There is no joy in possession without sharing

If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

BLOSSOM (+) COURSE

WRITING TASK 1 – LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO TASK 1 WRITING

Lesson focus - Introduction to IELTS Writing task 1

- Introduction to essay format and how to target 6.5+ in writing task 1
- Language and approach to task 1 – comparison chart

1. Introduction to writing task 1:

a. General introduction
- This is the first part of the writing section. It requires you to produce a general report with
the minimum length of 150 words within a suggested period of 15 - 20 minutes.
- There is no obligation of the maximum length though you will not get extra points when
writing long.
- Some common types are: line graph, table, pie chart, bar chart, map and process
- This part takes up 1/3 the overall score of the writing section.

b. Assessment criteria

An IELTS essay is marked in accordance with 4 different criteria, each of which shares an equal
proportion in the overall band score (25% each)

TA CC

Task Achievement (25%) Coherence & Cohesion (25%)

Meeting the demands of the task by providing a Organizing information logically (each paragraph
clear overview (general trends/ most significant has a central point/includes similar figures).
figures). Pointing out bullet points instead of Using linking devices adequately and effectively.
listing all figures

LR GRA

Lexical Resource (25%) Grammatical Range & Accuracy (25%)

Using (less common) vocabulary in a flexible and Using grammar features in a flexible and
accurate manner. Occasional errors (2-3) in accurate manner. Occasional errors (less than
word use are allowed as long as they do not 20%) in grammar are allowed as long as they do
impede communication. not impede communication.

c. Question types:

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

Take a look at the following charts and name them: time chart, comparison chart, map, process.

Type: ………………………………… Type: …………………………………

Type: ………………………………… Type: …………………………………

Key takeaways: The question types in task 1 can be better categorized into 4 groups:
Time chart: Charts that involve changes over time.

Comparison chart: Charts that do not involve changes over time

Map & Process

In fact, most charts are mixed between time chart and comparison chart. This lesson will
main target comparison chart.

2. Essay structure:

The chart below shows the average hours spent per day in leisure and sports activities by the youngest and
oldest populations in the US in 2015.

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

Sample:

The bar chart illustrates the daily amount of time that the youngest and oldest
in the US spent on leisure activities and sports in 2015. ⇨ Introduction: ….

Overall, it is clear that on average, watching TV consumed the most amount of

leisure time for both age groups. In addition, except for socializing and
communicating, there was a stark difference between the amount of time these ⇨ Overview: …
two groups spent on each activity.

In 2015, people aged 75+ in the US spent an average of 4.5 hours per day
watching TV, while those aged 15-19 spent an average of 2.4 hours. People aged
75+ spent 1 hour per day reading, about 5 times more than the younger. The
⇨ Body 1: …
older group also spent far more time relaxing and thinking than the younger
counterpart, at 0.6 and 0.1 hours respectively.

On the other hand, the younger group spent over twice as much time on the
computer than the older group, at an average of 1.1 and 0.5 hours respectively.
Sport, exercise, and recreation was also favored more by the younger group,
with 15-19-year-olds spending an average of 0.6 hours while the older group
spent around 0.2 hours. People in both age groups spent a similar amount of ⇨ Body 2: …
time socializing and communicating, at around 0.7 hours per day.

Answer the following questions:

1. Fill in the blank with the main idea of each paragraph.

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

2. How is the introduction written?

3. What information is included in the overview? Do you need to include any statistics?
4. What information is included in the body paragraphs? Do you need to include the statistics?
5. Take note of the structures used to compare statistics.

Key takeaways:
The introduction is a paraphrase of the topic.

The overview should include the most general information of a chart. In a comparison
chart, the most significant points are often the highest or lowest figures.

Not every information should be included in the body paragraph. Oftentimes, the
statistics included in the body are the highest/lowest/similar/ contrasting figures.

