Task 1 is where the two versions of IELTS Writing diverge completely. Academic candidates describe a chart, map, or process. General Training candidates write a letter. They share a word count, a time allocation, and a marking scheme — and almost nothing else.
It is also the task most candidates under-prepare, on the reasonable-sounding logic that Task 2 carries twice the weight. That logic holds right up until Task 1 is the thing capping the writing band.
What both versions share
- Minimum 150 words. A shorter answer costs marks. There is no upper limit, but 160–190 is the practical range; length past that costs you Task 2 time.
- 20 minutes recommended of the 60-minute paper, leaving 40 for Task 2.
- Four marking criteria, the same ones used for Task 2 with one rename: Task Response becomes Task Achievement. Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy are unchanged — how the writing band scale works covers what each one rewards.
The 20-minute figure is a recommendation, not a rule enforced by the test. Nobody stops you at 20 minutes. That is precisely why it goes wrong: an over-invested Task 1 is one of the most common causes of a rushed, underdeveloped Task 2 worth double the marks.
How to split the 20 minutes
| Minutes | What you do |
|---|---|
| 0–4 | Read the task, find the two to four main features, decide how the detail divides into two groups |
| 4–17 | Write the four paragraphs |
| 17–20 | Check figures, units, tenses, plurals and spelling |
The planning block is the one candidates skip and the one that decides the band. Every structural problem in a Task 1 answer — no overview, a list of figures, a forgotten bullet point — is a planning failure that shows up in the writing.
Academic Task 1: report, do not interpret
You are given visual information and asked to summarise it. The instruction asks you to select and report the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Every word there is doing work:
- Select — you are not listing every data point. A chart with forty values does not want forty sentences. Choosing what matters is part of what is being marked.
- Report — describe what is shown, not why it happened. Speculating about causes is the classic Task Achievement error. “Car ownership rose sharply after 1990” is reporting. “Car ownership rose sharply after 1990 because the economy improved” is inventing information that is not in the chart.
- Comparisons where relevant — the highest and lowest, the biggest change, the point where two lines cross, the category that moved against the trend.
The seven question types
Each has its own guide. What changes between them is what counts as a main feature and which language carries the answer.
| Type | What you are summarising | Language that carries it |
|---|---|---|
| Line graph | Change over time | Trend verbs, time phrases |
| Bar chart | Categories compared, sometimes over time | Comparatives and superlatives |
| Pie chart | Shares of a whole | Proportions and fractions |
| Table | Raw figures with nothing drawn for you | Grouping and selection |
| Mixed charts | Two visuals on one subject | One overview covering both |
| Map | A place before and after | Location phrases, the passive |
| Process diagram | Stages in order | Sequencing, the passive |
Maps and processes usually have no numbers at all. The task is the same — select, report, compare — but the main features become the biggest changes or the key stages, not the highest figures.
The four-paragraph structure
One structure works for every type.
| Paragraph | Job | Rough length |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Say what the visual shows, in your own words | 25–30 words |
| Overview | The two to four main features, without figures | 30–40 words |
| Detail 1 | One group of features, with figures | 50–60 words |
| Detail 2 | The other group, with figures | 50–60 words |
That lands at 160 to 190 words without counting as you go.
The introduction is one sentence. Change the words of the task, keep its facts: what is measured, where, and when. Wording copied straight from the question earns nothing, so this is a paraphrase, not a transcription.
The overview is not optional. An answer with accurate detail but no overview statement struggles to move above Band 6 on Task Achievement, because summarising the main features is literally the task. Put it second, straight after the introduction, so that running out of time cannot cost you it. Keep exact figures out of it: the overview says what the whole visual is doing, and the body paragraphs prove it.
The two detail paragraphs need a reason to be two. Rising categories and falling ones. The largest items and the smallest. The first half of the period and the second. One side of the map and the other. Any logical split works; describing items one by one in the order they are printed does not.
There is no conclusion. Task 1 is a report, not an essay. A closing paragraph that repeats the overview adds words and no marks. Some teachers place the overview last instead of second, and that is acceptable — but it is still an overview, written once.
Tenses follow the dates
| What the visual shows | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past dates only | Past simple | rose to 40% |
| No dates | Present simple | accounts for 40% |
| Past up to now | Present perfect | has been replaced by |
| Future dates | Prediction forms | is expected to reach |
| A process | Present simple, usually passive | is heated, then cooled |
Check the dates before you write a word. A whole answer in the wrong tense is the same grammar error repeated in every sentence.
Academic Task 1 sample answer
An original task in the standard format.
The table below shows the percentage of adults in one city who travelled to work by four different means of transport in 2005 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
| Means of transport | 2005 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Car | 52% | 41% |
| Bus | 24% | 19% |
| Train | 18% | 23% |
| Bicycle | 6% | 17% |
Before writing: two rows fall and two rise. That is the grouping. The car stays first in both years, and cycling changes most. That is the overview.
The table compares how adults in one city commuted in 2005 and in 2020, giving the proportion who used each of four forms of transport.
