UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO IELTS WRITING TASK 1

Type of visual information

Exercise 1: Match the figures with their types given in the box.
Bar chart pie chart line graph table map process
1/ 2/ 3/

10% 10%

20%

40%
20%

0-13 14-26 27-45

People using the Internet according to age

4/ 5/ 6/
Visits abroad by UK residents by purpose of
Intown area Brick manufacturing process
visit (1994-96)
1994 1995 1996
Holiday 14,898 17,869 20,700
Business 3,188 3,249 3,639

Visit to friends &

2,628 2,744 3,504
relatives

Other reasons 896 1,303 1,054

Total 21,610 25,165 28,897

STRUCTURE OF A REPORT
Introductory sentence 1 sentence
INTRODUCTION (Paraphrasing the title)
General trend/ Overview 1-2 sentences

Specific trends
BODY 6-7 sentences
(grouping information)

SUMMARY Sum up the main points 1-2 sentences (optional)

Introduction
Introductory sentence = the paraphrase of the question explaining what is described in the task

What is being described

Type of visual information Place of information Time of information

E.g. The bar chart illustrates data about the population of elephants in Asian countries between 1990 and 2000.
 Change the words
The charts below show the number of Japanese tourists traveling abroad between 1985 and 1995.
 The bar charts describe the figure for Japanese visitors traveling overseas in a period of 10 years from
1985 to 1995.

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  Change the part of speech: N  V; V  N, ADJ  ADV…
The table below shows CO2 emissions for different forms of transport in the European Union.
 The table illustrates the volume of CO2 emitted from various means of transport in the European Union.
 Change the verb form from active to passive
The table below shows the proportions of different categories of families living in poverty in Australia in
1999.
 The rates of different types of poor Australian families in 1999 are compared in the table.
 Loose paraphrasing
The chart below shows how frequently people in the USA ate in fast food restaurants between 2003 and 2013.
The bar chart gives information about fast food eating habits in the US over a 10-year period.
Remember: to show = to describe = to illustrate = to depict = to compare = to give information about
Practice 1: Look at each of the following graphs. Choose the sentences that best introduce the graph.
1/ The graph below gives information about the viewing figures of Channel One News.

a/ The line graph compares the amount of

views per day on the news channel during
the year.
b/ The line chart shows the time people
watched Channel One news.
c/ The graphprovides data about the viewing
figures of Channel One news at four
different times of the day over the course of
one year.

2/ The table shows the worldwide market share of the mobile phone market for manufacturers in the years
2005 and 2006.
a/ The table compares the leading mobile
phone producers in terms of their share of
the global market in 2005 and 2006.
b/ The chart gives information about the
number of mobile phones sold by top 6
phone manufacturers for two consecutive
years, 2005 and 2006.
c/ The table illustrates how many phones
were sold by six mobile phone producers
in 2005 and 2006.
Practice 2: Rewrite the following sentences without changing their meanings:
1. The chart below shows the amount spent on six consumer goods in four European countries.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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2. The graph below shows the different modes of transport used to travel to and from work in one European
city in 1960, 1980 and 2000.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. The table below shows the amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women of different employment
status.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. The graph below shows UK acid rain emissions, measured in millions of tons, from four different sectors
between 1990 and 2007.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. The graph and table below give information about water use worldwide and water consumption in two
different countries.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Overview
Overall, / In general, / Generally, / It is obvious that / It is apparent that …
- The figure for / the number of / the amount of ….. follows an upward trend / has a downward trend / experiences a
period of erratic behaviors
- The figures for / the numbers of / the amounts of ….. vary greatly / considerably / slightly with diverse trends
Remember: - The number of = the figure for = the quantity of + N (PLURALCOUNTABLE)
- The amount of = the sum of = the volume of + N (UNCOUNTABLE)
SAMPLE INtroduction
The graph below shows the average number of UK commuters travelling each day by car, bus or train
between 1970 and 2030.

It is apparent that the car is by far the most popular means of transport for UK commuters throughout the
period shown. Also, while the numbers of people who use the car and train follow an upward trend, the figure
for bus users has a downward trend.

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Practice 3: Write full introductions for the following graphs
iThe graph below gives information about wheat export in certain countries. .

…the line graph given shows data of the wheat export measured in millions of tonnes in separate countries
during 5-year period . Almost all the time surveyed, the Australia’s tends to follow a downward trend while the
amount of wheat exported in European Community decreases, the quantity of Canada suffers a period of erratic
behaviours

The bar chart below shows the figures for imprisonment in five countries between 1930 and 1980.

160
140
120
100
80
Great Britain Australia New Z
60
Canada
40
20
0

193019401950196019701980

The chart below illustrates the number of imprisonment in five certain countries from 1930 to 1980. It is clearly
all countries experience a period of erratic behaviours and by far Australia and Canada are the countries having
the highest number of imprisonments. New Zealand remain stable in the third position almost all the time
surveyed. Great Britain and Australia have the smallest quantity of imprisonment

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