Academic Writing Task 1 is a report, not an essay: you describe what the graph shows and compare the data. No opinion, no reasons, no new facts at the end. About 20 minutes and 150–190 words, in four paragraphs:

Where does the overview go? Either straight after the introduction (the safer choice: the examiner sees it at once) or as the last paragraph. At the end it can start with Overall, / In summary, / To sum up, – but it is still an overview: the two or three main trends, no numbers. A “conclusion” with your opinion, reasons or new facts is never needed in Task 1.

Group the lines. Never describe four lines one by one in four paragraphs. Put lines with the same trend together (the ones that fell / the ones that rose), or the biggest and the smallest.

Your 20 minutes:

• 3 min – read the task, find 2–3 main trends (for the overview) and decide how to group the lines.
• 15 min – write: introduction, overview, body 1, body 2.
• 2 min – check: numbers, prepositions, tenses, word count.

On paper or on computer? IELTS is offered in both formats, and you choose one when you book the test. On computer, you type, the screen counts your words and there is no spellcheck. On paper, you write by hand and count the words yourself – most people write more slowly than they type. From now on, practise the way you will take the exam: for the computer test, type on a real keyboard (a laptop, not a phone); for the paper test, write your Practice answers by hand first and then type them in.

What band 7 looks like

• the graph below shows → the line graph illustrates / compares
• the number of people employed → how many people worked / the level of employment
• four sectors → name them: manufacturing, retail…
• between 1990 and 2020 → over a thirty-year period from 1990