinthree
seventyfivepercent
tenpercent
threeoutoffour
threequarters
twentyfivepercent
twentypercent
twooutofthree
twothirds

Activity4:Waysofexpressingnumbers>10minutes.
NowlookagainatthetableaboutInternetusagefromActivity2.UseexpressionsfromActivity3to
completethesesentencesaboutthetable.Remembertouseavarietyofwaystodescribethe
figures.
1624yearoldshadthegreatestInternetusage.In2004,forexample,1[]outoftenpeoplein
thisagegroupusedtheInternet.
In2001justover 2[]of2544yearoldsusedtheInternet.Twoyearslater,thefigurewas
justover3[].
Forthe4554agegroup,Internetusagerosefromjustunder4[]in2000to5[]in
2005.
In2000,onlyonein 6[]5564yearoldsusedtheInternet.Thisfigurehadrisentoover7[]by
2005.

Activity5:Usingquantifiers(1)>5minutes
InPart1ofthewritingtestyoumayhavetodescribeamounts.Youllneedtobecarefulusing
quantifierswordslikemuch,many,someetc.
Putthewordsandexpressionsbelowintothecorrectgroup.
alargeamount
alittle
alotof
asmallamount
asmallnumber
few
fewer
fewerandfewer
less
lessandless
many
more
most
much
no
noneof
several
themajorityof

Usedwithcountablenouns
Usedwithuncountablenouns Usedwithbothcountableand
uncountablenouns
(men,women,cars,hoursetc) (time,money,wateretc)

Activity6>Usingquantifiers(2)>10minutes
Thetablebelowshowhowmenandwomenspendtheirtimeeachday.Itsastatictablei.e.it
doesntshowchangesovertime,butcomparesvaluesatonepointintime.Noticealsothatthe
tablehastwosetsoffigures:theblackfiguresshowtimespentinminutes,thebluefiguresshow
theactualnumberofpeopleaskedwhosaidthattheydotheseactivities.
Nowlookatthetableandcompletethedescriptionbychoosingthebestwordorphraseforeach
gap.
Timespentbyadults(over16)ondailyactivities

Activity
Sleep
Personalcarei.e.
wash/dress
Housework
Entertainmentand
culture
Hobbiesandgames
WatchingTV
Childcare

Men
Women
(totalinterviewed=100)
(totalinterviewed=100)
Averageminutesperday
(Numberofpeopleparticipatinginactivity)
503
513
100
100
41
52
97
98
126
215
85
96
6
6
5
6
26
16
26
22
161
137
88
87
11
28
14
24

All

508
47
173
6
21
148
20

(adaptedfromNationalStatisticsinformation(seehttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/copyright.aspfor
copyrightdetails)
Thetableshowshow1[much/many]timepeoplespendoncertaindailyactivities.Notsurprisingly,
everybodysurveyedspent2[alotof/many]timesleeping.However,menspentslightly3
[fewer/less]timesleepingthanwomendid.Aftersleeping,thenextmosttimeconsumingactivity
washousework,takingup178minutesperday,onaverage.Again,though,therewasamarked
differencebetweenmenandwomen,withwomenspending 4[many/much] moreminutesperday
onthisactivitythanmen.Inaddition,agreater5[amount/number]ofwomenthanmenreported
thattheyspenttimeonhouseworkandchildcare.Incontrast,menspentagreater6
[amount/number]oftimeontheirhobbiesandgamesthanwomendid.Very7[few/many]people
surveyedspentmuchfreetimeonentertainmentandculture.Forthe8[majority/most]ofpeople,
freetimewasspentwatchingtelevision.Almostnineoutoftenpeoplereportedthattheyspent9
[several/lots]hourswatchingTVeveryday.

