In taking IELTS Academic Writing Task-1 classes, I usually come across a query from my students and that is “How many paragraphs should be written in Task-1?”.
Well, there is no definite binding on this. The number of paragraphs that need to be written truly depends on the particular topic. There are instances where only 2 paragraphs are adequate and in other cases 5-6 paragraphs are desirable. So, as long as you can rationalize the number of paragraphs, there is no upper limit on this.
In my opinion, Academic Writing Task-1 should always include at least 2 paragraphs:
- Introduction
- Body paragraph
Introduction: Introductory sentence + General statement
Body Paragraph: Linking words, comparison + Linking words, comparison + Linking words, comparison + Linking words, comparison + Linking words, comparison + Linking words, comparison.
The “General statement” is not absolutely essential. Use it if you feel certain that you have grasped the main trend of the given statistics / information.
Any additional conclusion is not required in Task-1 as you are not required to furnish any opinion or comment on the reason of changes in the statistics / information.
Figure: Crime Rate of ABC Town
Now, let’s concentrate on the individual parts.
1. Introductory sentence: Write what the given illustration is all about. One effective way of doing this is to rephrase the particular question (never copy the question, never). A functional introduction should include information about the followings:
a. Type of chart (i.e. Line/bar/pie/table/flow-chart/map)
b. Subject matter (what is signified by the diagram e.g. change in crime rate or unemployment rate or what?)
c. Time period (such as from which year to which year or which month to which month)
d. Place of the subject (where the data change is happening such as in which country (ies) or towns?)
You might not have all these information but you should report what you do have.
Now, consider the following two sentences as the introductory sentence of the given line graph. Which one is better??
Option 1: The chart shows the crime rate of ABC town.
Option 2: The given line graph illustrates the rate of crime of town ABC from 1998 to 2007.
Obviously the 2nd sentence is more informative than the 1st sentence and for that reason can be considered a perfect one as the introductory sentence of your writing Task-1.
You can add further information like the following one:
Option 3: The given line graph illustrates the crime rate of town ABC over a 10 year period, from 1998 to 2007.
Take a moment and consider what are the differences among the 3 options above and what you have learned here.
2. General Statement: This sentence (the 2nd sentence of your writing) should give information about
a. the “trend” or
b. most visible feature or
c. an overall view of the data
A trend is how values change normally over time. Ask yourself how the given data is shifting / which one data is unusual than other data / what is seen in the illustration.
For example, the line graph above has a declining trend over the 10 year. So, an acceptable General Statement might be one of the followings:
Option 1: The graph was decreasing over the 10 years period.
Option 2: The crime rate of ABC town was decreasing over the 10 years period.
Option 3: It is clearly seen from the graph that, the crime rate of the town in reference was decreasing over the given time period.
Which option should be chosen here??? Clearly option 3 as it is more informative than the other two options.
As I have said earlier, this sentence is not completely essential, though it is always advisable to write this one. If you are not sure about the trend or feature of the figure, avoid this.
3. Body Paragraph: Now, the rest of the Task 1 (i.e. body paragraph)should follow a standard writing pattern as given earlier and that is Linking words, comparison + Linking words, comparison + Linking words, comparison……….
The general format of the Body Paragraph will be discussed in my next writing “Academic IELTS writing Task 1 (Part 2).
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