a strong introduction to your IELTS academic writing Task 1 can set the tone for the whole
task so let's write some together this lesson is actually part of my IELTS academic pack so this
is a free preview and there is a special offer for the pack in the description if you go there
right now you can download the slides for today's lesson get your pen ready and let's get started
the introduction has only one role to play to present the task in most cases one sentence is all
you need occasionally you may have two the easiest way to write an introduction is to paraphrase the
task sentence please note that you must not copy phrases from the task directly but rather express
the same idea in different words let me show you an example here is the task the chart below shows
the levels of employment in different sectors of the UK economy my introduction is the bar chart
illustrates how many people were employed in four major industry sectors in the UK between 1910 and
2010. as you can see my introduction has the same meaning as the first sentence in the task let me
show you how you can paraphrase each part of your task sentence how can you replace the type of task
in this case you can add the type of chart the line chart or graph the bar chart or graph the
pie charts Pi charts are usually called charts and not graphs and in most cases you have two
or three of them hence the plural form if you have charts of one type you can use these names
if you have several beginning your report by saying the pie chart and line graph is bulky
and unnecessary just say the graphs or the charts it's okay to repeat this word you can also begin
with the data what if you have a diagram well just say the diagram there is no synonym don't try to
replace this word with anything else in your report you must use precise language and don't
worry about repeating keywords therefore if you have Maps say maps and if you have a table say a
table or the data next the chart diagram map shows the verb is always to show actually you can keep
it the bar graph shows there is nothing wrong with it you could use to illustrate the diagram
illustrates or to display the chart displays a longer alternative is to provide information on
the data provide information on the data is plural the data provide information
or to give information about the table gives information about the first three to show to
illustrate and to display a more Universal and can be used in almost any type of task the phrase is
to provide information and to give information work well in some sentences but not in others
carefully read your sentence to see which verb works better next how can you paraphrase the
main part of the task sentence the chart shows the top 10 countries for oil production and
consumption in 2010 and 2015. how can we rephrase the part I've highlighted how about this the bar
graph illustrates the leading dozen of Nations I looked for a synonym for each word top leading
10 dozen well I know a dozen is 12 but whatever countries Nations the leading dozen of Nations
what do you think about this technique I would say don't do that you won't be able to find synonyms
with exactly the same meaning for each word and it's very important to keep your language precise
instead you could look at the main words and see how you could change the form of those words
production to produce consumption to consume
now how can we paraphrase this sentence using the words to produce and to consume the bar
graph provides information on the countries that produced and consumed the most oil in
2010 and 2015. you can also use some question words to change your sentence structure these
are which what how much how and so on can we use any of them here at couple I think the bar graph
illustrates which countries produced and consumed the most oil into time periods 2010 and 2015
or the bar graph shows how much oil was produced and consumed by the leading countries in two
time periods that's the passive voice the oil was produced by countries another way to paraphrase is
to add the words changes amount or level if they make sense in your sentence the bar chart displays
the amount of oil produced and consumed by the leading countries in the Years 2010 and 2015.
the bar graph shows the changes in production and consumption of oil by 10 leading countries
between 2010 and 2015. now let's talk about the time period our task ends with in 2010 and 2015
you can say in the Years 2010 and 2015 without any proposition or in two time periods 2010 and
2015 or simply in two time periods sometimes you're given an interval between 1970 and 2020.
in this case you could say from 1970 to 2020 or over during a 50-year period please note that 50
hyphen year singular not years but year a 50-year period if you are given countries for example in
India and the UK you can say in two countries in France and Germany can be paraphrased as two
European countries or two countries in Europe some people like to include the units of measurement
for example units are measured in Pounds Sterling or Millions this is not a mistake but this is
a memorized template like sentence which is unnecessary further in your report you will
repeat the unit every time you give a figure 5 million pounds 2 million people so it's pointless
to give it in your introduction now it's time to practice get your practice workbook one and let's
write some introductions together the first task is the chart below shows the number of tourists
visiting Australia and Canada between 2012 and 2017. for Simplicity I'm not gonna show you
the full task just concentrate on this sentence pause the video and write your introduction now
ready I wrote a couple the line graph illustrates how many people visited Australia and Canada as
tourists over a five-year period instead of the chart I used the line graph to show became to
illustrate the number of tourists visiting how many people visited as tourists I kept
the countries as they were in 2012 and 2017 is now over a five year period that's it here is another
version the graph displays information about the amount of foreign tourism into English-speaking
countries from 2012 to 2017. instead of tourists I used tourism and added the word amount the amount
of foreign Tourism Australia and Canada are both English speaking so I decided to describe them
this way okay I could just say two countries between 2012 and 2017 is now from 2012 to 2017.