Activity7>ExampleTask1>10minutes
Lookattheexampletask1questionbelowandthentrytocompletethesampleanswerusing
languagewevelookedatsofarinthislesson.
ThetablebelowshowstheprevalenceofsmokingamongstadultsinGreatBritain.Writea
reportforauniversitylecturerdescribingtheinformationshownbelow.
Cigarettesmokingstatusbyageandgender

Men
1619
2024
2534
3549
5059
60andover

Light
Heavy
All
smoker
smoker smokers
%ofpopulation
19
4
23
32
5
36
26
9
35
18
12
31
13
12
26
10
5
15

Women
1619
2024
2534
3549
5059
60andover

24
25
22
19
14
10

1
5
6
9
8
4

Thetableshows[

25
29
28
28
22
14

]andcomparesthe

prevalenceofsmoking[].Itsclearfromthefiguresthatsmokingis
mostcommon[

].Nearly[]menandexactly

[]womenarelightsmokersatthisage,while
[]areheavysmokers.Thefiguresalsoshowthatasageincreases
[].Thistrendistruefor[].Themost
disturbingfiguresarethosefor16to19yearolds.Around[

].The

percentageforgirls[]inthisagegroup,butitseemsthatteenageboys
[].

IELTSWRITINGTASK2:PROBLEMANDSOLUTION
Activity8>Brainstormingideas(1):5minutes
InPart2oftheIELTStestyoumaybeaskedtowriteacompositiondiscussingthecausesofa
problemandsuggestingpossiblesolutions.Heresanexample:
Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwithnospecialknowledgeofthe
followingtopic.
Overfishingoftheworldsoceansthreatensmanyspecieswithextinctionandisputting
thelivelihoodofmillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldatrisk.Whatarethecausesofthis
problemandwhatcanbedonetopreventitfromhappening?
Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupportyourargumentswith
examplesandrelevantevidence.
Beforeyoubeginwriting,spendafewminutestothinkofideasrelatedtothetopic.Atthisstage,
dontworrytoomuchabouthowyouregoingtoexpressororganisetheseideasjustbrainstorm
thetopicandjotdownnotes.
Spend3minutesbrainstormingideasfortheexamplequestionabove.Usetheseheadings:
Causesofoverfishing

Waystopreventoverfishing

Activity9>brainstormingideas(2)>5minutes
Herearesomeideaswevebrainstormedforthecomposition.Puteachideaundertheappropriate
heading.
factoryfishingmakeshugecatchestooeasy
bringinlawstoprotectfishspeciesandlimitfishing
createaninternationalbodytopolicetheoceansandenforcelaws
fishingprovidesaquickreturnforcompaniesandgovernments
hugeareasoftheworldsoceansarenotprotectedbyenvironmentallaws
illegalfishingisdifficulttopolice
puttaxesonfishingwhichmakeitlessattractivetocompanies
raisepublicawarenessthoughthemedia
theproblemdoesnotgetenoughpublicity
theresagrowingdemandforfishworldwide
banthefishingofcertainspeciesoffish

Causesofoverfishing

Waystopreventoverfishing

Activity10>Expressingcauseandeffect(1)>10minutes
IfyouareaskedtodiscussaproblemandpossiblesolutionsinTask2,youwillneedtobeableto
outlinethecausesoftheproblemandshowwhateffectsthesehave.Herearesomeuseful
expressionsfordoingthis.

RESULT

CAUSE

(is)

dueto
owingto
becauseof
causedby
broughtaboutby
onaccountof
asaresultof

CAUSE

resultsin
causes
givesriseto
leadsto
bringsabout
accountsfor

RESULT

Eachofthesentencesbelowdescribesacauseandeffectrelationship.Choosethebestexpression
tocompletethegap.
1Globalwarmingispartly[asaresultof/causes]increasingemissionsofgreenhousegases.
2Thedeclineofmanufacturingindustry[onaccountof/broughtabout]highunemploymentin
manycountries.
3Peoplearemoreworriedaboutcrime[onaccountof/bringsabout]exaggeratedreportsinthe
media.
4Increasingpressuretoworkovertime[owingto/causes]parentstospendlesstimewiththeir
children.
5DrugsforthetreatmentofAIDSremainunavailabletomillions[owingto/givesriseto]theirhigh
cost.
6Globalisation[asaresultof/hasgivenriseto]ablandpopculturefollowedbyyoungpeople
worldwide.
7Poordisciplineatschool[isdueto/leadsto]poorparentingathome.
8Thedesireforhigherprofits[onaccountof/leadsto]companiessettingupincountrieswhere
labourischeap.

