IELTS Writing Task 1: Future of Transport

Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.

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How to use this lesson

For the teacher:

Give learners about 15 minutes to work through these build-up tasks in pairs or on their own.

Check answers together by having students read out the full sentences to test their ear for natural phrases.

For the learner:

First, look at the garden figures in each sentence and choose or type the missing words.

Next, read your finished sentences aloud to check if they sound clear, natural, and complete.

Module 1: Practice the exact words, number phrases, and sentence patterns you need for data tasks, using records from our local community garden.

Word forms

Choose the correct form of the word to finish each sentence about the community garden.

Example pattern: "We saw a steady rise in tomato plants." (rise / rising / risen)

1. Between May and August, the total vegetable harvest showed a remarkable _______.

____ a. increase ____ b. increasingly ____ c. increased

2. The number of registered weekend helpers was _______ every month until November.

____ a. grow ____ b. growing ____ c. grown

3. A significant _______ of the garden plots was reserved for growing organic beans.

____ a. proportion ____ b. proportional ____ c. proportionally

4. Soil quality _______ considerably after the volunteers added homemade leaf mulch.

____ a. improvement ____ b. improving ____ c. improved

5. There was a _______ reduction in rainwater collection during the dry month of June.

____ a. sharpen ____ b. sharp ____ c. sharply

Words that go together for numbers

Select the single word that naturally fits the gap when describing numbers and records.

Example pattern: "The volunteer count reached an all-time high in July."

1. In mid-August, recorded volunteer hours _______ a peak of 420 hours in one week.

____ a. arrived ____ b. reached ____ c. touched ____ d. climbed

2. Compost production _______ steady at around 150 kilograms per month throughout the spring.

____ a. remained ____ b. moved ____ c. went ____ d. turned

3. The community orchard initiative _______ an upward trend over its first three planting seasons.

____ a. spent ____ b. pointed ____ c. experienced ____ d. walked

4. Daily volunteer attendance _______ between 12 and 38 people depending on the weather.

____ a. rotated ____ b. fluctuated ____ c. waved ____ d. balanced

5. Fresh herb bundles _______ for nearly one-fifth of all items given away at the weekend stall.

____ a. accounted ____ b. counted ____ c. stood ____ d. ranked

Phrases for figures

Fill in each blank using the most fitting phrase from the word bank below.

Word Bank

just under stood at roughly equal a sharp rise the vast majority

Example pattern: "The morning attendance stood at 24 members."

1. In 2021, the number of rented garden plots _______ 45 before expanding the following year.

____

2. Volunteers gathered _______ 100 kilograms of strawberries (97 kg to be exact), nearly hitting their seasonal target.

____

3. The garden recorded _______ in student visitors after opening the new observation bee hive.

____

4. _______ of all tools used in the garden were donated by local residents (over 85%).

____

5. The amounts of basil and mint harvested were _______, with about 18 kilograms of each gathered.

____

Saying it another way

Select the sentence that reports the exact same information using different words and structure.

Example pattern: "Half of the volunteers were over fifty." = "Volunteers over fifty accounted for 50% of the team."

Original sentence:

"The number of senior volunteers increased significantly between 2018 and 2022."

Which option expresses the same meaning?

____ a. The garden saw a substantial rise in senior volunteers between 2018 and 2022. ____ b. Senior volunteers worked significantly longer hours between 2018 and 2022. ____ c. The number of senior volunteers remained higher than younger helpers from 2018 to 2022.

Original sentence:

"Exactly half of the garden beds were used to grow root vegetables."

Which option expresses the same meaning?

____ a. Nearly all of the garden beds were planted with root vegetables. ____ b. Root vegetables accounted for 50% of the total garden beds. ____ c. Twice as many garden beds were used for root vegetables as other crops.

Original sentence:

"Volunteer numbers fluctuated noticeably throughout the four planting seasons."

Which option expresses the same meaning?

____ a. The number of helpers remained unchanged across all four seasons. ____ b. Volunteer numbers dropped continuously from the first season to the last. ____ c. Helper attendance experienced clear variations across the four planting seasons.

Module 2: Study the official car sales table, review what every strong report must include, and write your full answer.

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Writing Task 1

The table gives information about the new cars that people bought in one country in 2015, 2020 and 2025, by type of engine. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Type of engine	2015	2020	2025
Petrol	58	45	22
Diesel	36	28	10
Hybrid	5	17	33
Electric	1	10	35

(Figures are fictional.)

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Checklist for every Task 1 report

Before and after writing, make sure your report contains each of these five elements:

____ An overview: One or two sentences highlighting the overall direction and main trend. ____ Key features: Clear descriptions of the most important starting, turning, and ending points. ____ Comparisons: Direct side-by-side statements showing how different categories relate to each other. ____ Accurate figures: Reliable data points quoted precisely without misreading the table numbers. ____ Word count: A finished report of at least 150 words.

Your Task 1 Report

Minimum 150 words

Write your complete report in the box below. When you submit, your writing will be assessed against the four IELTS Academic criteria: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

____ (Type your 150-word report here...)

Module 3: Read this full model answer to see how to organize your paragraphs, compare engine types, and report the numbers with complete accuracy.

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Model Answer

160 words • Model answer

The table illustrates the proportion of newly purchased cars across four engine types in a single country between 2015 and 2025.

Overall, traditional fossil-fuel vehicles saw a marked decline, whereas hybrid and electric models experienced substantial growth. By the end of the period, electric and hybrid cars had overtaken petrol and diesel as the most popular choices.

In 2015, petrol cars accounted for the largest share at 58, followed by diesel at 36. However, both figures kept falling over the ten-year period. By 2025, petrol sales had dropped to 22, while diesel fell to just 10, less than a third of its 2015 level.

Conversely, alternative fuel vehicles began from very low levels before rising steeply. Electric cars represented just 1 in 2015, but increased to 10 in 2020, and then more than tripled to reach 35 in 2025, becoming the leading category. Similarly, hybrid purchases rose from 5 to 17 in 2020, before nearly doubling to 33 by 2025.

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Why these phrases work

Here is why each highlighted phrase makes the report clear, accurate, and easy to follow:

1. "saw a marked decline"

Describes a clear downward path without repeating the word "fell" or "dropped" over and over.

2. "experienced substantial growth"

Combines both rising categories in your overview so the reader understands the big picture right away.

3. "had overtaken"

Shows that the lead had already changed hands by the final year.

4. "accounted for the largest share"

Identifies the starting leader directly, instead of saying simple words like "was number one".

5. "kept falling over the ten-year period"

Summarizes continuous downward movement across the whole decade in one smooth sentence.

6. "more than tripled to reach"

Reports the calculation with total accuracy: going from 10 to 35 is 3.5 times, so it is strictly more than tripled, not just tripled.

7. "nearly doubling to"

Accurately reflects the data from 17 to 33: exactly double would be 34, so 33 is nearly doubling.

How to use this lesson

Word forms

Words that go together for numbers

Phrases for figures

Saying it another way

Writing Task 1

Checklist for every Task 1 report

Your Task 1 Report

Model Answer

Why these phrases work

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