APIEIELTS Writing Task 1: Digital Education Trends
Online learning and digital classrooms
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
How to use this lesson
👩🏫 For Teachers
Guide your students through this 40-minute practice session and watch their progress as they work.
All practice tasks mark automatically, giving learners instant feedback before they move to writing.
🧑🎓 For Learners
Start by practising key numbers and trends vocabulary in this bakery warm-up module.
Once you feel comfortable with the words and phrases, use them to write your full report in Module 2.
🥖 Module 1: Describing Trends & Figures (Warm-up)
Welcome to your warm-up! Before reporting on any chart, let's sharpen the everyday words you need to describe numbers, peaks, and changes. We will look at customer patterns at a local neighborhood bakery across the week.
Choose the right form
Read each sentence about the bakery and pick the correct form of the word to fit the sentence.
1. The bakery experienced a sudden ________ in morning sourdough sales on Saturday.
2. The ________ of customers buying whole-grain loaves was significantly higher this year.
3. Foot traffic outside the shop was ________ steady throughout the late afternoon.
4. Weekend pastry orders showed a noticeable ________ from 300 to over 500 units.
5. The number of walk-in customers ________ during rainy weekdays.
Pick the word that fits best
Select the natural partner word to complete each fact about bakery customer counts.
1. Croissant demand ________ a peak of 420 items at 9:00 AM on Sunday.
2. Early morning muffin sales ________ an all-time low of only 12 trays on Tuesday.
3. Revenue from artisan baguettes ________ steady at around $600 per day all month.
4. Customer traffic ________ a sharp decline after the lunch hour ended at 2:00 PM.
5. Takeaway coffee orders ________ for nearly half of total morning revenue.
Complete phrases for describing figures
Use the words in the bank below to fill in the missing word for each sentence.
Word Bank:
Say it in different words
Look at the original sentence. Choose the option that shares the exact same meaning without changing the facts.
Original sentence:
"The bakery's morning bread sales increased steadily between 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM."
Which sentence means the same thing?
Original sentence:
"Roughly half of all visiting patrons bought at least one sweet pastry."
Which sentence means the same thing?
Original sentence:
"The proportion of customers ordering takeaway coffee fell sharply in the afternoon."
Which sentence means the same thing?
Great job finishing the warm-up!
You now have all the core vocabulary you need—nouns, verbs, collocations, and paraphrase structures. Keep these patterns in mind as you get ready for the official Task 1 prompt in Module 2.
💻 Module 2: The Writing Task
Now it is time to write your own report. Take a close look at the prompt and the table below, review the checklist, and write your answer in the box provided.
The table gives the percentage of students at one college using four ways of studying in 2015, 2020 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Percentage of college students by study mode (2015–2025)
| Way of studying | 2015 (%) | 2020 (%) | 2025 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classroom only | 70 | 30 | 38 |
| Online only | 4 | 46 | 20 |
| Mixed classroom and online | 12 | 16 | 36 |
| Printed materials at home | 14 | 8 | 6 |
(Figures are fictional.)
✔️ What every Task 1 report needs
- • An overview: A clear summary of the main patterns or biggest shifts without listing every single number.
- • Key features: Focus on the most important highs, lows, and changes over time.
- • Comparisons: Connect categories together rather than describing each row in isolation.
- • Accurate figures: Quote data precisely to back up every factual point you report.
- • Word count: Write at least 150 words to meet the task requirement.
Your Report
Graded by AIWrite your complete Task 1 response in the box below. When you submit, your text will be evaluated on Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
____ (Type your response here (minimum 150 words)...)📖 Module 3: Study a Model Answer
Read this full model response to see how to group the numbers clearly, report key shifts, and compare trends across the ten-year period.
The table illustrates the proportion of college students who used four distinct study modes in 2015, 2020, and 2025.
Overall, classroom learning and printed study materials both declined across the period, while online and blended learning became substantially more common. Notably, the share of students using a mixture of classroom and online methods tripled by the end.
In 2015, traditional classroom learning was by far the most popular option at 70%, whereas just 4% of students studied exclusively online. However, by 2020, classroom attendance dropped sharply to 30%, while online-only study surged to reach a peak of 46%. By 2025, online study fell back to 20%, but classroom learning partially recovered to 38%.
Meanwhile, students learning through mixed methods rose steadily from 12% to 16% in 2020, before finishing at 36% in 2025. In contrast, those relying on printed materials experienced a downward trend, dropping from 14% to 8% in 2020 and hitting a low of 6% in 2025.
Why these phrases work
Here is a closer look at the 7 highlighted phrases from the model answer and why they help your score.
"illustrates the proportion of"
Why this works: This is a clean, natural rewrite of the prompt words "gives the percentage of". Starting with a fresh verb like "illustrates" shows good range right away.
"declined across the period"
Why this works: It sums up the whole timeframe (2015 to 2025) in one phrase. It keeps your overview paragraph focused on the big picture instead of individual dates.
"tripled by the end"
Why this works: It is mathematically exact. The mixed-study figure went from 12% in 2015 to 36% in 2025 (12 × 3 = 36). Using ratio words accurately shows strong data control.
"by far the most popular option"
Why this works: "By far" emphasizes that 70% was not just the highest number, but much higher than every other category put together in that year.
"reach a peak of"
Why this works: Online-only study hit its highest recorded number (46%) in 2020 before falling back. "Reach a peak of" describes this high point naturally.
"partially recovered to"
Why this works: Classroom study rose from 30% back up to 38%, but it did not return to its original 70%. "Partially recovered" captures that incomplete comeback perfectly.
"experienced a downward trend"
Why this works: Printed home study went down at every single recorded step (14% → 8% → 6%). Using a noun phrase like "downward trend" adds nice sentence variety alongside verbs like "declined".
Key lesson for your next Task 1 report
Notice how the model answer never just lists row by row. It connects related trends together, uses words like whereas and in contrast to compare categories, and keeps the overall summary clear and easy to read.
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