Task 1 (Academic): the overview comes first
What a band 7 report contains, in what order — and the one paragraph you must never leave out.
15 minutes · A free lesson from Writing
Academic Task 1 asks you to report what a graph, chart, table, diagram, map or process shows, in at least 150 words, in about 20 minutes. You do not give opinions or explain causes — you select the most important information and compare it.
Question: The chart below shows the percentage of households with internet access in five regions of one country in 2005, 2012 and 2020.
Introduction: The bar chart compares the proportion of households with internet access in five regions of a country in 2005, 2012 and 2020.
Overview: Overall, access rose substantially in every region over the fifteen-year period, and the capital had the highest rate in all three years. By 2020, however, the gap between the capital and the other regions had narrowed considerably.
The overview names the pattern — rising everywhere, capital highest, gap narrowing — without a single number.
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: What comes straight after the introduction?
- The overview
- The smallest details
- Your opinion
Show the answer
A: The overview — Examiners look for the overview there. Without one, Task Achievement cannot go above band 5.
Quick check: What belongs in an overview?
- Every figure in the chart
- The causes of the changes
- The main features, without numbers
Show the answer
C: The main features, without numbers — The biggest change, the highest and lowest, the general trend.
Quick check: Should you give your opinion in Academic Task 1?
- Yes, in the conclusion
- No: report and compare the data
- Yes, in every paragraph
Show the answer
B: No: report and compare the data — Task 1 reports what the visual shows. You do not give opinions or explain causes.
Quick check: How should you describe a chart with many bars?
- Group the bars that behave alike
- Describe each bar in turn
- Describe only the first bar
Show the answer
A: Group the bars that behave alike — Grouping shows that you can select the important information.
Marked as soon as you finish — free with an account.Practise now