next charts and tables without dates have a look at this task in your introduction you can simply
paraphrase the first sentence as we did before or you can actually add some information from your
charts let's practice go ahead read the task and write your introduction pause the video now ready
to continue here is my first version the charts illustrate the distribution of water resources on
Earth how water resources are distributed is the same as the distribution of Water Resources Global
is on Earth this introduction paraphrases the task sentence in my second version I added some X
extra information from the charts the charts provide information on the natural sources
of water available on Earth and examine their distribution across various types of water and
different regions of the world types of water and regions are what we see on our charts so
I use this information in the introduction as a result it's longer than the introduction I
showed you before but it works just as well let's have a look at all the types of tasks
how can you paraphrase the task sentence if you have Maps the task is the maps below show
Westfield University as it is now and the plans for its development all you need is some small
changes nothing drastic have a look at this one the maps illustrate Westford University before and
after its proposed Redevelopment I changed plans for its development into proposed Redevelopment
here is one trick you could use maps always show changes so add this word to your introduction the
maps display the main changes that are proposed in Westfield University up until 2013. when you
are talking about changes you don't need to use before and after what we do is we compare the
plans before and after to find those changes so the changes is an a noun I could use the verb to
change the maps provide information about what will change in Westfield University after its
Royal development this sentence is slightly less formal than the previous options but you can still
use it let's practice here is a task go ahead and write your introduction pause the video now
ready okay here is my answer the maps illustrate the main changes that have taken place in Newbury
High School from 1980 until the present moment because I'm talking about the result we see
now I use the present perfect here and the proposed development up until 2013. so here
I changed the plans for development to propose development and added the date from the last map
diagrams when you get a diagram it's easier to find a way to paraphrase the task sentence if
you remember this diagrams show a process stages or how something is made grown
Etc here is the first task the diagram below shows the stages in the recycling of aluminum drink cans
in this task we see the words these stages how can you paraphrase it using the process or how go
ahead pause the video and write your introduction okay I have several ideas the diagram illustrates
the process of recycling aluminum drink cans here I use the process we can also use how the diagram
provides information about how aluminum drink cans are recycled you can even keep the word stages the
diagram displays the stages involved in aluminum drain cans recycling you see the paraphrasing is
light I kill the keywords aluminum drink cans and recycling this is the way to make sure my
language is precise here is another task the diagram below shows how geothermal energy is used
to produce electricity try to paraphrase the this introduction pause the video now ready to continue
here is mine the task uses the how structure how energy is used I used the process the diagram
illustrates the process of electricity generation in a geothermal station I substituted to produce
electricity with electricity generation and changed geothermal energy to a geothermal
station in our context both work it's important to write your introduction quickly to have more time
for the all-important overview and at least two body paragraphs that's what you can learn in these
two lessons you can also learn how to meet each requirement plan your report link your ideas we'll
even brush up on the verb tenses and passive voice you'll also learn how to write each type of task
you've seen the preview of the Task 1 course in the IELTS academic pack you also get vocabulary
for task one courses for writing tasks 2 and speaking and step-by-step guides to listening
and reading there is no separate courses for these two because I think my free lessons and
official practice tests are all you need there is a special offer if you enroll right now the
Links and details are in the video description and if you haven't downloaded the slides for today's
lesson they are right there and this lesson will teach you how to write introductions to writing
task 2. thank you so much for watching me today good luck with your preparation and your exam bye