Writing Task 1 Academic: IELTS Task Achievement

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Getting a high score in Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS requires a skill that most IELTS students don’t have.

Even if your English is perfect, your Task Achievement score will be low until you can write an overview.

In this lesson, you’ll learn what an overview is and what other key components are required for a high score.

The biggest hurdle in Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS is understanding how to write a proper overview.

Soon, you’ll be able to answer the questions;

What is Task Achievement in Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS?

This information is available for everyone, and you’ll find the band descriptors published by IELTS.org and the British Council here and here.

You’ll see that Task Achievement is one of the four scores given to your Task 1 essay, and you will also benefit from my Coherence and Cohesion lesson, Task 1 vocabulary lesson and Task 1 grammar lesson.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 is marked with four different band scores.

Here is a simplified version of how the examiner decides on each score;

Band Score 1 for Task Achievement

To score a band 1, you need to write absolutely nothing on your answer sheet. I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to be an issue for you.

Band Score 2 for Task Achievement

For a band 2 in Task Achievement, there will be something on the page but not much.

Band Score 3 for Task Achievement

If an IELTS candidate writes quite a lot, but none of it actually responds to the question, that’s a band 3.

Band Score 4 for Task Achievement

Band 4 is where the candidate makes a good attempt at answering the question, but they have likely done no preparation for the IELTS test, so they don’t know how to write a Task 1 answer.

The most common mistake for this score is not writing an overview.

This is the Task Achievement score we expect for someone who has done no preparation for their IELTS test.

Band Score 5 for Task Achievement

A band 5 answer describes everything without a proper overview.

This usually means that an overview was attempted, but the candidate doesn’t really know how to write one.

Band Score 6 for Task Achievement

This time, the candidate has written an overview.

The issue with a band 6 essay is that either the overview isn’t descriptive enough or some mistakes are made in other parts of the essay.

These mistakes could include information that isn’t relevant or inaccurate data.

Without an accurate overview in your Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS answer, you're not going to score a band 6 or higher.

Band Score 7 for Task Achievement

To score band 7, we need a more descriptive overview, all the information needs to be relevant, and all the data must be accurate.

Band Score 8 for Task Achievement

If you write a descriptive overview and give detailed descriptions of the various key features in the rest of your essay, you’ll get a band 8 for Task Achievement.

Band Score 9 for Task Achievement

For a band 9, there needs to be a very descriptive overview, and all the key features are described with precision.

You’ll see the terms ‘overview‘ and ‘key features‘ used a lot when you’re studying for Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS, so I’ll explain these now.

Getting a band 9 in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 requires quite a lot of detail.

What is an overview in Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS?

An overview is a general description that paints an image in the reader’s mind.

When writing an overview, make sure:

  • there are no specific details
  • categories are uniformly analyzed

No specific details

Let’s imagine that you’ve just started a new job and a colleague asks, “Where do you live?”

The normal response would be an overview rather than a detailed description.

Good overview: “I live in a house in District 1.”

Bad overview: “I live in 17 Lar Street, Ward 4, District 1, Ryan City.”

Your ability to get a high Task Achievement score is very closely related to you ability to write a good overview.

The bad overview is too detailed and will confuse your colleague.

Uniformly analyze categories

This time, imagine you ask your colleague, “Which is the best printer to use?”

Good overview: “They all jam except this one.”

Bad overview: “This one cost the most money, this one is made by Acme, this one is the newest, and this one jams sometimes.”

The good overview analyzes the machines in the same way, so the comparison is clear.

The bad overview analyzes each machine differently, so it’s impossible to compare them.

I have a special lesson explaining how to easily write overviews that is an absolute must for any Academic IELTS candidate.

In your Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS test, make sure to analyze all the categories in the same way.

What is a key feature in Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS?

When answering a question, a key feature is the information you feel is most significant.

In fact, an overview is just a description of key features.

Let’s look at the question “Where do you live?” again.

The answer provided was, “I live in a house in District 1,” the first key feature was the type of accommodation, and the second key feature was the general location.

A different person might have chosen different key features.

For example, the answer could be the location in respect to the workplace, like this; “I live about 20 minutes north of here.”

This key feature is equally acceptable.

The key features you choose in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 can be different from the ones chosen by other candidates.

In the second question, “Which is the best printer to use?” the answer had just one key feature; which ones jam.

