IELTS band 5 plan, week 5: Task 1 and everyday grammar

This week's sessions

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1. Day 1 · ✍️ Writing · about 25 minWhat Task 1 asks you to doRead this week's lesson and the Task 1 guide. If you take General Training, also look at the letter examples. Write one overview sentence or one letter opening.
2. Day 2 · 🔤 Vocabulary · about 20 min20 common mistakesRead the common mistakes lesson and do the quiz. Write down three mistakes you often make.
3. Day 3 · ✍️ Writing · about 20 minEveryday grammar practiceDo the grammar practice set below. Write down any rule you got wrong, with one example sentence.
4. Day 4 · ✍️ Writing · about 20 minTask 1 words and lettersDo the Task 1 practice set below. Then write three sentences about prices or numbers using rose, fell and stayed the same.
5. Day 5 · 🎧 Listening · about 25 minListening practice test 2Keep your listening going. Do the practice test without stopping, and check your spelling list from week 1 first.

This week's lesson: Writing Task 1 and the grammar that matters most

This week you'll practise Writing Task 1 and fix the small grammar mistakes that happen again and again. Task 1 needs at least 150 words in about 20 minutes.

Task 1 is different in the two types of IELTS:

• Academic: you describe a chart, a graph, a table or a diagram.
• General Training: you write a letter.

Read the part for your test. If you're not sure which one you're taking, read both.

Academic Task 1: describe, don't explain

You write a short report about the chart. You don't give your opinion, and you don't explain why things changed.

Use this plan:

1. Introduction: say what the chart shows, in your own words. The chart shows how many people used buses and cars in one city between 2010 and 2020.
2. Overview: one sentence about the main changes. Overall, bus use increased a lot, while car use fell slightly. This sentence is very important.
3. Details: one or two paragraphs with some numbers. Bus use rose from 20% to 50%.

Useful words for charts

• Going up: rose, increased, went up
• Going down: fell, decreased, went down
• No change: stayed the same
• How much: a lot, a little, slightly

The years in a chart are usually in the past, so use the past simple: rose, fell, was, were.

General Training Task 1: a letter

You get a situation and three bullet points. Write about all three. A simple plan is one short paragraph for each bullet point.

Choose the right start and end:

• To a friend: Dear Sam, ... Best wishes,
• To a company or a person you don't know: Dear Sir or Madam, ... Yours faithfully,

The grammar that matters most

At band 5, examiners expect mistakes. But if the same basic mistakes happen in almost every sentence, your writing is harder to read. Check these five things every time:

1. -s with he/she/it: She works in a shop.
2. Past simple: Last year I moved to Perth. I went, I saw, I had.
3. a / an: a car, a university, an hour, an apple. Listen to the first sound.
4. Plurals: two cars, many **people (not peoples).
5. Uncountable words: information, advice, money and furniture have no -s. Say some information.

Try it

Correct these sentences:

My sister live in Sydney. → My sister lives in Sydney. Yesterday I buy a new phone. → Yesterday I bought a new phone. I need some advices. → I need some advice.

Common mistakes at this level

• Under 150 words in Task 1.
• No overview in Academic Task 1.
• Giving opinions in Academic Task 1.
• Missing a bullet point in a letter.
• The wrong start or end for the person you're writing to.

Practice for this week

Everyday grammar practice

Task 1 words and letters

Weekly check: Writing practice 2

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