The IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 appears at first to be a strange, difficult and complicated task and it's objectives or requirements are not easily perceived. There are, however, a few simple but necessary techniques and strategies that enable the student to achieve a very high band score with very little effort.

In the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 the student is presented with a bar chart, a line chart, a pie chart or a diagram displaying the steps in a process, such as recycling. The instructions given describe the general information, ie what the subject of the chart is, and then states: Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below. For the purpose of this article we shall take an example and discuss the best method to approach this question.

The example:

The Chart below shows the amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women of different employment status.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.

You should write at least 150 words.

(For the purpose of this article we cannot, obviously, include the relevant bar chart, but what will become apparent is the lack of necessity for the inclusion of this chart as, once a strict guideline is followed then the details of the chart shall simply be entered at relevant points.)

As you are only required to write more than 150 words and the time recommended is 20 minutes there is actually very little room for an in-depth analysis of the chart. Here are some key things to remember:

1. You cannot include all of the information described on the chart, so select only the most important and include that.

2. Do not analyse the chart in any manner other than factual and statistical. You are writing a report for a university lecturer who simply wants to be able to read the article and visualise an outline of the chart.

3. Do not include any individual opinion or analysis of the figures present. If you could suggest why Unemployed and Retired men and women have more leisure time than those in full-time employment, don't! This task tests only your ability to convey relevant information, not to analyse!

So, in our example, the first, and most basic thing we must do, is our introduction. There should be four small paragraphs in your answer: 1. Introduction; 2. Key information; 3. More Key Information; 4. Conclusion.

1. Introduction:

Rewrite the description given of the chart and include the descriptive details on the side and bottom of the chart. This is all that is required in your answer.
Example:
The chart given illustrates the amount of leisure time, in hours, enjoyed in a typical week by both men and women of different employment status; Employed full-time, Employed part-time, Unemployed, Retired and Housewives, between 1998 and 1999.

There is absolutely no need to write anything more creative than this.

2. Key Information and 3. More Key Information:

In the body paragraphs of your answer you will describe the key information. You will only have about 100 words to describe the chart so you must choose the most important information and focus on that. You must use words of trend-analysis such as: increase, decrease, sharp fall, steady rise etc. With every statement you make, you must include the relevant figures.
Example:
Unemployed and Retired men enjoy by far the largest amount of free time per week, averaging 85 hours per week, in sharp contrast with Employed full-time women who have the least leisure time of all groups at 35 hours per week.

4. Conclusion:

The concluding paragraph is much the same as the introductory one, but with a little less detail and a stronger sense of conclusion. It is simple and factual, not creative.
Example:
To conclude, as described above the bar chart illustrates the amount of leisure time, in hours per week, spent by men and women of different employment status. As can be clearly seen, both men and women who are unemployed and retired have far greater leisure time than those employed full-time, part-time, or housewives.

The IELTS Academic Writing Task is not exciting, nor is it very interesting or stimulating. It is highly functional, with its only purpose to test the student's ability to convey factual information in an academic environment, as the IELTS exam tests the student's ability to construct arguments and to analyse situations in the larger Academic Writing Task 2.

Hopefully this has helped de-mystify the confusing IELTS Academic Writing Task 1.

Good Luck!

For more information on the IELTS exam or for more help, book English Exam Preparation Lessons online with IELO, at http://www.internetenglishlearnonline.com