IELTS Writing Task 1 Templates (Academic)

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 templates for every chart type, with the four-paragraph structure, the language of trend and comparison, plus a model.

Lume Test

Sep 4, 2026

•

5 min read

IELTS Writing Task 1 Templates (Academic)

Key Takeaways

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 templates for every chart type, with the four-paragraph structure, the language of trend and comparison, plus a model.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 gives you a visual — a graph, table, chart or diagram — and asks you to describe it in at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. Task 1 contributes half as much to your Writing band as Task 2 does, which is exactly why 20 minutes and not 30.

The task is description, not interpretation. You are not asked why the figures moved or what should be done about them, and writing either loses marks under task achievement.

Want to FINALLY Pass the IELTS Academic Test And Reach Your Goals?

Get Your FREE Lume Account Today to Unlock…

✅ 10,000+ PRACTICE QUESTIONS with detailed answers

✅ FREE MOCK TESTS with fast & accurate AI scoring

✅ Get BETTER SCORES with a PERSONALIZED study plan

GET YOUR FREE ACCOUNT NOW

(Limited seats available!)

Key Takeaways

Task 1 is at least 150 words in about 20 minutes, and contributes half as much to the Writing band as Task 2.
Four paragraphs: paraphrased introduction, overview, and two body paragraphs of detail.
The overview is the highest-value paragraph — an answer without one is capped under task achievement.
Never explain causes, give opinions or make recommendations in Task 1.
Assessment criteria: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy.

The four-paragraph structure

Paragraph	Content	Words
1 — Introduction	Paraphrase the prompt: what the visual shows, where, when, in what units	25-35
2 — Overview	The two or three biggest features, with no specific figures	40-55
3 — Detail A	The first logical group, with figures	50-65
4 — Detail B	The second group, with figures	50-65
Total	—	170-220

Aim for 170 to 200 words. Under 150 is penalised; well over 220 costs you Task 2 time that is worth twice as much.

Template: introduction

The [chart type] [shows / illustrates / compares] the [subject] in [place] [between X and Y / in year Z], measured in [units].

Original prompt wording	Paraphrase
The graph below shows…	The line graph illustrates…
…the number of…	…how many… / the figures for…
…from 2010 to 2020	…over a ten-year period / across two decades
…in three countries	…in three national markets
…percentage of…	…proportion of… / share of…

Copying the prompt word for word is not credited towards your word count. Change at least the verb and one noun phrase.

Template: overview

Overall, [the biggest single feature]. [Second feature, expressed as a contrast or a shared pattern]. [Optional third: the outlier or the exception].

Visual type	What the overview should name
Line graph over time	The overall direction, and which series ends highest
Bar chart comparing categories	The largest and smallest categories
Pie charts	The dominant segment in each, and whether the ranking changed
Table	The highest and lowest figures, and any row or column that behaves differently
Process diagram	How many stages, what goes in, what comes out
Map	The single biggest change between the two versions

No figures in the overview. Figures belong in the body; the overview is where you demonstrate that you can see the whole visual at once.

Template: line graph over time

Body A: [Series 1] began at [figure] in [year] and [rose / fell] [adverb] to [figure] by [year]. This [increase / decline] was [most pronounced / steadiest] between [year] and [year], when it [verb] by [amount].

Body B: [Series 2] followed a [similar / contrasting] pattern. Having [started / stood] at [figure], it [verb] to [figure], overtaking [Series 1] in [year]. By the end of the period, the gap between them had [widened / narrowed] to [amount].

Template: bar chart comparing categories

Body A: [Category 1] recorded the highest figure at [amount], followed by [Category 2] at [amount]. Together these two accounted for [proportion] of the total.

Body B: At the other end of the scale, [Category N] stood at only [amount], roughly [fraction] of the leading figure. [Category M] and [Category L] were broadly comparable, at [amount] and [amount] respectively.

Template: two pie charts

Body A: In [year 1], [segment] was the largest category at [percentage], with [segment] and [segment] making up a further [percentage] between them.

Body B: By [year 2] this picture had changed. [Segment] had grown to [percentage], displacing [segment] as the leading category, while [segment] had fallen by [percentage points] to [percentage].

With pie charts, say “percentage points” for a change and “percent” for a level. A share that moves from 20 to 25 percent has risen by five percentage points, not by five percent.

Template: process diagram

Body A: The process begins when [input] is [passive verb]. This is then [passive verb] in the [stage name], after which the [material] passes to the [next stage].

Body B: At the [nth] stage, the [material] is [passive verb] before being [passive verb]. The final step involves [gerund], producing [output], which is then [passive verb] for [purpose].

Process diagrams need the passive voice and sequencing markers rather than trend vocabulary. Use “is heated”, “is transferred”, “having been filtered” — and no figures, since diagrams rarely carry any.

Template: map showing change

Body A: In [year 1], the site consisted largely of [feature], with [feature] occupying the [direction] section and [feature] to the [direction].

