Ielts writing proficiency Task ielts academic + ielts general Writing Task Includes ielts writing Samples for Task in ielts academic Training & ielts gen

relevant. Write at least 150 words.
91

---

Step 1 – Analyze
Many students make the mistake of thinking that since they only
have 20 minutes for this type of question, they should start writing as soon
as possible. However, this is often a costly mistake, because you need to
do some groundwork to produce a high-scoring report.
The first thing you need to do is extract as much information from
the titles of both graphs as possible. Make sure that you note down the
different quantities that are being measured and their units of
measurement.
It’s important to note down the time periods mentioned in both
graphs as this will tell you which tense to use when describing the data.
You should also be careful because the time periods for each graph may
not always be the same.
For example, in our sample question, the pie chart does not relate to
any specific time period, meaning that when we describe this data, we will
do so using the present tense. However, the data mentioned in the table is
for 2002-2012, meaning that we have to use the past tense when we
discuss this data in our report.
A Common Problem with Mixed Graph
Questions
A common problem with this type of question is that students often
write too much. They try to include as much information as possible for
both graphs because they can’t decide what to focus on.
Remember in your report you only have to discuss the main trends
and features of the graph; writing about every detail and change in both
graphs will give the examiner the impression that you could not analyze
92

---

and understand the data and that you have no idea about the main trends
and features presented in any of the graphical information. This will
negatively affect your Task Achievement score, since Task Achievement
is related to how well you answered all parts of the question. All writing
task 1 report questions ask you to “summarize and report the main
features.” Therefore, you should not mention minute (unimportant) details
in your report.
You should pick about 2 to 3 main features. This will make it easier
to develop your main body paragraphs.
You can decide what these main features are by looking at the graph.
Note the extreme data points, like the highest or lowest values.
Comparing and contrasting is one of the important skills that the
examiner will be looking out for, so keep an eye out for trends that are
either very similar or trends that show contradictory (or inverse) behavior.
You should have a maximum of three main features for each graph;
any more would be too confusing and too difficult to explain in only 20
minutes.
By looking at the pie chart in the example, we can see that:
The pie chart is about the different reasons for the loss of
93

---

land productivity.
The quantities are measured in percentages.
Overgrazing has the highest amount at 32%.
The other two categories have similar values with
deforestation at 30% and over-cultivation at 28%.
The category for ‘Other’ is the lowest at 10%.
No time periods are mentioned for this pie chart.
By looking at the table, we can see that:
The table shows the percentage of agricultural land degraded
and the main reasons for this.
The quantities are measured in percentages.
Italy had the greatest percentage of land degradation at 23
percent, and the main cause of this was deforestation at 9.8
percent followed closely by over-cultivation at 7.7 percent.
Russia had a total of 13 percent of its agricultural land
rendered unusable, and the main reason for this was over-
grazing at 11.3 percent.
94

---

Germany had the lowest figure at 5 percent, and this was
mostly caused by over-cultivation at 3.3 percent.
The table displays data for the period 2002-2012.