IELTS Writing Task 1 samples: an Academic chart and a General Training letter

Academic Task 1: sample chart and answer

Question: “The chart shows the percentage of households with internet access in four countries in 2005 and 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.” Assumed data: Norway 64 → 97, Turkey 9 → 91, Brazil 14 → 83, Kenya 3 → 42.

The chart compares the proportion of households with an internet connection in Norway, Turkey, Brazil and Kenya in 2005 and 2020. Overall, access rose sharply in all four countries, and the gap between them narrowed considerably, although Kenya remained well behind the others.

In 2005 Norway was far ahead, with 64 per cent of households connected, whereas the figures for Brazil and Turkey were only 14 and 9 per cent respectively, and Kenya’s was just 3 per cent. By 2020 Norway had reached almost universal access at 97 per cent.

The most dramatic change was in Turkey, where the rate increased tenfold to 91 per cent, overtaking Brazil, which climbed to 83 per cent. Kenya also grew strongly, to 42 per cent, but this was still less than half the level of the other three countries.

General Training Task 1: sample letter

Question: “You recently moved into a rented flat and the heating does not work. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter: explain the problem; say how it is affecting you; and tell the landlord what you would like them to do.”

Dear Mr Collins,

I am writing about the heating in the flat at 14 Elm Road, which I moved into on 1 October. Since the first night, the radiators have stayed cold, and the boiler shows an error code each time I try to restart it.

As the weather has turned colder, the flat has become difficult to live in. My daughter has caught a cold, and we have had to use an electric heater, which has already added noticeably to our electricity bill.

I would be grateful if you could arrange for a qualified engineer to inspect the boiler this week. I am available any weekday after 5 p.m. and all day on Saturday. If a repair is not possible quickly, I would also ask you to cover the cost of the temporary heater until the problem is fixed.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely, Ayşe Demir

Habits that earn marks

• In Academic, paraphrase the question in the first paragraph and give the overall picture (“overall”) in the second; do not give opinions or invent reasons.
• Use figures selectively: the highest, the lowest, the biggest change; do not try to report every number.
• Build comparison language: “whereas”, “respectively”, “overtaking”, “well behind”, “tenfold”.
• In the letter, match the tone to the reader (formal to a landlord, friendly to a friend); cover the three bullets in three paragraphs and state your request plainly.
• Keep to 20 minutes: 3 for planning, 15 for writing, 2 for checking.

With Prepina

Prepina gives criterion-based feedback on Academic chart and General Training letter tasks; missing bullets, a wrong tone and figure errors are flagged separately.

Sources

Dates and rules can change. Check the organiser’s official page before you apply; that page is binding.

• IELTS: scoring in detail
• IELTS: sample test questions
• IELTS: test types