Lesson 8 — Transform

IELTS Task 1 Intro & Overview · B2 · Lesson 2 of 3 (Set 3)

Cold paraphrase — write the intro from scratch

Six task questions. Write your paraphrased intro for each, then reveal the model. No looking at Lesson 7's synonym table.

"The graph shows the number of mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people in four countries between 2000 and 2020."

The line graph illustrates how many mobile phone subscriptions there were per 100 people in four different countries over a 20-year period from 2000 to 2020.

"The pie chart shows the percentage of waste recycled in one city in 2024."

The pie chart presents the share of waste that was recycled in one particular city during 2024.

"The bar chart compares the average daily water consumption in five countries in 2023."

The bar chart contrasts the typical amount of water consumed per day in five different countries during 2023.

"The graph shows changes in the price of three goods in the UK from 2010 to 2020."

The line graph tracks how the price of three different goods changed across Britain over a 10-year period from 2010 to 2020.

"The pie charts show the proportion of household income spent on housing, food, and other items in 1990 and 2020."

The two pie charts compare how household income was divided between housing, food, and other items in 1990 and again in 2020.

"The bar chart shows how often men and women in Australia visited the cinema in 2024."

The bar chart depicts the frequency with which Australian men and women went to the cinema during 2024.

Now stack the overview on top

For each chart, you've already got the intro from Tab 1. Now write the OVERVIEW sentence — the one that names the 1–2 main features in general terms. Rules: starts with "Overall,"; no numbers; one sentence (or one long compound sentence).

Chart 1 — Mobile phones, 2000–2020 (4 countries):

📊 Main features: All four countries saw a dramatic rise across the period. By 2020 all four had reached over 100 subscriptions per 100 people. The rise was steepest in the early 2010s.

Overall, mobile phone subscriptions rose dramatically in all four countries across the two decades, with the steepest growth occurring in the early 2010s.

Chart 2 — Waste recycled, 2024 (1 city):

📊 Main features: Paper accounted for nearly half of all recycled waste. Plastic was second. Glass and metal were each below 10%.

Overall, paper made up the largest share of recycled waste by a clear margin, while glass and metal each contributed only a small fraction.

Chart 3 — Daily water consumption, 5 countries, 2023:

📊 Main features: The USA used the most water per person by a large margin. Ethiopia used the least. The other three countries were close together in the middle.

Overall, the USA consumed far more water per person than any other country, while Ethiopia used the least, with the remaining three nations clustered between these two extremes.

Chart 4 — UK prices of 3 goods, 2010–2020:

📊 Main features: Petrol prices rose sharply. Bread prices stayed roughly flat. Milk prices fell slightly.

Overall, petrol prices climbed sharply across the decade, while bread remained stable and milk fell slightly — a clear divergence between the three goods.

Self-check — does your overview pass these tests?

Does it start with "Overall,"?
Does it have NO numbers?
Does it name 1–2 main features, not all the data?
Could you read it WITHOUT seeing the chart and still understand the big picture?

If you ticked all four, you've got it.

Sentence surgery — fix the broken intros & overviews

These are the exact mistakes weak Band-5 candidates make on intros. Fix each one. Reveal the answer to check.

❌ INTRO: "The graph below shows the number of tourists visiting a particular country between 2000 and 2020."

Clue: copied word-for-word from the question. Examiners give zero marks for this.

✅ The line graph illustrates how many tourists visited a particular country over a 20-year period from 2000 to 2020. (Swap shows → illustrates, the number of → how many, between 2000 and 2020 → over a 20-year period from 2000 to 2020.)

❌ INTRO: "In this graph we can see information about cars sales in five countries."

Clue: too informal, missing the chart type, missing the time period.

✅ The bar chart presents the number of cars sold in five different countries during [year/period]. (Don't write "we can see" — that's spoken English. Identify the chart type, paraphrase the topic, and ALWAYS include the time reference if the question gives one.)

❌ OVERVIEW: "Overall, in 2010 the figure was 25%, in 2015 it was 40%, and in 2020 it reached 65%."

Clue: that's data, not an overview.

✅ Overall, the figure rose steadily across the decade, more than doubling between 2010 and 2020. (Numbers belong in the body paragraphs. The overview names the BIG-PICTURE direction with general words like rose, fell, doubled, dominated.)