Overall, the car was the most common choice in both years, although its lead narrowed considerably. Car and bus use both declined, while train travel and cycling gained ground, with cycling showing by far the largest change.
In 2005, just over half of commuters (52%) drove to work, more than twice the proportion who took the bus (24%). By 2020 the figure for cars had fallen to 41%, a drop of eleven percentage points, and bus use had also decreased, to 19%.
The other two forms of transport moved in the opposite direction. The share of people commuting by train rose from 18% to 23%, making it the second most popular option by the end of the period. The most striking change was in cycling, which almost tripled from only 6% to 17%, leaving it just two percentage points behind the bus.
167 words. What makes it work:
- The overview carries no figures and could be understood by someone who has not seen the table.
- Eight figures appear, all of them. A table this small allows that. With sixteen or more, you would choose.
- Every figure is attached to a comparison — more than twice, almost tripled, two percentage points behind — not simply read out.
- Past simple throughout, with one past perfect for a change completed by 2020.
- Nothing explains why. No fuel prices, no new cycle lanes. The table does not show them.
General Training Task 1: get the register right
You are given a situation and asked to write a letter, with three bullet points to cover. The letter falls into one of three registers, and the person you are writing to decides which.
| Register | Who you are writing to | Opening | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formal | Someone you do not know: a company, an official | Dear Sir or Madam, | Yours faithfully, |
| Semi-formal | Someone you know by name, at a professional distance: a manager, a landlord | Dear Mr Chen, | Yours sincerely, |
| Informal | A friend or relative | Dear Sam, | Best wishes, |
A title goes with a surname, never a first name: Dear Mr Chen, not Dear Mr David.
Register is the thing to get right first, because it is not a single word choice — it runs through the whole letter. Contractions, idiom, sentence length, and directness all shift with it. A letter that opens formally and then drifts into chatty phrasing reads as inconsistent and is marked as such.
| Formal | Informal | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | I am writing to enquire about… | I’m writing to let you know… |
| Request | I would be grateful if you could… | Could you…? |
| Apology | Please accept my apologies for… | Sorry about… |
| Contractions | None | Throughout |
| Sign-off line | I look forward to hearing from you. | Can’t wait to see you. |
Semi-formal sits between the two: polite and complete, but warmer. Teachers disagree on whether contractions belong in it. The safe course is to leave them out.
The letter structure
| Part | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Greeting | Matched to the register |
| Opening line | Why you are writing. In an informal letter, a short friendly line first |
| Paragraph 1 | First bullet point |
| Paragraph 2 | Second bullet point |
| Paragraph 3 | Third bullet point |
| Closing line and sign-off | Matched to the greeting, then your name |
Cover all three bullet points. This is the most avoidable band loss in the entire task. Each bullet is a requirement, not a suggestion, and an answer that develops two of them beautifully while skipping the third is capped on Task Achievement regardless of how good the English is. Give each bullet its own paragraph and you cannot accidentally lose one.
Read each bullet for hidden plurals and double parts. Describe the problems wants more than one problem. Say what happened and how you felt is two requirements in one line.
Then invent. The task gives you a situation, not the details, and the details are what turn a bullet point from mentioned into developed: a date, an order number, a price, what exactly went wrong. They do not have to be true. They have to be plausible.
Give each bullet roughly equal development. A letter that spends a hundred words on the first point and one line on the third is unbalanced even if all three technically appear. The General Training letter guide has phrases for each purpose and a second model letter.
General Training Task 1 sample letter
An original task in the standard format.
You recently bought a laptop from an online shop. When it arrived, you found a problem with it.
Write a letter to the shop’s customer service department. In your letter
- give details of what you bought
- explain what the problem is
- say what you would like the shop to do
You do not know the reader, so this is formal: Dear Sir or Madam and Yours faithfully, no contractions.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to complain about a laptop which I ordered from your website and which arrived with a serious fault.
The item is a 14-inch Nova laptop in silver, order number NV-48213. I placed the order on 3 March and paid £640 by credit card, and the parcel was delivered to my home four days later.
When I switched the laptop on, I found that the screen flickers constantly and goes black after about ten minutes of use. I have followed the instructions in the manual and reinstalled the display software, but the problem remains. As I bought the laptop for a university course that begins next week, this has caused me considerable inconvenience.
I would therefore like you to replace the laptop with a new one of the same model and to collect the faulty one at your expense. If a replacement cannot be delivered within seven days, I would prefer a full refund.
I look forward to your prompt reply.
Yours faithfully,
Daniel Okafor
171 words. What makes it work:
- The purpose is in the first line. The reader knows this is a complaint before any detail arrives.
- One paragraph per bullet point, each of a similar length.
- Invented detail does the developing: a model, an order number, a price, a date, a deadline.
- The tone is firm and stays polite. I would therefore like you to is a clear demand in formal dress.
- The register never slips. No contractions, no Hi, no Thanks a lot.
