EXERCISE: Mastering the Band 7 Overview

EXERCISE: Mastering the Band 7 Overview

EXERCISE: Mastering the Band 7 Overview

Test your interpretation skills

Part 1: The "Trap" Analysis

Task: Read this weak student overview. Identify 3 reasons why it would receive a low band score.

"Overall, Brazil produced 100 tons in 1990 and this increased to 150 tons in 2010. Vietnam also went up from 20 tons to 50 tons. However, Colombia fell by 10% during the period shown."
👁️ Click to Check Answers
Analysis:
  1. Includes Numbers: (100 tons, 150 tons) - Overviews should not have raw data.
  2. Mechanical Description: It lists "A did this, B did that" instead of grouping trends.
  3. Includes Percentages: "Fell by 10%" belongs in the body paragraph.

Data Scenario:

  • Video Games: Increased heavily
  • Board Games: Increased slightly
  • CD Players: Fell significantly
  • MP3 Players: Fell significantly

Task: Combine these into ONE sentence using the word "while". Do not list them individually.

👁️ Click to Check Answers
Model Answer:
"Overall, sales of digital and physical games saw an upward trend, while the market for music playing devices declined significantly."

Note how we grouped specific items into categories ("games" vs "devices").

Part 3: The "Trade-Off" Sentence

Data Scenario: Digital book downloads skyrocketed (2010-2020), while printed newspaper sales crashed to near zero.

Task: Connect these using the phrase "...at the expense of..."

👁️ Click to Check Answers
Model Answer:
"Overall, there was a massive surge in the popularity of digital books, at the expense of printed newspaper sales."

Part 4: The "Complexity" Qualifier

Data Scenario: Tourism went up generally, but dropped during 2008 and 2020.

Task: Write a short sentence summarizing the rise while acknowledging the drops (without mentioning years).

👁️ Click to Check Answers
Model Answer:
"Overall, while the general trend for tourism was upward, this rise was not always steady."

IELTS Task 1 Practice Drill


    • Related Articles

    • Mastering Past Participle Forms of Verbs: Practice Exercise

      IELTS Writing Task 1: Process Charts Mastering Passive Voice & Past Participles Grammar Note: Process diagrams usually rely on the Passive Voice to shift focus from the person doing the action to the action itself. Present Simple Passive: is/are + ...

    • Techniques for writing an effective overview in Task 1 Writing

      Mastering the Task 1 Overview The most important paragraph in your essay. Case Study: Traffic in Bridgewater Task: Describe the main trends shown in the bar chart illustrating the decrease in traffic accidents in Bridgewater after the installation of ...

    • Mastering Past Participle Forms: Academic Process writing Exercise 3

      Process Writing: Tea Production Exercise 3: Mastering Past Participles & Voice Instructions: Complete the text using the correct form of the words below. (Hint: Pay attention! Some verbs are Passive, but natural processes are Active.) deliver grow ...

    • Understanding IELTS Task 1 Overview Statements

      Understanding IELTS Task 1 Overview Statements A High-Level Lesson Using Real Band-7+ Models 1. The Universal Insight At first glance, samples look different, but every strong overview follows this formula: ? Overall trend(s) + Key comparison(s) + ...

    • Mastering Paraphrasing Skills for Matching Comments in IELTS Listening

      n the IELTS listening exam, students are often required to match comments or descriptions to a list of items, which can include a range of topics such as products, services, or events. However, these comments are often paraphrased, which means that ...