How do you describe a chart in IELTS Academic Task 1?
The short answer
Academic Task 1 asks you to report what a figure shows, in at least 150 words, in about 20 minutes, with no opinion. Every good answer has the same four parts: a one-sentence introduction paraphrasing what the figure is, an overview of two or three sentences stating the main trends or the biggest contrasts with no numbers, and two body paragraphs that group the data logically and support the overview with selected figures. The overview is the part that decides Task Achievement: without a clear overview the criterion is capped at 5, and with one that states the main features the rest is detail. Do not describe every number; select the largest, the smallest, the turning points and the comparisons that matter.
What is the structure of a Task 1 answer?
Introduction: one sentence, paraphrased
What the figure shows, where, and over what period, in your own words. "The line graph illustrates changes in the proportion of household energy from four sources between 1990 and 2020." Copying the prompt sentence earns nothing.
Overview: the main features, no numbers
Two or three sentences on the biggest trends, the largest and smallest categories, or the most important change. Many examiners read this paragraph first. It is usually placed second, and it should be readable on its own.
Body 1: the first logical group, with figures
Categories that rise, or the largest categories, or the first half of the period. Give the key numbers with their units and years.
Body 2: the second group, with comparison
Categories that fall, or the smaller ones, or the later period. Compare across groups where the figure invites it: "by 2020 renewables had overtaken coal".
No conclusion, no opinion
Task 1 is a report. A conclusion repeats the overview and an opinion ("this is a worrying trend") is off-task. If you want a final sentence, make it a summarising comparison, and keep it inside the last body paragraph.
How does the approach change by figure type?
| Figure | Group by | Overview should state | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line graph | Rising lines, falling lines, or early period and late period. | The overall direction of the main lines and which one ends highest. | Trends: rose, fell, peaked, levelled off, overtook. Time phrases. |
| Bar chart | Highest bars, lowest bars, or by category. | Which category is largest and smallest, and any clear pattern. | Comparison: the highest, twice as many as, far more than. |
| Pie chart | Largest shares, smallest shares; if two charts, what changed. | The dominant share and the biggest change between charts. | Proportions: accounted for, a quarter, just under half. |
| Table | Rows or columns with the extremes; do not describe every cell. | The highest and lowest and the overall pattern. | Comparison and ranking. |
| Process | Stages in order, split into two natural halves. | How many stages, where it starts and ends, whether it is linear or cyclical. | Sequence and passive: is heated, is then transferred, before being. |
| Map | Then and now; or by area of the site. | The main changes overall (more built, less green, a new road). | Change and location: was replaced by, was extended, to the north of. |
Which figures should you include?
- The extremes: the highest and lowest values, with year or category.
- The start and end of each main series, so the trend has numbers at both ends.
- Turning points: where a line peaks, bottoms out or changes direction.
- Crossings: where one series overtakes another. These are the comparisons the examiner expects.
- Not the rest. Reporting every value is the band 5 to 6 pattern ("mechanical" data listing). Selecting the significant ones is the band 7 descriptor.
Accuracy matters: a figure misread from the graph is a Task Achievement error, and a claimed trend that the figure does not show is worse. Approximate honestly: "just over 50 per cent", "roughly a third".
What language does Task 1 need?
| Meaning | Verb form | Noun form |
|---|---|---|
| Up | rose, increased, climbed, grew | a rise in, an increase in, growth in |
| Down | fell, declined, dropped, decreased | a fall in, a decline in, a drop in |
| Fast or big | rose sharply, fell steeply, soared | a sharp rise, a steep fall, a surge |
| Slow or small | edged up, declined slightly, dipped | a slight increase, a marginal decline |
| Flat | remained stable, levelled off, plateaued | a plateau, little change |
| Top and bottom | peaked at, reached a low of | a peak of, a low of |
- Match the degree to the numbers. "Soared" for a 3 per cent rise is a lexical error. Adverbs are evidence you read the figure.
- Vary verb and noun forms. "Coal fell sharply" and "there was a sharp fall in coal" are two structures for the price of one idea, and range is scored.
- Use the past tense for past years, present for a figure with no dates, and passives for processes.
- Keep comparison exact: "twice as much as", "the second largest", "by a wide margin".
A full model answer for a four-series line graph, with each of these devices annotated, is at household energy sources 1990 to 2020.
What caps Task 1 at band 6?
- No overview, or an overview with numbers in it. The single biggest cost. Two sentences, main features, no figures.
- Under 150 words. Penalised directly. Aim for 170 to 200; more is not better.
- Copying the prompt sentence as the introduction.
- Describing everything instead of selecting.
- Opinion or explanation: why coal fell is not in the figure and is off-task.
- Spending more than 20 minutes. Task 2 is worth twice as much; Task 1 overrun is paid for there.
How Task Achievement and the other three criteria are scored, with examples at band 6, 7 and 8, is in IELTS band descriptors explained.