Task 1 – structure and the introduction
The four-paragraph structure for every IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 report, how to read the visual in three minutes and how to paraphrase the question.
In Task 1 you are a reporter, not a commentator. You are given some visual information and asked to ‘summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant’. You do not explain why the numbers changed, you do not say what should be done, and you do not give your opinion. You describe what the visual shows, accurately and selectively, in at least 150 words.
The visuals you may be given
| Type | Shows | Core language |
|---|---|---|
| Line graph | Change over time | Trends: rise, fall, peak, fluctuate |
| Bar chart | Comparison of categories, sometimes over time | Comparison, and trends if there are dates |
| Pie chart(s) | Proportions of a whole | Fractions and percentages |
| Table | Numbers in rows and columns | Comparison; highest/lowest |
| Mixed / multiple charts | Two or three different visuals on a related topic | All of the above, plus linking the charts |
| Process diagram | How something is made or how a natural cycle works | Sequence, passive voice |
| Map(s) / plan(s) | A place at two times, or two proposals | Location, change, passive voice |
Recent tests have more often combined two or even three visuals in one task. The method does not change; you simply have less space for each, so selection matters even more.
One structure for all of them
| Paragraph | Content | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Introduction | What the visual shows (paraphrase of the task) | 1 sentence |
| 2 Overview | The two or three most important general features, without detailed figures | 2 sentences |
| 3 Body 1 | Details for one logical group of features, with data | 3–4 sentences |
| 4 Body 2 | Details for the other group, with data | 3–4 sentences |
That gives 9–11 sentences and 160–190 words.
Some teachers put the overview at the end. Both positions are accepted, but putting it second has two advantages: the examiner sees it immediately, and if you run out of time, the missing part is detail and not the paragraph on which your Task Achievement score depends.
There is no conclusion in Task 1. The overview does that job.
The first three minutes: reading the visual
Before writing, answer these questions. With practice it takes two or three minutes.
- What is being measured? Read the title, the axis labels and the legend. People? Money? Percentages? Thousands or millions? Getting the unit wrong affects every sentence.
- What is the time frame? Past years → past tenses. No time, or the present → present simple. Future years → is expected to, is projected to.
- What are the categories? How many lines, bars, slices, rows?
- What stands out? The highest, the lowest, the biggest change, anything that does not follow the general pattern, anything that stays the same.
- How can I group the information into two body paragraphs? For example: categories that rose and categories that fell; the two largest and the rest; the first half of the period and the second; chart 1 and chart 2.
Write a tiny plan:
Intro: journeys per person, 3 transport types, one city, 1995–2025 Overview: bus ↓ steadily; tram, bike ↑; tram becomes no. 1; gap narrows B1: bus + tram (figures 1995, crossover by 2015, 2025) B2: bicycle – slow then fast; passes bus 2025
Writing the introduction
The introduction says what the visual shows. It is one sentence, and it is a paraphrase of the task statement. Do not copy the task: copied words are ignored by the examiner and do not count towards your 150.
Task statement:
The graph below shows the average number of journeys made per person each year by three forms of transport in one European city between 1995 and 2025.
Introduction:
The line graph compares how often residents of a European city travelled by bus, tram and bicycle each year over a thirty-year period beginning in 1995.
What changed?
| Task | Paraphrase | Technique |
|---|---|---|
| The graph below | The line graph | Name the type of chart; drop ‘below’ |
| shows | compares | Synonym for the reporting verb |
| the average number of journeys made per person | how often residents … travelled | Change of structure (noun phrase → clause) |
| three forms of transport | by bus, tram and bicycle | Specific instead of general |
| between 1995 and 2025 | over a thirty-year period beginning in 1995 | Different time expression |
A toolkit for paraphrasing
Reporting verbs: shows → illustrates, compares, gives information about, provides data on, presents, depicts (for maps and diagrams)
Noun phrase ↔ clause:
- the number of people who visited ↔ how many people visited
- the amount of energy consumed ↔ how much energy was used
- the proportion of waste recycled ↔ what percentage of waste was recycled
- changes in the size of the town ↔ how the town developed
Time expressions:
- between 2000 and 2020 ↔ from 2000 to 2020 ↔ over a period of twenty years ↔ over two decades
- in 2005, 2015 and 2025 ↔ in three separate years ↔ at ten-year intervals
Categories: name them if there are three or four (paper, glass, metal cans and plastic); summarise them if there are more (six different purposes).
Places: in one European city ↔ in a particular city in Europe; in the UK ↔ in Britain.
Do not paraphrase what cannot be paraphrased
Technical labels must stay as they are. If the chart says carbon dioxide emissions, do not write smoke. If it says households, do not write families (they are not the same thing). An inaccurate synonym is worse than a repeated word.
More examples
Task: The chart below shows the percentage of four types of household waste that were recycled in one country in 2005, 2015 and 2025.
The bar chart illustrates what proportion of four kinds of domestic waste, namely paper, glass, metal cans and plastic, was recycled in a particular country in three separate years between 2005 and 2025.
Task: The pie charts below show how energy was used in the average household in one country in 2000 and 2020.
The two pie charts compare the purposes for which energy was consumed in a typical home in a certain country in 2000 and in 2020.
Task: The table below gives information about the international students at four universities in one country in 2010 and 2020.
The table shows how many students from overseas were enrolled at four universities in 2010 and 2020, and what percentage of each institution’s total student population they represented.
Notice that the last example adds precise information taken from the table’s column headings. That is good practice: your introduction should tell a reader who cannot see the visual exactly what it contains.
Common mistakes in the introduction
- Copying the task word for word.
- Starting with ‘This graph is about…’ or ‘I am going to describe…’. Begin with the visual: The graph shows…
- Including data or trends. Those belong in the overview and the body.
- Writing too much. One sentence, occasionally two. Save your time.
- Getting the units wrong: the number of (for countable figures), the amount of (uncountable), the percentage/proportion of (shares), the figure for (any).
Try it
Paraphrase this task statement in one sentence:
The chart below shows the number of visitors to three museums in a capital city between 2010 and 2022.
Possible answer: The line graph illustrates how many people visited three different museums in a capital city over a twelve-year period from 2010.
Key points
- Task 1 is a factual report: no opinions, no reasons, no conclusion.
- Use four paragraphs: introduction, overview, two bodies of grouped detail.
- Spend two or three minutes reading the visual and planning the grouping.
- The introduction is a one-sentence paraphrase of the task: change the verb, the structure and the time expression, but keep technical labels.
Now try it in a real section
A complete IELTS writing section in the official format — every answer explained.
IELTS is a registered trademark of the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. PrepFreely is not affiliated with, approved or endorsed by them.