IELTS – WRITING COMPONENT

Duration - 60 minutes

No. of tasks - 2 (You have to answer both questions)

Nature of tasks - Academic interest

Task 1 - Summary writing of at least 150 words based on visuals

such as graph, table, chart, process.

What is tested - Your ability to select and report the main features of the
visual, to describe and compare data, identify significance
and trends in factual information or to describe a process.

Recommended time – 20 minutes

Task 2 - Essay writing of at least 250 words, based on a given topic

What is tested - Your ability to respond by giving and justifying an

opinion, discussing the topic, summarising details,
outlining problems, identifying possible solutions,
supporting your points with reasons, arguments and
examples from your own experience and knowledge.

Recommended time – 40 minutes

Guidelines for a good answer to Task 1

Does your report have a suitable structure?

 Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?
 Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within
sentence and paragraphs?

Does your report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?

 Does it include a variety of sentence structure?
 Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?

Does your report meet the requirement of the task?

 Does it meet the word limit requirement?
 Does it describe the whole visual adequately?
 Does it focus on the important trends presented in the visual information?

Strategies for improving your score

1. Selecting information
 Describe the whole visual fully but not every detail.
 Divide the data into its main parts and describe the trends to these
parts.

2. Report structure- introduction, body and conclusion; Tense should be

appropriately.
Introduction
 Two standard opening sentences to introduce your report, which
makes up the first paragraph.

 Sentence One: Define what the visual is all about which may include
the date, location, what is being described, etc.
Example: The graph shows the number of cases of bird flu in Asia
between the years 2005 and 2007.
NB: Even though it describes information from the past, the
graph shows the information in the present time
 Sentence Two: Describe the overall trend of the visual.
Example: It can be clearly seen that bird flu cases increased rapidly
to 700 cases in Asia between November 2005 and February 2006 and
then dropped dramatically between May and July 2006.
 NB: Note the tense used – Here we are talking about the
occurrence of the disease in the past.

Body- Describe the visual in detail

Conclusion- End the report with one or two sentences which

summarise the visual to draw a relevant conclusion.

Some examples of words to use to signal the end of the report:

To sum up, In conclusion, To conclude, In a nutshell, In general,
Generally

3. Grammar and vocabulary

 Avoid repetition of vocabulary and structures
 Add variety to your sentence structure

4. Describing trends
 Trends are changes or movements
 They are normally expressed in numeric items, for example,
population, production volumes, unemployment, etc.
 Trends can be expressed using Nouns or Verbs
 Example on use of Verb – Unemployment levels fell.
 Example on use of Noun – There was a significant fall in
unemployment levels.

Direction Verbs Nouns

Rose (to) A rise
Increased (to) An increase
Went up (to) Growth
Climbed (to) An upward trend
Boomed A boom
A dramatic rise

Fell (to) A decrease

Declined (to) A decline
Decreased (to) A fall
Dipped (to) A drop
Dropped(to) A slump
Went down (to) A dramatic fall
Slumped (to) A reduction
 Reduced (to)
Levelled out (at) A levelling out
Did not change No change
Remained stable (at)
Remained steady (at)
Stayed constant (at)
Maintained the same level

Fluctuated (around) A fluctuation

Peaked (at) Reached a peak (of)
Plateaued (at) Reached a plateau (at)
Stood (at)

5. Describing the degree of change

 We can also give more information about a trend using adjectives or
adverbs
 Example :There has been a slight increase in the value of Ringgit
( degree of change)
 Example : Unemployment increased rapidly last year. (speed of change)

Describing degree of change

Adjectives Adverbs
Dramatic Dramatically
Sharp Sharply
Huge
Enormous Enormously
Steep Steeply
Substantial Substantially
Considerable Considerably
Significant Significantly
Marked Markedly
Moderate Moderately
Slight Slightly
small
Minimal Minimally

Describing the speed of change

Adjectives Adverbs
Rapid Rapidly
Quick Quickly
Swift Swiftly
Sudden Suddenly
Steady Steadily
Gradual Gradually
Slow Slowly

6. Describing the difference between two levels

 Example:
1. This year unemployment has increased by 20,000 cases.(the
difference between this year and last year is 20,000 cases)
2. This year there has been an increase of 5% in unemployment.

7. Expressing approximation
We use words to express approximation when the point we are trying to
describe is between milestones on a graph.

The following are some examples of words to express approximation.

Just under Just over

Well under Well over
Roughly Nearly
Approximately Around
About

8. Comparing and contrasting

We use comparative and superlative to compare and contrast information
depending on the number of things/ item being compared.

The following are some examples of comparatives and superlatives.