3. Language for comparison:

Match the sentence with its structure:

Sentence Structure

A. Except for socializing and communicating, there was a stark difference 1. Comparing + (statistics): Subject 1 +
of 5 hours between the amount of time both groups spend. Comparative + Subject 2, (which is)
recorded at + stats + respectively.
B. In 2015, people aged 75+ in the US spent an average of 4.5 hours per
day watching TV while those aged 15-19 spent an average of 2.4 hours.
2. Superlative + as opposed to + stats +
N
C. The amount of time older people spent on reading stood at 10 hours,
which was about 5 times more than the younger.
3. Except for N, there was a stark
difference of + stat + between A & B
D. The older group also spent far more time relaxing and thinking than the
younger counterpart, recorded at 0.6 and 0.1 hours respectively.

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

4. Subject 1 + stands/ is reported/ is

recorded at + stat, which was +
E. The younger group spent over twice as much time on the computer
comparative + subject 2
than the older group, at an average of 1.1 and 0.5 hours respectively.

5. Subject 1 + stat + while Subject 2 +

F. Sport, exercise, and recreation was also favored most by the younger
stat.
group with 10 hours per week as opposed to only 2 hours for reading.

Key takeaways: Language for reporting statistics and comparing statistics is most common
in comparison charts. Candidates can consider:
Comparing subjects in the main clause before adding a supporting clause to report the
statistics.

Reporting the statistics first before adding a clause to compare the subjects.

Clause + while + clause

Clause + as opposed to + statistics + N

(Except for …), there was a stark difference of + statistics + between A & B

Practice:

Write 5 sentences using the 5 structures to describe the following chart:

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

4. Approach to comparison charts:

Step 1: Analyze the subject, time and unit:

The chart below shows the average hours spent per day in leisure and sports
activities by the youngest and oldest populations in the US in 2015.

Subject: time, not people or sports Unit: hours per day Time: 2015 past tense

Step 2: Paraphrase to write the introduction

The given chart illustrates … Noun phrases are often hard to change

Step 1: Find the synonyms

The chart below shows the average hours spent per day in leisure and sports activities by
the youngest and oldest populations in the US in 2015.

Categories can be paraphrased as follows: Time phrases can be easily paraphrased:

… by people divided/categorized by age daily/ on a daily basis/ in the year 2015

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

Step 2: Change the grammar structure (if possible)

⇨ The given chart illustrates how much/many + clause + year: The given chart illustrates how much
time people divided by age spend on leisure and sport activities in the US in the year 2015.

Step 3: Overview

Find the highest/lowest/most contrasting figures for the overview:

Suggested structure: Overall, it can be seen that Subjects + Verb + popular/common among + people. In
addition, there was a stark difference between Subject 1 and Subject 2

Example: Overall, it can be seen that watching TV was most popular among people of both age groups.
In addition, there was a stark difference between the amount of time these two groups spent on each
activity.

Step 4: Body

- Each paragraph needs to have a general idea. Candidate can either divide the paragraph by
age groups or activities, as long as there is a common feature between the figures in 1
paragraph.

Body 1: Activities that are more

popular for older ones.

Body 2: Activities that are more

popular for younger ones.

- Figures to be included should be the highest/lowest/ most contrasting ones or a figure that
are highly relevant with another. Which figures should be included in your opinion?

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

Key takeaways:
Fill in the blank with the content of each step:
Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

5. Let’s practice
1. In groups, analyze the following charts step by step:

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

The pie charts show the destination of export goods in three countries in 2010.

2. Write a full essay for 1 of the 2 charts individually:

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam
 There is no joy in possession without sharing
If you enjoy your journey with TCE, share with your friends ♥

6. Homework

Exercise 1: The table below shows the average weekly salaries of men and of women working in
different occupations.

Exercise 2 (optional): Write a full task 2 essay within maximum 1 hour:

The tradition of families getting together to eat meals is disappearing. What are the reasons and what
can be done to improve this?

Quote of the lesson: when there’s a will, there’s a way.

The Catalyst for English | No.7 Nguyen Van Tuyet Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam