In this post: Which numbers to include, a 20-minute plan for 170–190 words, what my six TA 5 essays got wrong, four common questions, a checklist and two quick exercises.
Task 1 Basics · 3 parts
- 1. Chart types and paragraph blueprint
- 2. Overview, body grouping and tenses
- 3. Data, timing, mistakes and practice (you are here)
✦ In this post
8. Using data: don’t copy everything, choose
At the end of the underground railway essay (Task 22), I wrote down a question for myself: with so much data, how do I keep it concise? At that point I genuinely did not know what “important data” meant, so I tried to include every number, and the result was 220 words that still left out Washington completely. Later I worked out an order for choosing data:
- Extremes first: always include the largest, the smallest, the highest point and the lowest point.
- Start and end points: in a trend chart, give at least the beginning and end of every line.
- Crossing points: include the year when two lines meet or swap places in the ranking (overtook, surpassed).
- Group similar figures: if two numbers are close, cover them in one phrase: both at around 20%.
- Mention what you don’t describe in detail: if a table has six cities, cover the rest in at least one sentence so that no item disappears completely.
| Meaning | Words | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Roughly | approximately, roughly, around, about | approximately 40% |
| Slightly more / slightly less | just over, slightly above / just below, slightly under | just below 50% |
| Almost | nearly, almost | nearly 30 million |
| Fractions | a quarter (25%), one third (33%), half (50%), three quarters (75%), one fifth (20%) | roughly one fifth of total usage |
| Multiples | twice, three times, double, triple | more than three times the figure in 1999 |
Misreading the data is the most damaging Task Achievement error
Looking back, in several essays my TA score was held back not by weak English but by misreading the visual:
- Coffee habits bar chart (Task 16): the figure for “bought fresh coffee” in Brisbane and Adelaide was only about 35%, but I wrote just below 45%.
- Exports mixed chart (Trial rewrite 2): jewellery actually fell by 5.18%, but I wrote 0.81% (which was the rise for agricultural products).
- Hotel satisfaction pie charts (Task 27): I took the 14% for “Good” as “Excellent” and described the 45% for “Satisfactory” as good.
9. 150–200 words and the 20-minute plan
The task asks for at least 150 words. In the essays where I recorded my time, most took 16–21 minutes and came to 172–219 words. For example: the water use pie charts took 20 minutes for 208 words, the languages pie charts 20 minutes for 178 words, the instant noodle process 19 minutes for 172 words, the brick-making process 19 minutes for 175 words, and the dance classes mixed chart 18 minutes for 175 words. My fastest was the town centre maps (Task 46): 190 words in 13 minutes, which still scored Band 7.
More words are not always better. Beyond 200 words, the extra words are usually repeated figures or unnecessary detail, and they also give you more chances to make grammar mistakes. I suggest aiming for 170–190 words: complete enough, while leaving time to check.
| Time | What to do | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 min | Decide which of the four types it is, circle the units and time, find 2–3 overview features, decide how to group the body | Key words and grouping arrows on the question paper |
| 3–6 min | Write the introduction and overview | 3 sentences, about 55–70 words |
| 6–16 min | Write Body 1 and Body 2, with data in every sentence | 6–8 sentences, about 110–130 words |
| 16–20 min | Check numbers against the legend, tenses, subject–verb agreement, singular and plural | Fix 3–5 small mistakes |
10. Common ways to lose marks: what my six TA 5 essays taught me
Out of 27 Task 1 essays, six scored only 5 for Task Achievement (the other three criteria were mostly 6–8). I compared each one against the public band descriptors and summarised the main problems:
| Essay | Scores (TA / CC / LR / GRA) | Main problems |
|---|---|---|
| Task 5, household income bar chart | 5 / 7 / 6 / 7 | The overview did not describe the change across the three years; a data error (the 25,000–49,999 group in 2007 was about 27m, but I wrote 26m) and a typo in the year (2017 instead of 2007); the group label “less than $74,999” was imprecise |
| Task 13, instant noodle process | 5 / 7 / 7 / 7 | Stage 8, sealing, was missing; flour was spelled floor; stage 7 was glossed over with In this stage, so the reader couldn’t tell which stage it was |
| Task 16, coffee habits bar chart | 5 / 8 / 6 / 7 | Data for two cities misread by 10 percentage points; city names misspelled; mixed tenses |
| Task 19, hospital roads map | 5 / 7 / 7 / 6 | The overview missed the most important changes (a bus station replacing the bus stop, two new roundabouts, separate car parks); present tense mixed into the 2007 paragraph |
| Task 26, brick-making process | 5 / 7–8 / 7 / 7 | The first stage was described inaccurately (the clay only passes through a metal grid and a roller; it is not that “raw materials are made”); kiln spelled kin; delivery written as delivering |
| Task 36, acid rain line graph | 5 / 6 / 7 / 7 | The overview did not match the graph (transport actually stayed flat); the electricity line was the one being overtaken, but I wrote overtook; paragraphs split by year, so all four lines were described twice |
Put together, there were only three reasons for a low TA score: a wrong or vague overview, misread data, and missing key information. None of these has anything to do with your level of English. They are all about the skill of reading the visual.
11. Four questions I was confused about too
Q1: Does Task 1 need a conclusion? No. Task 1 has no opinion, so a final paragraph starting In conclusion that repeats the overview just wastes time. I recommend making the overview its own second paragraph and stopping when the body is done. If you prefer putting the overview at the end, that is fine too, but it must be there, and it must not repeat the details you have already given.
Q2: Can I use However? Yes, there is nothing wrong with it grammatically. I just noticed that I started overview sentences with However far too often, forcing two points that did not actually conflict into a contrast. So I reminded myself in my notes to use In contrast, Conversely or By contrast for comparisons in Task 1, which are more precise. In the water use pie charts (Task 2), for example, the second overview sentence began with However, but it was really contrasting the largest and smallest uses, so By contrast would have fitted better.
Q3: Do I need to give decimals? Use what the visual gives you, but you don’t need to include every figure exactly. If a table gives 15.24%, you can write just over 15%. For numbers you have to estimate from a line graph, always add a word like approximately or roughly, rather than writing something very precise but wrong, like 61.3.
Q4: Can I memorise sentences from model answers? You can memorise frames, but not whole paragraphs. My notes collected a lot of sentence patterns, but the ones I could actually use in the exam were the ones I had used again and again in practice and knew how to adapt with a different subject and different numbers. The problem with memorising a whole model paragraph is that once the task changes, the paragraph no longer fits, and it can actually lower your TA.
12. Checklist for after you finish
- ☐ Does the first sentence name the visual correctly (bar chart / line graph / pie chart / table / diagram / maps)?
- ☐ Does the first sentence avoid numbers and conclusions?
- ☐ Does the overview have two sentences that capture 2–3 main features and match the visual?
- ☐ Is the overview free of specific numbers?
- ☐ Can you state the logic of your body paragraphs in one phrase (by category / time / trend)?
- ☐ Does every body sentence contain data, with each number checked against the legend?
- ☐ Has no category, city or stage been left out completely?
- ☐ Are tenses consistent throughout (past, present, present perfect, future)?
- ☐ At most one respectively per sentence, with the numbers in the same order as the nouns?
- ☐ Is the word count between 170 and 200?
13. Quick practice: paraphrase first, then find the key features
Exercise 1: Paraphrase the task. Rewrite the task statement below as your first sentence (a suggested answer is below).
The chart below shows the number of visitors to three museums in one city between 2010 and 2020.
Exercise 2: Find the problems in this overview. Below is an overview I wrote for demonstration. Find two problems.
Overall, Museum A had 50,000 visitors in 2010 and 80,000 visitors in 2020, which was the highest.
Answer
Exercise 1 could be: The bar chart illustrates how many people visited three museums in one city over the decade from 2010 to 2020. (Use whichever chart type the real visual is.)
Exercise 2 has two problems. First, the overview contains specific numbers. Second, it only talks about one museum, with no overall trend or comparison. It could be rewritten as: Overall, visitor numbers rose at all three museums, and Museum A remained the most popular throughout the period. (demonstration)
Further reading
- My review of tutor Ali: streamlining my essay structure (400 → 300 words) (in Chinese)
- How to check your IELTS sub-scores (in Chinese)
- My successful IDP re-mark (in Chinese)
- Farid, a former examiner: live feedback on Speaking and Writing (in Chinese)
- The best free IELTS websites and tools
- All my IELTS preparation notes (in Chinese)
This is the last part of “Task 1 Basics”. To start again, go back to Part 1.
IELTS Notes in English · Task 1 Structure (post 1 of 7)
Next →: What Goes in a Task 1 Overview? From Listing Numbers to Seeing the Big Picture
Task 1 Structure · Task 2 Structure · Topic Guides · Writing Language · Band Score Samples · Practice Methods · Speaking & Study Tips
✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
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