Introduction and Task 1

ACADEMIC WRITING
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

• Course name: Academic writing
• No of credits: 2
• No of periods: 30
• Course book: Williams, A. (2011). Writing for
IELTS, HarperCollins Publishers.
• Course contents: The book covers 11 units of
different topics. In each unit, two writing tasks of
academic writing are handled from analyzing
stages to a complete response.
• However, this is an intensive course, so the
course is taught in task-based method rather than
unit by unit.
• Course requirements:
+ Attend at least 80% of all lessons
+ Actively participate in the lessons
+ Do individual assignment
+ Get over average mark for mid-term test/
individual assignment
IELTS ACADEMIC WRITING TEST
• WRITING TASK 1:
+ Duration: 20 mins
+ Length: at least 150 words
+ Question type: Write a description of a
table, a chart, graph or a diagram or mixed
• WRITING TASK 2:
+ Duration: 40 mins
+ Length: at least 250 words
+ Question type: Write an essay in response
to an argument or problem
Unit 1
Writing
Spelling
COMPLETE IELTS (4-5)

Warm-up
What are the main reasons for visiting New Zealand?

Task Types
1 2
Pie chart
Bar chart 3
Line graph
4
5
Diagram
Table
Process
Writing Task 1 – General information
Writing a description
• The Introduction
• The Body
• The Conclusion (if necessary)
Structure
Introduction
A short introduction (one or two sentences) which provides

an overview of the data, i.e. what is the topic/area and
how is the data presented.
-What?
-How?
-Where?
-When?
The Introduction
!!!You
!!! need to remember that you are describing a graph to
someone who doesn’t see it. Write what the graph is about, its
dates and location.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows changes in the amount and type of fast food consumed by
Australian teenagers from 1975 to 2000.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
The line graph illustrates the amount of fast food consumed by teenagers
in Australia between 1975 and 2000, a period of 25 years.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
Example: The chart below shows the percentage of male and female teachers in six
different types of educational setting in the UK in 2010.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Wha
How t
The bar chart gives information about the gender of teachers in six types
of educational institutions in the UK in 2010. It shows what percentage of
teachers was male and what percentage
Where was female.When
Structure
Body
The most significant(= important) information in the

data / process; main similarities, differences, overall
trends. You do not need to describe all the information
presented.
A few facts/figures from the data (as an example) to
support your description. It is not necessary to refer to all
the data.
The Body
 Describe the most important trends,
trends while all information is summarized
to avoid unnecessary details.
 Notice how many distinctive features the diagram has and divide
information into paragraphs, one paragraph per feature.
feature
 You should link the paragraphs by sentences that logically connect
them to one another.
Important!
Remember, summarizing doesn’t mean throwing away information. The
secret here is to select what’s important, organize it, compare and
contrast.
Example
Example
The Conclusion / Overview
The Conclusion should sum up the global trends

shown on the graph and compare them if possible.
 Overall, the consumption of fish and chips declined over the

period, whereas the amount of pizza and hamburgers that were
eaten increased.
Remember!!
 Use your own words when writing the summary,

not lift words and phrases from the question.
 Order the information in a logical way (e.g. from

largest to smallest)
 Include an overview of the main points of the

information given.
Practice- Writing introduction
• Paraphrasing
• Writing an overview
Ex.1
• You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
• The graph shows average annual
expenditures on cell phone and residential
phone services between 2001 and 2010.
• Summarize the information by selecting and
reporting the main features, and make
• Write at least 150 words.
• The graph illustrates the information of
average annual expenditures on cell
phone and residential phone, between the
year 2001 and the year 2010.
• The line graph demonstrates the average
yearly spending on land line phone and
mobile phone services in 10 years from
2001 to 2010.
• Overall, it can be clearly seen that there is
a sharp increase in using residential
phone while the using of residential phone
decrease slightly from 2001 to 2010.
• It is clearly seen that the spending on land
line phone experiences a steady decrease
while mobile phone service increases
slightly between 2001 and 2010.
• Model answer
• The line graph illustrates the average cost
that American customers spent on mobile
and landline phone services annually over a
10-year period.
• Overall, spending on residential phone
services dramatically declined, while
popularity of mobile services increased
sharply throughout a decade. Also, both of
services met at the same record in 2006.
Ex. 2
• The chart below shows the percentage
change in the share of international
students among university graduates in
different Canadian provinces between 2001
and 2006.
• Summarise the information by selecting and
reporting the main features, and make
• The bar chart demonstrates the fluctuate
in the share of learners who come from
different countries in Canada's provinces
from 2001 to 2006
• The bar graph compares the percentage of overseas
students who graduated from universities in Canada
over a five year period from 2001 to 2006.
• Overall, the number of graduations by international
students rose significantly in the 5-year period, with
all universities seeing an increase, with the exception
of Alberta. The most significant change was in
British Columbia which saw their numbers increase
by over a factor of 2.

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ACADEMIC WRITING

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

COMPLETE IELTS (4-5)

What are the main reasons for visiting New Zealand?

A short introduction (one or two sentences) which provides

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The most significant(= important) information in the

The Conclusion should sum up the global trends

 Overall, the consumption of fish and chips declined over the

 Use your own words when writing the summary,

 Order the information in a logical way (e.g. from

 Include an overview of the main points of the

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