❌ OVERVIEW: "Overall, I think people are using less paper these days because of computers."

Clue: TWO problems.

✅ Overall, paper use fell across the period, while digital alternatives showed a corresponding rise. (Problem 1: no "I think" in Task 1 — there's no opinion. Problem 2: don't speculate ABOUT WHY — Task 1 reports what the chart shows, never causes. Stick to what's visible in the data.)

❌ INTRO: "The line graph illustrates the number of tourists visiting a country."

Clue: paraphrased OK, but missing one critical thing.

✅ The line graph illustrates how many tourists visited a country over a 20-year period from 2000 to 2020. (You DROPPED the time reference. Always include WHEN — that's a key part of what the chart is about.)

❌ OVERVIEW: "Overall, the chart shows lots of changes."

Clue: too vague — could apply to any chart.

✅ Overall, smartphone use rose dramatically while landline use fell sharply, with broadband following the smartphone pattern. (The overview must name SPECIFIC main features. "Lots of changes" tells the examiner nothing.)

❌ INTRO: "The pie chart show the proportion of energy."

Clue: subject-verb agreement, plus too short.

✅ The pie chart shows the proportion of energy produced by [four sources] in [country] during [year]. (Singular subject "chart" → singular verb "shows". And the intro must include WHAT the proportion is OF — name the categories or the source.)

Match the intro to the chart description

For each intro, pick which chart description it belongs to. The intros are paraphrased — match by meaning, not by repeated words.

Intro: "The two pie charts compare how UK households divided their spending across six expense categories in 1990 and again in 2020."

A line graph showing UK household income from 1990 to 2020.

Two pie charts comparing UK household spending breakdown in 1990 vs 2020.

A bar chart showing six categories of spending in 2020 only.

Intro: "The bar chart contrasts the typical monthly rent in five British cities during 2024."

Line graph of UK rent over the last decade.

Pie chart showing the proportion of income spent on rent in 2024.

Bar chart with five UK cities and average monthly rent for 2024.

Intro: "The line graph tracks how the unemployment rate changed in four EU countries over a 10-year period from 2010 to 2020."

Pie chart showing unemployment by sector in 2020.

Line graph with four lines (one per EU country), unemployment % on y-axis, 2010–2020 on x-axis.

Bar chart of EU unemployment for 2020 only.

Intro: "The bar chart depicts the number of visitors to four British museums during 2023."

Line graph of museum visitor numbers over 5 years.

Bar chart with four bars (one per museum) showing total visitors for 2023.

Pie chart of UK museum funding sources.

Intro: "The pie chart presents the share of crimes by category in one particular city during 2022."

Line graph showing crime rate change over 10 years.

Pie chart with crime types as slices, percentages adding to 100%.

Bar chart comparing crime rates across cities.

Free write — your full intro + overview

Below is a real Task 1 prompt with the chart's main features. Write BOTH sentences: paraphrased intro, then overview.

"The graph below shows the percentage of households with access to three technologies — smartphones, broadband internet, and landline phones — in one country between 2000 and 2020."

📊 Main features: Smartphones rose from 0% to 95% (huge growth). Broadband followed a similar pattern, climbing from 5% to 92%. Landlines fell from 95% to 20% (sharp decline). By 2020 the order had completely flipped.

Intro: The line graph illustrates the share of households with access to three different technologies — smartphones, broadband internet, and landline phones — in one country across two decades, from 2000 to 2020.

Overview: Overall, smartphone and broadband access rose dramatically across the period, while landline use fell sharply, so that by 2020 the ranking of the three technologies had completely reversed.

Notice: intro paraphrases without numbers. Overview names the two big patterns (rise of new tech, fall of landline) and the consequence (ranking flipped) — still no numbers.

"The chart below shows the proportion of UK adults who used four social media platforms in 2024."

📊 Main features: Facebook had the largest share. TikTok came second. Instagram and X (Twitter) were close to each other and considerably smaller.

Intro: The pie chart presents the share of British adults using each of four social media platforms during 2024.

Overview: Overall, Facebook was used by the largest proportion of adults, followed by TikTok, while Instagram and X attracted considerably smaller and similar shares.

Done. Go to Lesson 9.

Final lesson: Lesson 9 — Write It. You'll write a full Task 1 response combining everything from all three sets — intro + overview + trends language + comparison language. The whole toolkit, in one piece.