Shadowing Practice: 2027 Guide to IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.

231 sentences

If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.

Chats and tables, maps and diagrams can be tough,

but I'll show you what really matters in IELTS academic writing task 1 and how to write a clear,

simple answer that can score a band 7 or higher.

I've taken IELTS multiple times myself, I worked with former IELTS examiners,

and these are the exact techniques that help our students improve their writing scores from 6 .5 to

So let's start with the chart and table.

There is quite a bit of information here, but to write the introduction we need to understand what the two visuals show.

The pie chart tells us about the age groups of people who use a spot center.

The table shows how satisfied they are with its facilities and services.

Now, let's introduce both in one sentence.

The pie chart shows the age groups of adults surveyed at a sports centre,

while the table summarises their satisfaction with its facilities and services.

notice that the question just says the results of a survey

and we've explained what those results actually are

and express the information in our own words that's what you should do you should paraphrase the task

and don't fear

that you need a different word for everything a spot center

can stay as a spot center keep the meaning accurate

and move on

because we have a much more important decision to make what this information tells us overall

you have about 20 minutes for the whole task

and task 2 is worth twice as much towards your writing score

so don't spend too long perfecting this first sentence in your task one.

Here is our plan.

We write an introduction, an overview and then two body paragraphs.

In this answer one body paragraph will describe the pie chart and the other the table,

the simplest possible structure.

And your complete answer needs to be at least 150 words long

and the body paragraphs give you space to explain the details.

But before those details we need to give the reader a general picture of what the information means and that's your overview.

And depending on the task you summarize the main trends, differences or stages.

Here we want to explain what we've learned about the users and their satisfaction with the center.

And it's easy to underestimate this part.

You might concentrate on getting every number right and every sentence right, but without a clear overview,

you're still missing an important requirement for a high score.

Let me show you what that is.

It, or your answer, presents a clear overview.

The data are appropriately categorized and the main trends or differences are identified.

You see, you need that clear overview.

And that comes from task achievement which assesses how well you answer the task.

And it's one of four criteria examiners use and will look at the others as we write.

So let's work out what our overview should say.

First of all, look at the pie chart.

Do you see how much of it are occupied by two younger age groups?

Together they take up most of it, don't they?

The older groups have much smaller shares, so we can already say that most users are younger adults.

If we check the figures,

we see that 42 % are aged 18 to 24 and another 27 % are aged 25 to 35.

So, together, if we add the two numbers together,

that's 69 % or over two -thirds of users under 35.

Now, look at the table.

We need to cover these two.

And if you find tables a bit difficult to read, start with the headings.

We have very satisfied, Fairly satisfied or like moderately reasonably satisfied and not satisfied, very unhappy.

Look down the first column.

In every row, the largest percentage is here and are very satisfied.

Then we have another group who are fairly satisfied.

So most people are satisfied.

All the dissatisfied users are in the last column and the figures there range from zero,

like zero unhappy customers, to 21%.

So most people are satisfied with every aspect of the center, right?

And now we can add the main differences.

Staff receive particularly good ratings, 94 % are very satisfied.

The most dissatisfaction is with changing facilities and the range of fitness classes.

So we're interpreting the information here and that's something you should do.

Saying that satisfaction is high is supported by our table.

At the same time saying that the changing facilities are too small

or maybe too dirty would be a guess

because the table doesn't tell us why people are dissatisfied so don't add that extra information.

Okay let's write our overview.

Overall younger adults make up the majority of users

and satisfaction with the center was generally high staff helpfulness received the highest ratings

while changing facilities and the range of fitness classes attracted the most dissatisfaction.

We already used while in the introduction, so here we could say whereas.

Anyways, we've explained the overall picture and the main differences in two sentences.

The individual percentages can come in the body paragraphs.

And now you might think we just need to list those percentages and we're done.

But how you select and present them matters to your score.

So let me show you how to write a strong first body paragraph.

Quite often I see answers where students try to report all the numbers without missing any information.

And in this case, the body paragraph would sound like this.

The percentage of users aged 18 to 24 was 42%.

The percentage aged 25 to 34 was 27.

Those aged 35 to 44 and so on.

Every figure is correct, but we haven't explained what these numbers tell us.

And this is a common mistake in Task 1.

Reporting accurate figures matters, but you need to select and highlight the key features.

For a band 8, you need to show that key features are skillfully selected and clearly presented,

highlighted or illustrated.