Again, other key features would have been appropriate such as the speed of the machines or the resolution of what they print.

What do bands 1-9 look like in Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS?

Next, we will build on what you’ve already learned by looking at examples of each Task Achievement score in Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS.

In every essay, you will need 3 paragraphs;

1. Paraphrase and Overview
2. Details Paragraph 1
3. Details Paragraph 2

To help you understand what Task Achievement looks like for each band score, we just need to look at an overview and one details paragraph.

The typical mistakes made in Task Achievement don't require us to look at a full IELTS Task 1 answer.

In about 75% of Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS tests, you will get a graph, so this is the question we’ll focus on for this part of the lesson.

This is a typical Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS question.

Band 1 for Task Achievement

Comment:

Nothing has been written.

Band 2 for Task Achievement

The graph below shows the average consumption of cheese per person in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland between 1980 and 2020.

Comment:

Here, the candidate has copied the question, but this is pretty much the same as writing nothing.

You and I could both copy a piece of text in any language, whether we understood it or not.

In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, copying the question is pretty much the same thing as writing nothing.

Band 3 for Task Achievement

The graph shows lots of interesting information about England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We can see that these categories differ and that there are a lot of changes in the chart. England is blue, Scotland is red, Wales is yellow and Northern Ireland is green.

Every graph shows us the changes that happen between different categories and we are able to analyse them to better understand the data that they represent. Graphs are a quick and easy way to communicate information and are often used in businesses so that CEOs and managers can quickly see what’s happening and in some cases, they can even use the data to predict what trends to expect in the future.

Comment:

Although this is a relatively well-written answer, it shows absolutely no understanding of the question.

It’s likely that this candidate learned this piece of text off by heart before the IELTS test and wrote this down regardless of what the question was about.

Anything that was pre-learned isn't going to contribute to your Task Achievement score.

Band 4 for Task Achievement

England’s figures fell consistently from roughly 112kg in 1980 to approximately 88kg in 2020. Meanwhile, Scotland started with about 85kg before jumping to roughly 105kg in 1990. From that point, the figures dropped significantly until it was down to approximately 55kg in 2020.

Wales started at about 45kg and saw it’s biggest increase by the following decade to approximately 65kg. From there it increased steadily to about 77kg in 2010 and then increased a further 2kg by 2020. Northern Ireland increased steadily from 1980 to 2000 with roughly 12 and 29kg respectively. The following decade saw it’s biggest jump to about 53kg and it finished in 2020 with roughly 60kg

Comment:

Again, this is a relatively well-written answer, and this time, the candidate has written an essay directly related to the question. That means that they deserve a band 4.

This essay can’t be given a band 5, though, because there is no overview.

This sample answer will show you that a good English ability is not enough for a high score in Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS.

Band 5 for Task Achievement

Overall, England and Scotland’s figures declined steadily from the beginning to the end of the period, whereas people in Wales and in Northern Ireland both increased their cheese consumption with Northern Ireland finishing at about 60kg, just above Scotland.

England’s figures fell consistently from roughly 112kg in 1980 to approximately 88kg in 2020. Meanwhile, Scotland started with about 85kg before jumping to roughly 105kg in 1990. From that point, the figures dropped significantly until it was down to approximately 55kg in 2020.

Comment:

In this answer, we can see that the candidate has attempted to write an overview, so they deserve a band 5 for Task Achievement.

However, there are two mistakes in the overview that prevent this essay from getting a band 6;

Even if the overview isn't accurate, attempting one will get you closer to a good score in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1.
  1. The word ‘steadily’ has been used to describe England and Scotland’s trend. This is accurate for England, but not for Scotland.

    This is because Scotland rose between 1980 and 1990 so to say that it also ‘decreased steadily’ is not true.

    By applying this adverb to both categories, the overview is now inaccurate, and the Task Achievement score cannot be higher than 5.

  2. Even if the above mistake wasn’t made, this answer would still score band 5 because the candidate has included specific information in the overview.

    Just including one piece of data, like ’60kg’ mentioned above, means that the paragraph isn’t a proper overview, and the score will remain at a band 5.

Band 6 for Task Achievement

Overall, England and Scotland’s figures declined by the end of the period, whereas people in Wales and in Northern Ireland both increased their cheese consumption.

