Know your Task 1 — Academic vs General Training
Task 1 is where Academic and General Training candidates diverge completely. Academic candidates describe a visual — a graph, chart, table, map, or diagram. General Training candidates write a letter responding to a situation. Same time limit, same word count, completely different skills.
Select your test below to see the full strategy for your Task 1.
In Academic Task 1 you are given a visual — a graph, chart, table, map, or process diagram — and asked to write a report describing what you see. Minimum 150 words. 20 minutes. There are no opinions here — no arguments, no personal views. Just a clear, organised, accurate description of the data.
Before you write a single word: spend 1–2 minutes genuinely understanding the visual. What is it showing? What is the time period? What are the units? Then 2–3 minutes identifying the main trends and deciding how to organise your report. Students who plan first write faster, stay organised, and rarely hit a dead end mid-report.
The visual types you need to know
The introduction — beyond paraphrasing
Every IELTS preparation site tells you to paraphrase the task prompt for your introduction. Most students do exactly that — they swap a few words, reach for a thesaurus, and produce a reworded version of the original sentence that adds nothing.
That is not paraphrasing. That is rewording.
A strong introduction shows the examiner that you have genuinely understood what the visual is communicating. It sets the context, identifies the subject clearly, and builds a bridge toward the specific trends and changes you are about to describe. The reader should finish your introduction with a clear sense of what kind of report they are about to read. Paraphrasing is a skill that demonstrates real comprehension — the ability to shift tone, reframe information, and add clarity. It is one of the clearest signals of a high Lexical Resource score.
The overview — the most misunderstood paragraph in Task 1
Many students look for a conclusion in Task 1. There is none. What there is instead is an overview — a short paragraph that captures the most important overall trends without any specific data. No numbers, no figures. Just the big picture.
This is the paragraph that separates Band 6 from Band 7. Miss it and your Task Achievement score suffers immediately. The overview can appear in three places:
Body paragraphs — organise around the data, not a formula
Most students write two body paragraphs because that is what they have been told to do. Two is a safe, solid choice — it leaves more time for Task 2, which is where most students lose the most marks.
But the right number of body paragraphs depends on the task in front of you — not a memorised template.
Consider a task with three pie charts, each showing the proportion of three nutrient types across different meals. Dedicating one paragraph to each nutrient produces a tidy, logical, easy-to-follow report — three paragraphs is the natural choice. Now consider a task showing waste recovery and recycling rates over time. Two elements — two paragraphs. Clean and direct.
IELTS examiners read hundreds of reports every day. They immediately recognise a formulaic structure written on autopilot. A student who organises their body paragraphs around the actual logic of the data — rather than a preset formula — signals genuine command over their writing. That stands out. And standing out, in the right way, moves your score.
In General Training Task 1 you are given a situation and three bullet points. Your job is to write a letter that addresses all three. Minimum 150 words. 20 minutes.
Before you write anything — use 5 minutes like this. Spend 1–2 minutes reading the task carefully: who are you writing to, what is the relationship, what tone does that require? Then 2–3 minutes planning your letter — one idea per bullet point, keywords not sentences.
This feels uncomfortable at first. Sitting there not writing while the clock runs feels wrong. But students who plan consistently finish the letter in under 15 minutes — leaving more time for Task 2, which is where most students lose the most marks and struggle to finish.
The three bullet points are not optional. Miss one and your Task Achievement score drops immediately — regardless of how well the rest of the letter is written.
Choose your letter type
The situation in the task determines which type of letter you write. Getting the tone wrong is one of the most penalised mistakes in GT Task 1.
A formal letter is written to a company, organisation, or person you do not know by name. There is no personal relationship — this is purely professional or institutional.
Common situations: making a complaint to a company, applying for a job, writing to a university admissions office, requesting information from an organisation.
Students often over-complicate formal letters by trying to sound impressive. A formal letter does not need sophisticated vocabulary — it needs precise, respectful, unambiguous language. The examiner is not looking for complexity. They are looking for clarity and appropriate register.
A semi-formal letter is written to someone you know by name but do not have a close personal relationship with — a landlord, a manager, a neighbour, a colleague, a trainer.
Common situations: explaining a problem to your landlord, writing to a former colleague about a work matter, inviting a manager to an event, contacting a trainer about a course schedule.
The most common semi-formal mistake is the sign-off. Yours faithfully is only for people you do not know by name. The moment you write Dear Mr Hassan in your greeting, the sign-off must be Yours sincerely. This is a rule, not a style choice — and examiners notice it immediately.
An informal letter is written to a friend or family member about a personal situation. The relationship is close — the tone should reflect that.
Common situations: inviting a friend to visit, asking a relative for advice, apologising to a close friend, sharing news with a family member abroad.
Informal does not mean careless. Grammar still matters. Vocabulary still matters. The difference is register — the relationship between writer and reader. Write the way you would naturally speak to that person, but with the care and accuracy you would give to any piece of assessed writing.