Let me show you what this means in simple terms.

I call this approach describe then support.

So you make a point about the information and then you use figures to support it.

So my point is over two -thirds of users

or the majority of users were under 35

and now we support it with 18 to 24 year olds forming the largest group at 42%.

Again, we don't just say 42%, we say this is the largest group.

So, we immediately know that younger adults make up most of the users.

We can compare that with the older groups.

By comparison, people aged 35 to 44 accounted for 17%.

100

Those aged 45 and over represented just 14 % together with the oldest group aged 55

101

and over making up the smallest share at 6%.

102

Notice what we've done with the last two groups.

103

So 8 % and 6 % together make up 14%, so we've grouped them.

104

And then we've pointed out that the oldest group is the smallest.

105

We haven't reported every percentage separately, but the main differences are clear.

106

And that's what I want you to practice.

107

Decide what you want to tell the reader, then choose the figures that help you explain it.

108

There is another requirement we can demonstrate in this paragraph.

109

Your vocabulary.

110

The resource is sufficient to allow some flexibility and precision.

111

So that's a band 7 requirement.

112

The examiner wants to see you can express your meaning accurately and use some variety.

113

And in our answer, the expressions like forming the largest group, accounted for, represented, making up the smallest share,

114

they all help us describe the proportions without repeating exactly the same wording in every sentence.

115

So that's flexibility.

116

But be careful about changing words.

117

For example, in our task we're describing sports center users.

118

Calling them athletes would change the meaning because we don't know if they're all athletes. Be careful.

119

A more impressive sounding word can actually make your answer less accurate.

120

If you've been watching the video so far thinking, I understand everything when I see it, but I'm not sure I could write like this myself.

121

Well, this is a skill and you can learn it.

122

I can walk you through every step.

123

How to analyze each task.

124

How to choose the key features.

125

We used a simple plan and just a few questions to do that.

126

And how to turn all this into a clear answer.

127

In my IELTS academic pack we cover the whole process step by step, task by task, which isn't possible here on YouTube.

128

And you can learn how to write answers that get a higher score.

129

I'll link it below if you'd like to have a look.

130

And right now we're not gonna look at the second body paragraph to save some time

131

because I would really like to show you our next task, the maps.

132

The way you approach this one is slightly different

133

and I want to show you what to pay your attention to to get a high score.

134

So we need to describe changes to a place

135

and I'm going to show you some useful structures to help you with that.

136

We have a college cafe.

137

Before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

138

And overall for our answer we can use the same structure.

139

An introduction, an overview and two body paragraphs.

140

There are different ways to organize those body paragraphs

141

and to be honest any of them can work as long as your description is logical and easy to follow.

142

In my answer I'm going to describe the original cafe in the first paragraph

143

and then focus on the changes in the second

144

and in this video i want to show you that second paragraph the changes

145

so have a look at the maps can you see on the first one two staff dining rooms

146

now one is a takeaway food area

147

and the other is a coffee bar someone could write there is a takeaway food area

148

and a coffee bar but that doesn't tell us what happened to the rooms

149

that were there before

150

so here is how we can show the change the two

151

staff dining rooms have since been converted into a takeaway food area

152

and a coffee bar converted into means changed for a different use.

153

And we told the reader what was there before and what it has become.

154

The sentence also gives us a useful grammatical structure.

155

Let me show you our third assessment criterion, grammatical range and accuracy.

156

It reads, a variety of complex structures is used with some flexibility

157

and accuracy and this applies to every task one you need some variety in your sentences

158

while keeping control of your grammar the rooms have been converted so we're using the passive voice

159

that's present perfect passive we're interested in what happened to the rooms not in who carried out the work.

160

The builders converted or have converted the rooms.

161

The rooms have been converted.

162

Now let's describe the next changes.

163

The original serving area now provides hot meals, while a salad bar has been added along the left -hand wall.

164

So we've connected two pieces of information to clauses with while so we have one complex sentence the first part describes

165

what the serving area provides

166

and the second describes a new addition remember the examiner assesses

167

accuracy as well as range next recycling bins have replaced the original bin on the opposite side.

168

And now two new doors lead to an outdoor sitting area with a barbecue at its left hand end.

169

So we've described the changes and given enough information for the reader to locate them.

170

And we have a mixture of sentence structures which is great for your grammatical range and accuracy score.

171

Now let's look at the diagram.