Body B: By [year 2], [feature] had been [replaced by / converted into] [feature]. A [new feature] had been constructed on the site of the former [feature], and the [feature] had been extended [direction]wards.

Language of trend

Direction	Verbs	Nouns
Up	rise, increase, grow, climb, surge (sharp)	a rise, an increase, growth, a surge
Down	fall, decline, decrease, drop, plummet (sharp)	a fall, a decline, a decrease, a drop
No change	remain stable, hold steady, level off, plateau	stability, a plateau
Fluctuation	fluctuate, vary, oscillate	fluctuation, variation
Peak and trough	peak at, bottom out at, reach a low of	a peak, a trough, a low point

Degree	Adverbs (with verbs)	Adjectives (with nouns)
Large	sharply, dramatically, considerably, substantially	a sharp / dramatic / considerable rise
Moderate	steadily, gradually, moderately	a steady / gradual rise
Small	slightly, marginally	a slight / marginal rise
Speed	rapidly, slowly, abruptly	a rapid / slow / abrupt rise

Language of comparison and proportion

Function	Structures
Larger	X was higher than Y / X exceeded Y by… / X was twice as high as Y
Smaller	X was lower than Y / X fell short of Y by… / X was half the level of Y
Similar	X and Y were broadly comparable / at a similar level / almost identical
Approximation	just over / just under / approximately / in the region of / around
Fractions	a third / a quarter / two thirds / a fraction of
Change in a share	rose by five percentage points (not five percent)
Ranking	the highest / the second highest / the lowest of the four

Model answer

Prompt: The line graph below shows the number of visitors to three museums in one city between 2012 and 2022. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph compares annual visitor numbers at three museums in a single city across an eleven-year period, measured in thousands.

Overall, the City Museum attracted the most visitors throughout, although its lead narrowed considerably by the end of the period. The Maritime Museum grew fastest, while the Natural History Museum was the only one of the three to finish lower than it started.

The City Museum began at 420,000 visitors in 2012 and rose gradually to a peak of 510,000 in 2018. It then declined for four consecutive years, ending at 445,000 in 2022 — only marginally above its opening figure. The Natural History Museum followed a broadly similar shape at a lower level, standing at 310,000 in 2012 and falling to 240,000 by 2022, with the steepest drop occurring after 2019.

The Maritime Museum behaved quite differently. From a starting point of just 90,000, the lowest of the three, it climbed steadily throughout, overtaking the Natural History Museum in 2017 and reaching 395,000 by 2022. This represented more than a fourfold increase, and by the final year the gap between it and the City Museum had narrowed to around 50,000 visitors.

190 words. Four paragraphs, an overview with no figures, figures in every body paragraph, and no explanation of why any of it happened.

What loses marks in Task 1

Error	Criterion affected	Fix
No overview paragraph	Task achievement — caps the band	Always write it, and write it second
Explaining causes	Task achievement	Describe only; the visual has no causes in it
Giving an opinion or recommendation	Task achievement	Save that for Task 2
Listing every data point	Task achievement, coherence	Select the main features; you cannot report all of them in 200 words
Copying the prompt	Lexical resource, and copied words do not count	Paraphrase the verb and one noun phrase minimum
Under 150 words	Penalised directly	Target 170-200
Confusing percent and percentage points	Lexical resource	Levels in percent, changes in percentage points
Spending 30 minutes on Task 1	Task 2, which is worth double	Stop at 20 minutes even if unfinished

Twenty-minute plan

0-2 min: Read the prompt. Identify the visual type, the units, the time period and how many series or categories.
2-4 min: Find the overview features — highest, lowest, biggest change, any crossover or exception. Write them as three notes.
4-6 min: Decide the two body groupings. Grouping by behaviour beats grouping by order on the chart.
6-17 min: Write the four paragraphs in order, without stopping to edit.
17-20 min: Check the word count, verb tenses, and that every figure you quoted matches the visual.

FAQ

How many words should IELTS Writing Task 1 be?

At least 150, and 170 to 200 is the practical target. Below 150 attracts a penalty; much above 220 spends time on the task worth half as much as Task 2.

How long should I spend on Task 1?

About 20 minutes of the 60-minute Writing test. Task 2 contributes twice as much to your Writing band, so the remaining 40 minutes belong to it.

Do I need an overview paragraph in Task 1?

Yes, and it is the single most important paragraph. An answer without an overview is limited under task achievement regardless of how accurate the detail is. Write it second, and keep specific figures out of it.

Should I explain why the figures changed?

No. Task 1 asks you to summarise and compare what the visual shows. Causes, opinions and recommendations are outside the task and cost you marks under task achievement.

What tense should I use in Task 1?

Past tenses for a completed period, present for a chart with no time dimension, and future forms only if the visual itself shows projected data. Process diagrams take the present passive.

How is Task 1 marked?

On four criteria: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. They carry equal weight within the task, and the task itself carries half the weight of Task 2 in the Writing band.