Base word Comparative Superlative

Cheap Cheaper than Cheapest
Large Larger Largest
Bright Brighter Brightest
Pretty Prettier Prettiest
Happy Happier Happiest
Striking More striking Most striking
Common More common Most common
Clever More clever/ cleverer Most clever/ Cleverest
Attractive More attractive Most Attractive
Profitable More Profitable Most Profitable
Expensive More expensive Most expensive

9. Using transitional markers

To begin with First of all First

Secondly Thirdly Then
Next After that Finally
Alternatively Otherwise In addition
At the same time Concurrently
SAMPLE ANSWER

WRITING TEST 1- TASK 1

These two pie charts show the differences between two groups of Australians
(25 to 34 and 55 to 69 year olds) in terms of their post-school qualifications.
There was a huge difference in the number of degree holders amongst the two
groups but the percentage of graduates in some fields of study remained low
for both groups.

The first point to note is the huge increase in the number of people with
qualifications. The younger group was more than three times bigger than the
older group; 347,500 compared to 104,800.

Comparing the two groups, architecture and medicine have experienced a

decrease in popularity with younger graduates; medicine declined by almost
4%. However, the biggest lost was to engineering, which decreased from
19.27% to 9.35% of the whole.

Some subjects were more popular with the younger age group. The biggest
gains in graduate numbers were made by Science, Maths and Computers
which, as a group, has increased by over 8%. Administration has gained by
4.1%.

To sum up, the charts show an almost threefold increase in the number of
graduates. The most noticeable change in subject percentages is the decrease
in the number of engineering graduates.
 SAMPLE ANSWER

WRITING TEST 1- TASK 2

A wide range of medical treatment is available today. Patients may wonder

which will be the most effective, and whether their own mental attitude to the
type of treatment might affect its success.

Many people visit their doctor or go to hospital with complete trust in the
expert care offered by conventional services. However, some people do not get
a satisfactory result. For example, the drugs they are prescribed may have
unpleasant side-effects. Their initial positive attitude towards their treatment
does them little good.

Similarly, those patients who choose alternative treatments over traditional

medicine may find themselves disillusioned. Less rigorous qualification
standards among alternative practitioners may mean that some healers give
ineffective or damaging advice. The result, again, is that a patient who entered
treatment with confidence leaves that treatment disillusioned.

On the other hand, patients may try a style of treatment with skepticism. A
person used to conventional medicines and drugs may be suspicious of
treatment based ob diet and lifestyle changes. Yet, if they follow such
programs, they may in fact notice improvements in their condition, in spite of
their skepticism. Equally, a person opposed to conventional medicine may
have an accident and be saved by the effective treatment of conventional
emergency services.

In conclusion, it appears that the mental attitude of the patient is not the most
significant factor in determining the outcome of the treatment. Patients who
enter treatment confidently may leave disillusioned while those who begin
treatment skeptical of the results may find themselves surprised with what
they have gained. Patients should seek the advantages which each style of care
can offer.
 SAMPLE ANSWER

WRITING TEST 2- TASK 1

The diagram shows the sources and concentration levels of nitrogen in the
groundwater of a coastal city.

In a natural situation, nitrogen may be oxidised by lightning or fixed by

vegetation. Domestic and market gardens add to the nitrogen in the water
table through fertilizer and household liquid wastes. Industries add nitrogen
through leaks from storage tanks and wastewater ponds, and the disposal of
waste in landfills may lead to more nitrogen entering the water table.

The groundwater flows toward the sea and discharges into the ocean in the
groundwater discharge zone. Some nitrogen is taken up by soil particles. The
heaviest concentration of nitrogen is shown in the darker sections on the
illustration, and this shows that the heaviest concentration of nitrogen comes
from industry, from household liquid waste, and from landfill. The
concentration tends to decrease near the saltwater interface and between the
areas of high concentration of nitrogen which descend from industry and
waste disposal.
 SAMPLE ANSWER

WRITING TEST 2- TASK 2

Governments can only provide a limited range of services for citizens. Certain
types of services, however, must be provided by governments, whereas both
governments and private groups or individuals can share the responsibility to
provide other services.

A government must provide those services which are essential to a country.

These include defence capabilities and social security. Private enterprise and
the profit motive should not form part of these essential services. On the other
hand, some services could be provided by either governments of private
groups or both. Education and health care are examples of such services. A
government must provide at least a basic level of education and health care so
all citizens can have access to them. Private enterprise, though, could also
provide services in these areas for those who wish to pay for them.

Urban infrastructure is another area where governments and private groups

or individuals can share responsibility. Governments must build and maintain
a system of roads, but toll roads can be built and road maintenance carried
out by private contractors. Similarly, other infrastructure, such as water or
electricity supply, can be operated by private companies.

To sum up, there are some services such as defence and social security which
must be provided by government. Other services, for example, water supply
or education, could be provided by both government and private enterprise.
Consequently, it is not true to say that a government’s role is only to provide
some services while others should be provided by the private sector. In fact,
both government and private groups can share in the provision of most
services.