172

This time we're going to describe a process.

173

And again there are a couple of features

174

which are specific to this task

175

and I'm going to show you what to pay your attention to to get a high score.

176

Here is our task.

177

This diagram shows how a rain shadow desert forms.

178

If you haven't heard of this before, that's expected.

179

You don't need any knowledge about the task, let's just follow the arrows together.

180

The information is all there.

181

So we start with winds coming from the sea, the air moves up the mountain, clouds form and rain falls.

182

And then the air continues over the mountain and reaches the inland area where we see the desert.

183

So no rain left.

184

For my body paragraphs I'm going to divide the process into two parts.

185

What happens before the peak and what happens after the peak.

186

And that gives each paragraph a clear topic and helps the examiner follow the process.

187

So let me show you the first paragraph.

188

Remember, your complete answer needs to be at least 150 words.

189

And that may be a bit of a difficulty with diagrams.

190

If you just write short sentences describing the labels, your answer may be too short.

191

You need to develop them into slightly longer, fuller sentences explaining how the stages connect.

192

And this brings us to the fourth criterion, it's called coherence and cohesion.

193

Basically, how logically your answer is organized and how easy it is to follow.

194

And read this requirement.

195

Information and ideas are logically organized and there is a clear progression throughout the response.

196

So the examiner should be able to follow your description easily.

197

And it starts with putting the information in the logical order.

198

We do this by dividing the process into two parts and also by describing the stages in order.

199

So let's connect the stages within our first paragraph.

200

The process begins when winds carry moist air from the sea towards the coast.

201

So, we've established where the process starts.

202

The next stage.

203

As this air reaches the mountain, it's forced upwards along the windward slope.

204

And windward is the side facing the wind, as you can see on the image.

205

And notice how this sentence connects to the previous one.

206

This air.

207

We know it's the moist air we've just mentioned.

208

And it refers to the same air.

209

These are references.

210

These small connections help the writing flow.

211

And you don't need to begin every sentence with first, next and then, which would be a bit too repetitive.

212

Okay let's have a look at the next sentence.

213

The rising air gradually cools and clouds begin to form above this side of the mountain.

214

Ok, let's move on.

215

Rain then falls from these clouds, so the air loses moisture before reaching the peak.

216

So, then shows there is a next stage and we can actually put it inside the sentence.

217

Rain then falls or we could say then rain falls

218

and again we use these clouds and

219

so to show the result that's how we link all our ideas our stages together

220

and that's exactly what makes the description easy to follow

221

and the examiner will be paying attention to

222

that in the second body paragraph we would continue over the peak and describe what happens on the other side.

223

All the assessment criteria we looked at today apply to every task 1 answer

224

and in my IELTS academic pack you can learn how to meet each requirement and achieve a higher score.

225

These are the courses that helped so many of our students get a 7

226

or 7 .5 in writing and finally pass their test.

227

Check them out, I'll link them below.

228

And if you'd like to try a full lesson,

229

watch this video on how to write a perfect introduction for every type of academic writing task 1.

230

Thank you so much for watching me today.

231

Good luck with your preparation and your exam.

Download App

Everything you need to speak fluently

AI PronunciationScore every sentence

IPA PracticeMaster every sound

VocabularyBuild your word bank

Vocab GameLearn while playing

Scan QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Same Channel

FOR YOU

Recommend Video

155 sentences

IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay - Paragraph Length

IELTS PrepUniversity Students

36 sentences

IELTS Speaking Part 1: Music, Reading and Daily Routine

IELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

249 sentences

How To Get Band 9 in IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic [+ Free Task 1 PDF]

IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

621 sentences

The ONLY IELTS Writing Task 2 Strategy You Need

IELTS PrepUniversity Students

245 sentences

How This One Simple Method Helped Me Get Band 9 Twice in IELTS Reading

IELTS PrepUniversity Students

67 sentences

IELTS Part 3 Questions and Answers about Globalization

IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

307 sentences

Revision note - IELTS Listening practice Test 2022 With answers | IELTS Listening

IELTS PrepUniversity Students

219 sentences

The 7 Mistakes Locking Your IELTS Score at a Band 6.0

IELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

200 sentences

✪ IELTS Speaking Task 2 Band 9: TOP 10 Common Ielts Speaking Topics in Exam SECTION 3

IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepHigh School Students

182 sentences

15 Advanced Synonyms for IELTS Essays

IELTS PrepUniversity Students

71 sentences

IELTS Speaking Part 2&3: Food and Cooking | Band 7+ Sample Answers with Advanced Vocabulary

IELTS PrepUniversity Students

232 sentences

IELTS Speaking Band 8.5 (Temurbek Akbaraliyev)

IELTS PrepUniversity Students

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “2027 Guide to IELTS Academic Writing Task 1”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: task, paragraph, answer, sentence, write. This video has 231 sentences and 2590 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:46. The speaker talks at a steady 119 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
paragraph noun	/ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/	A passage in text that starts on a new line, the first line sometimes being indented, and usually marks a change of topic.
satisfy verb	/ˈsætɪsfaɪ/	To be enough (for)
overview noun	/ˈoʊ.vɚˌvjuː/	A brief summary, as of a book or a presentation.
examiner noun	/əɡˈzæmɪnɚ/	A person who investigates someone or something.
percentage noun	/pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/	The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole.
convert verb	/kənˈvɝt/	To transform or change (something) into another form, substance, state, or product.
chart noun	/t͡ʃɑɹt/	A map illustrating the geography of a specific phenomenon.
requirement noun	/ɹɪˈkwaɪɹmənt/	A necessity or prerequisite; something required or obligatory. Its adpositions are generally of in relation to who or what has given it, on in relation to whom…
cloud noun	/ˈklaʊ̯d/	A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air.
connect verb	/kəˈnɛkt/	To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
reader noun	/ˈɹi.dɚ/	A person who reads.
accuracy noun	/ˈæk.jɚ.ə.si/	The state of being accurate; being free from error; exactness; correctness
satisfaction noun	/sætɪsˈfækʃən/	A fulfilment of a need or desire.
diagram noun	/ˈdaɪ.ə.ɡɹæm/	A plan, drawing, sketch or outline to show the function or operation of something, or to show the relationships between the parts of a whole.
select verb	/sɪˈlɛkt/	To choose one or more elements of a set, especially a set of options.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
make up verb	/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/	To constitute, to compose.
carry out verb	/ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/	To hold while moving it out.
look down verb		To lower one's eyes; to direct one's look downwards.
move up verb		To promote, put onto a higher level.
point out verb		To identify among a group of similar subjects, or in a scene where the subject might not be readily seen or noticed, with a gesture of the body.
take up verb		To pick up.
work out verb	/ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/	To calculate.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Together they take up most of it, don't they?
Notice what we've done with the last two groups.
This time we're going to describe a process.
If you haven't heard of this before, that's expected.
We know it's the moist air we've just mentioned.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've taken · we've explained · we've learned
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are appropriately categorized · are occupied · is supported
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	people who use · structures which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 46 contractions and reduced forms, such as we've, don't, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, sufficient /səˈfɪʃənt/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: examiner /əɡˈzæmɪnɚ/, accuracy /ˈæk.jɚ.ə.si/, satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/, flexibility /ˌflɛksɪˈbɪlɪti/, difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like paragraph, satisfy, overview.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 2027 Guide to IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Download App

How to start your IELTS preparation [for beginners]

ChatGPT vs. IELTS Examiner: Writing

3 IELTS Listening Techniques to Understand EVERYTHING

Get Better at IELTS Reading in 13 Minutes

Band 9 IELTS Speaking SAMPLE ANSWERS | HOME

IELTS Speaking Part 3 | Questions & Answers

IELTS Speaking Part 1 SAMPLE ANSWERS | Hometown

IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay - Paragraph Length

IELTS Speaking Part 1: Music, Reading and Daily Routine

How To Get Band 9 in IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic [+ Free Task 1 PDF]

The ONLY IELTS Writing Task 2 Strategy You Need

How This One Simple Method Helped Me Get Band 9 Twice in IELTS Reading

IELTS Part 3 Questions and Answers about Globalization

Revision note - IELTS Listening practice Test 2022 With answers | IELTS Listening

The 7 Mistakes Locking Your IELTS Score at a Band 6.0

✪ IELTS Speaking Task 2 Band 9: TOP 10 Common Ielts Speaking Topics in Exam SECTION 3

15 Advanced Synonyms for IELTS Essays

IELTS Speaking Part 2&3: Food and Cooking | Band 7+ Sample Answers with Advanced Vocabulary

IELTS Speaking Band 8.5 (Temurbek Akbaraliyev)

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?