A Simple Guide To Writing Well On IELTS Writing Task 1 - Questions Type 1: A Table

Task 1
- you will have about 20 minutes for this task
- do not underestimate it, focus on it as much as you will on your essay
- it is worth 40% of your final writing score
- do not write fewer than 150 words, as you will be penalized for it
- do not write more than 150 words, as you will surely make more mistakes and you are more likely to lose logic (+10% is acceptable)
- do not describe all the data
- spot the significant information: the highest point, the lowest point, etc.
- classify the most important details that need to be included
- decide on the tense you will use throughout your writing
- group the information
- contrast and compare data
- do not write a conclusion
- use formal style, do not use colloquial English
- do not present personal opinions
- avoid using personal pronouns
- paraphrase as much as you can as to avoid repetitive vocabulary
- do not forget to write an overview (one or two sentences summarising the general trends or information given in the graph, chart or diagram), it can come at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of your summary

Questions Type 1: A Table

What are the main features?
- high numbers
- low numbers
- the biggest contrasts
- the closest similarities

Necessary words
- a row
- a column
- a box
- a trend

Example Reports:
(These would achieve Band 8 &9)

1. The tables show the results of a survey of students who defer their degrees. The first table shows reasons why some students prefer to stay at home in their own country. The second table shows why others choose to travel overseas.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Many students choose to defer the start of their degree courses and take a gap year. Some prefer to stay in their home countries. Conversely, some like to travel to other countries. The tables compare the reasons why they choose either to travel abroad or stay at home.
26% of the students who stay in their own countries want to find paid work, and find this easier at home. In the same way, 25% prefer to stay in a country where they can already speak the language. In contrast to this, 25% want to travel to learn about a different culture, nearly the same as the 24% who are looking for adventure and excitement overseas.
The third most popular reason for staying at home is to save money. 18% stated that they did so because it was cheaper to stay with their families. On the other hand, 14% of those who travel do it because they want to get away from their parents. A similar percentage, 15%, would like to help people in poorer countries, compared with 12% who are looking for new friends. The same percentage of deferring students stay at home because they do not have enough money to go overseas. 10% of the travellers and 7% of the other group stated other reasons for their choices.
In general, it would appear that the main reasons for staying at home are related to finance. By contrast, those who travel are more concerned with having fun and gaining experience before starting university. 

2. The table shows the average band scores for students from different language groups taking the IELTS Academic Paper in 2003.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
 


The table illustrates the breakdown of scores for the IELTS Academic Paper in 2003. IT shows separate scores for all four sections (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking), together with the overall score for students from four different language groups around the world.
From an overall perspective, Hindi speakers achieved the highest grades with an average score of 6.73 across all four sections. Moreover, they scored the highest of all four language groups in three of the four sections, namely Listening, Writing and Speaking.
Malayalam speakers scored the second highest scores overall, closely followed by Spanish and Russian speakers. Although Malayalam speakers did not do so well in the Reading, Speaking and Listening sections compered to Russian and Spanish speakers, there was a significant difference in their grades for the Writing section. These grades were high relative to Russian and Spanish candidates. Surprisingly, Spanish speakers, who achieved the second lowest results overall, achieved the highest results of all four language groups for the Reading section.
As a final point, it is interesting to note that the scores for each section show that all students on average scored the highest marks for the Speaking section and the lowest marks for the Reading section.

3. The tables below provide information on rental charges and salaries in three areas of London.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.
 

 
The tables show two sets of related information: the relative cost, in pounds, of renting a property with one, two or three bedrooms in three different suburbs of London and an indication of the kind of annual salary you would need to be earning to rent in these areas.
Of the three areas mentioned, Notting Hill is the most expensive with weekly rents starting at £375 (salary of approximately £100,000) and rising to £738 per week for a 3-bedroom property. To afford this, one would require a salary in the region of £200,000 per annum. Alternatively, Fulham is the cheapest area shown with rents ranging from £215 per week for a one-bedroom property to £600 per week for a 3-bedroom one. To rent in this area, salaries need to fall between £85,000 and £170,000, depending on the number of bedrooms required. For those able to pay in the middle price range for accommodation, Regent’s Park might be a more suitable district.