# IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Structure and Model | topin IELTS guidesAcademic Writing Task 1 Time About 20 minutes of the 60-minute Writing test Length At least 150 words Visuals Line graph, bar chart, pie chart, table, process diagram or map, sometimes two combined Weighting Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 in your Writing band Criteria Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy ## How it works You write a factual report on the visual: an introduction that paraphrases the task, an overview of the main trends or features, and one or two paragraphs of key details with figures. You do not give opinions, reasons or information that is not shown. For processes, you describe the stages in order; for maps, you describe what changed or how two sites differ. ## Worked example The table shows the percentage of households in one town that owned a car, a bicycle and an electric scooter in 2005, 2015 and 2025\. Car: 72% (2005), 68% (2015), 55% (2025) Bicycle: 40% (2005), 46% (2015), 58% (2025) Electric scooter: 0% (2005), 3% (2015), 21% (2025) Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Show the answer Overview: Overall, car ownership fell over the twenty years while ownership of bicycles and electric scooters rose, and by 2025 bicycles had overtaken cars as the most commonly owned of the three. Key features: In 2005, 72% of households owned a car, well ahead of the 40% that owned a bicycle, and none owned an electric scooter. Car ownership slipped to 68% in 2015 before falling more steeply to 55% in 2025\. Bicycle ownership moved the other way, rising to 46% and then to 58%, three points above cars. Electric scooters showed the sharpest growth, from 3% of households in 2015 to just over a fifth in 2025. The overview names the two main trends and the most striking change without figures. The key features paragraph supports it with selected numbers, groups the rising items against the falling one, and uses comparisons such as 'well ahead of' and 'three points above' instead of listing every cell. ## A method for Academic Writing Task 1 1. 1 ### Spend two minutes finding the story Before writing, identify the biggest trends, the highest and lowest values, and any crossover or reversal. These become your overview. 2. 2 ### Paraphrase the task in one sentence Open by restating what the visual shows in your own words. Do not copy the task wording, since copied words do not count towards your total. 3. 3 ### Write the overview early Put a two-sentence overview straight after the introduction. It should state the main trends or features without detailed figures. Without an overview, Task Achievement is held back. 4. 4 ### Group and compare in the body Organise details into one or two paragraphs by pattern, for example rising items versus falling ones. Support each point with a few accurate figures and compare them directly. 5. 5 ### Check figures and tenses Match tense to the time shown: past for past data, future forms for projections. Check every number against the visual in your last two minutes. ## Traps to avoid * Leaving out the overview, or hiding it at the end in a single vague sentence. * Listing every number in the table without comparing any of them. * Explaining why the data changed or giving an opinion, which is not part of the task. * Copying the task wording in the introduction, which does not count towards the 150 words. * Spending more than 20 minutes and cutting into Task 2, which is worth twice as much. ## Academic Writing Task 1 FAQs Do I need a conclusion in IELTS Writing Task 1? You need an overview, not a conclusion with opinions. Many candidates put the overview after the introduction; it can also go at the end, as long as it is clearly there. What is an overview in IELTS Writing Task 1? A short summary of the main trends, differences or stages shown in the visual, usually in one or two sentences without detailed figures. How many paragraphs should IELTS Task 1 have? Usually four: an introduction, an overview and two body paragraphs of key features. Three or five can also work if the grouping is logical. Can I write more than 150 words in Task 1? Yes. 150 is the minimum. Around 170 to 190 words is usually enough to cover the key features without wasting time needed for Task 2. ## Try Academic Writing Task 1 under real timing Your first full-length IELTS mock is free, with every section included. [Take the free mock ](/ielts/login)