Activity11>Expressingcauseandeffect(2)>5minutes.
Nowletsseehowtheseexpressionscanbeusedinourcompositionabouttheoverfishingofthe
worldsoceans.Completetheparagraphbyusingappropriatephrasesfromactivity9.
Thereareanumberofreasonswhyoverfishingoftheworldsfishstockshasreachedcrisislevels.
Firstly,catchinglargenumbersoffishhasbecomeveryeasy[1]modernmethodsoffactory
fishing.Secondly,thescarcityoffish[2]higherprices,makingfishingamoreattractive
industryforgovernmentsandcompaniestoinvestin.This[3]evenmorefishingand
[4]aviciouscircleofincreasingdemandanddiminishingsupply.Furthermore,fishingin
mostpartsoftheworldremainsuncontrolled[5]thelackofenvironmentallaws.Finally,
wherelawsdoexisttheyaredifficulttoenforce[6]thelackofaninternational
maritimepoliceauthority.
Activity12>Suggestingsolutions>10minutes
Onceyouhavediscussedthecausesoftheproblem,youarereadytoputforwardyoursuggestions
forpossiblesolutions.Foreverysuggestionyoumake,youneedtobackupyourargumentby
explaininghowthisideawillhelp.Again,thereareusefulwordsandphrasesforyoutodothis.
Thephrasesbelowareusedtoshowthepurposeorreasonfordoingsomething.Matcheachone
withtheverbformwhichfollowsit.

so(that)
inthisway

2 withthepurposeof

inorder
soas

A topreventoverfishing

B overfishingisprevented

C preventingoverfishing

Nowcompletethisparagraphwithphrasesfromabove.
Whatcanbedonein[1]preventfishspeciesbeingwipedoutbyoverfishing?Oneimmediate
measureistoputacompletebanonthefishingofcertainspeciesoffish[2]savethemfrom
extinction.Environmentalagenciesshouldworktogivetheproblemahigherprofileinthemedia
[3]thepublicbecomemoreaware.Governmentscanhelpbyimposingtaxesonthefishing
industry.[4],companiesmaybelesslikelytoseefishingasaneasywaytomakemoney.
Governmentsshouldalsobringinstricterlawsinordertoprotectfishstocksfromuncontrolled
factoryfishing.Finally,aninternationalbodyoughttobecreated[5]enforcingtheselaws
worldwide.

Activity13>ExampleTask2
Heresanotherexampleofatask2questionrequiringaproblemandsolutionapproach.Spend
fiveminutesbrainstormingthequestion,andthenwriteyourcomposition,usinglanguagewehave
lookedatduringthislesson.
Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwithnospecialknowledgeofthe
followingtopic.
Thenumbersofindigenouspeopleslivingtraditionallivesintheworldsrainforestsare
becomingfewerandfewer.Withinafewdecadesthelastoftheseindigenoustribesmay
havedisappearedforever.Whatarethecausesofthisproblemandwhatcanbedoneto
preventitfromhappening?
Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupportyourargumentswith
examplesandrelevantevidence.

LessonReview
Inthisem@illessonyouhave:

learntaboutthedifferentkindsofwritingyoumaybeaskedtodointhetest
practisedreadingandunderstandingtables
lookedatdifferentwaysofexpressingnumbers
practisedbrainstormingideasforcompositions
revisedlanguageforexpressingpurpose,causeandeffect
lookedatwaysofwritingproblemandsolutiontypecompositions