How Task 1 is marked
Four criteria, each worth a quarter of the Task 1 band. Three of them work as they do in Task 2. Task Achievement is the one specific to this task, and the public band descriptors say plainly what separates the bands.
| Band | Academic | General Training |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | ”It presents a clear overview, the data are appropriately categorised, and main trends or differences are identified." | "It presents a clear purpose. The tone is consistent and appropriate to the task.” |
| 6 | ”A relevant overview is attempted." | "The purpose is generally clear. There may be minor inconsistencies in tone.” |
| 5 | ”The recounting of detail is mainly mechanical." | "All bullet points are presented but one or more may not be adequately covered.” |
Read the Academic column downwards. A clear overview, an attempted overview, a mechanical list. The difference between Band 5 and Band 7 is not vocabulary. It is whether you selected and grouped before you wrote.
Read the General Training column the same way. Purpose and tone at 7 are clear and consistent; at 6, generally clear with lapses; at 5, a bullet point has gone thin.
The mistakes that cap the band on both versions
| Mistake | Cost |
|---|---|
| Writing under 150 words | Too little evidence for the higher bands |
| No overview (Academic) | Caps Task Achievement |
| Listing every figure (Academic) | Reads as mechanical; Task Achievement |
| Missing a bullet point (GT) | Caps Task Achievement |
| Explaining causes not shown (Academic) | Task Achievement |
| Adding a conclusion or an opinion (Academic) | Words with no marks attached |
| Inconsistent register (GT) | Task Achievement and Lexical Resource |
| Copying the prompt wording verbatim | Copied text is not credited as your own |
| Overrunning 20 minutes | Damages Task 2, worth double |
That last row is worth repeating, because it is the one that does damage where you cannot see it. Task 1 problems show up in the Task 1 band. Task 1 time problems show up in Task 2.
Practising it properly
Task 1 rewards drilling more than Task 2 does, because the range of what can be asked is narrower. There are a limited number of chart types and a limited number of letter situations, and both reuse the same language patterns — trend verbs and comparison structures on Academic, register and purpose formulas on General Training.
The practical loop is the same one that works for Task 2: write under time, get feedback on which of the four criteria is actually holding the band down, and rewrite that specific thing. Guessing which criterion is weak is the part you cannot do for yourself — the IELTS writing checker scores Task 1 against all four criteria separately, for both Academic charts and General Training letters.
If you are still deciding which version you are sitting, Academic vs General Training covers everything else that changes between them.
Sources
- IELTS Writing band descriptors (PDF) The public Task 1 descriptors quoted in this guide: the Task Achievement wording for Academic and General Training at Bands 5, 6 and 7.
- IELTS Academic Writing test format Official Task 1 format: at least 150 words, about 20 minutes, the four assessment criteria, and that Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1.
- IELTS scoring in detail States that the four Writing criteria are weighted equally.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026. See our editorial policy for how guides are checked and corrected.
Frequently asked questions
- How long should IELTS Writing Task 1 be?
- At least 150 words. A shorter answer may not give enough evidence for the higher bands, and wording copied from the prompt earns no credit. There is no upper limit, but 160 to 190 words is the practical range, because anything longer eats into Task 2 time.
- How many minutes should I spend on IELTS Writing Task 1?
- Twenty of the sixty minutes, leaving forty for Task 2. Nothing in the test stops you at twenty, which is exactly why it goes wrong: an over-invested Task 1 is one of the most common causes of a rushed Task 2 worth double the marks.
- Is Task 1 worth the same as Task 2?
- No. Task 2 carries twice the marks. That is the reason candidates under-prepare Task 1, and it holds right up until Task 1 becomes the thing capping the writing band.
- Do I need an overview in Academic Task 1?
- Yes. An answer with accurate detail but no overview statement struggles to move above band 6 on Task Achievement, because summarising the main features is literally the task. If you write nothing else deliberately, write a sentence saying what the whole visual is doing.
- Can I give my opinion in Academic Task 1?
- No. You are asked to select and report what is shown, not to interpret it. Explaining a rise as the result of an economic recovery the chart does not show is unsupported content and it costs you marks under Task Achievement.
- What is the difference between Academic and General Training Task 1?
- Academic candidates describe a line graph, bar chart, pie chart, table, map or process diagram. General Training candidates write a letter covering three bullet points. They share the 150-word minimum, the 20-minute allocation and the four marking criteria, and almost nothing else.
- Does IELTS Writing Task 1 need a conclusion?
- No. Academic Task 1 is a report, so it needs an overview of the main features, not a conclusion. Most candidates place the overview straight after the introduction. A closing paragraph that repeats it adds words and no marks.
- What tense should I use in IELTS Writing Task 1?
- Follow the dates on the visual. Past dates take the past simple, a visual with no dates takes the present simple, future dates take forms such as is expected to, and a process is described in the present simple, usually in the passive.
- How do I start a General Training Task 1 letter?
- Match the greeting to the reader. Dear Sir or Madam for someone you do not know, Dear Mr or Ms plus surname for someone you know by name, and Dear plus first name for a friend. Then say why you are writing in the first line.