England ate a lot of cheese during the period and its figures fell consistently from roughly 122kg in 1980 to approximately 88kg in 2020. Meanwhile, Scotland started with about 85kg before jumping to roughly 105kg in 1990. From that point, the figures dropped significantly until it was down to approximately 55kg in 2020.

Comment:

This essay contains an accurate overview with no specific details, so band 6 is a suitable Task Achievement score.

To get a band 7, the candidate would need a more descriptive overview and would need to avoid the irrelevant information and inaccurate data in the details paragraph.

Irrelevant information

Where it says ‘England ate a lot of cheese during the period’ is not necessary as the reader can look at all that data and make their own decision about whether it’s a lot or not.

In fact, in your Task 1 essay, you should avoid using any vocabulary that communicates your personal opinion.

You're not helping your Task Achievement score by including irrelevant or subjective information.

Inaccurate data

This answer says that England started at roughly ‘122kg’, but the figure in the chart is closer to ‘112kg’.

One incorrect digit like that can bring your Task Achievement score down to a band 6.

Make sure to double-check all of the data in your essay to avoid throwing away your chances of a high score so easily.

A small mistake like the wrong data can essentially stop you from getting the Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS score that you need.

Band 7 for Task Achievement

Overall, England’s figures declined by the end of the period as did Scotland’s despite some fluctuations, whereas people in Wales and in Northern Ireland both increased their cheese consumption.

England’s figures fell consistently from roughly 112kg in 1980 to approximately 88kg in 2020. Meanwhile, Scotland started with about 85kg before jumping to roughly 105kg in 1990. From that point, the figures dropped significantly until it was down to approximately 55kg in 2020.

Comment:

Here we can see the overview is slightly more descriptive as it indicates that England and Scotland’s figures didn’t follow the same path.

As well as this, there is no unnecessary information or inaccurate data, so a band 7 is the appropriate Task Achievement score.

A band 7 in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 is more descriptive than a band 6.

Band 8 for Task Achievement

Overall, England’s figures declined steadily throughout the period and Scotland saw a significant decline by the end, whereas people in Wales and in Northern Ireland both increased their cheese consumption during these decades.

Despite being the largest consumer of cheese for each decade, England’s figures fell consistently from roughly 112kg in 1980 to approximately 88kg in 2020. Meanwhile, Scotland started with about 85kg before jumping to roughly 105kg in 1990. From that point, the figures dropped significantly until it was down to approximately 55kg in 2020.

Comment:

Compared to the band 7 answer, this one goes into more detail in the overview and the details paragraph, so a band 8 is the score that will be given for Task Achievement.

A Task Achievement score of band 8 requires more detail than the band 7 score.

Band 9 for Task Achievement

Overall, England saw a steady fall in it’s figures throughout the period and Scotland saw a significant decline by the end, whereas people in Wales and in Northern Ireland both increased their cheese consumption relatively steadily during these decades.

Despite being the largest consumer of cheese for each decade, England’s figures fell consistently from roughly 112kg in 1980 to approximately 88kg in 2020. Meanwhile, Scotland started with about 85kg before jumping to roughly 105kg in 1990. From that point, the figures dropped significantly until it was down to approximately 55kg in 2020 making it decrease from the second highest in the beginning to the lowest in the final decade.

Comment:

Yes, a band 9 essay needs to be a bit longer to provide enough detail.

However, unless you really need a band 9 in your IELTS Writing test, I would recommend shorter paragraphs.

Also, it’s best to aim for the score you need. If you need a band 8 in the IELTS Writing test, aim for a band 8 in Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy rather than aiming to score 9 in two of the bands and 7 in the others.

In the Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS, aiming for the score you really need is the fastest way to succeed.

What now?

Now, you’ll need to start analysing graphs, deciding on the key features and writing overviews.

You’ll find many Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS questions online, but make sure only to use reliable sources.

Here are three sites to get you started;

Avoid unreliable resources when preparing for the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 test.

If you ever need to review this lesson, this video will be useful for you.

Of course, because you’re preparing for Task 1, you’ll need to complete the Coherence and Cohesion lesson, Task 1 vocabulary lesson and Task 1 grammar lesson next.

Once you understand all the marking criteria, you’ll have to learn how to write effective overviews in my Writing Task 1 Academic IELTS overview lesson and my 5 Step Plan for writing your answer.