IELTS · Artículos · 19 de octubre de 2026 · 6 min de lectura
IELTS Writing Task 1: gráficos, cartas y ejemplos de respuesta
Writing Task 1 pide al menos 150 palabras en unos 20 minutos. En Academic describes un gráfico, una tabla, un mapa o un proceso. En General Training escribes una carta. Task 1 es un tercio de tu nota de Writing y Task 2 dos tercios, así que dedicar más de 20 minutos a Task 1 no compensa.
Cuatro párrafos para un gráfico
Esta estructura sirve para gráficos de líneas, de barras, de sectores y tablas. No hace falta tu opinión ni explicar por qué cambian los datos: el examinador espera una descripción.
| Párrafo | Qué escribir | Cómo puede empezar |
|---|---|---|
| Introducción | Una frase: qué muestra el gráfico, dónde y en qué periodo. Parafrasea el enunciado; no lo copies | The line graph illustrates how many… |
| Visión general (overview) | Dos o tres ideas principales sin cifras pequeñas: la tendencia general, el máximo y el mínimo, dónde se cruzan las líneas. Es el párrafo más importante para la nota | Overall, …, while … |
| Detalles 1 | El primer grupo de datos con cifras: un país, una línea o el año inicial | In 1990, Country A had the highest… |
| Detalles 2 | El segundo grupo, comparado con el primero. Cifras seleccionadas para mostrar lo importante | Country C, by contrast, … |
Ejemplo: coches en tres países
Enunciado: «The line graph below shows the number of cars per 1,000 people in three countries between 1990 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.»
Los datos (coches por cada 1.000 habitantes):
| País | 1990 | 2005 | 2010 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country A | 420 | — | 520 (máximo) | 480 |
| Country B | 180 | — | — | 490 |
| Country C | 40 | 110 | — | 350 |
La respuesta (187 palabras):
Introducción. The line graph illustrates how many cars there were for every 1,000 people in three countries over a 35-year period, from 1990 to 2025.
Visión general. Overall, car ownership was higher at the end of the period than at the start in all three countries, but the patterns were very different. Country A levelled off and then declined, Country B grew so steadily that it finished slightly ahead of Country A, and Country C saw by far the fastest relative growth.
Detalles 1. In 1990, Country A had the highest rate, at 420 cars per 1,000 people. This figure rose to a peak of 520 in 2010, after which it fell gradually to 480 in 2025. Country B, by contrast, started at only 180 but climbed consistently throughout the period, reaching 490 by 2025 and overtaking Country A in the final year.
Detalles 2. Country C had the lowest level of car ownership in every year shown. Its figure was just 40 in 1990 and increased slowly at first, to 110 in 2005. After this, however, growth accelerated sharply, and by 2025 the number had reached 350, almost nine times the 1990 level.
Fíjate en que la visión general no tiene ninguna cifra, y en los detalles los números no se enumeran uno tras otro: se agrupan y se comparan.
Visión general para otros tipos de gráfico
- Gráfico de barras: busca los valores más altos y más bajos y cómo cambiaron. Overall, the car and the bus became less popular over the 20 years, while the metro and cycling gained ground.
- Gráficos de sectores: fíjate en las proporciones y en cuál pasó a ser la mayor. Overall, landfill went from being by far the main destination for household rubbish to only the second most common, as recycling became the leading method.
- Tabla: compara las filas y elige los extremos. Overall, internet speeds rose in all five countries, and Country E remained the slowest throughout.
Vocabulario para subidas, bajadas y comparaciones
| Para describir | Palabras y estructuras |
|---|---|
| Una subida | rise, increase, grow, climb; a rise in, an increase of 20% |
| Una bajada | fall, decrease, decline, drop; a fall from 60 to 45 |
| Máximos y mínimos | peak at, reach a peak of, hit a low of |
| Sin cambios | remain stable, stay at around, level off, fluctuate between 20 and 25 |
| Velocidad del cambio | sharply, dramatically, steadily, gradually, slightly |
| Comparación | twice as many as, the highest, followed by, compared with, whereas, by contrast |
| Proporciones | a quarter, just under half, the largest share, accounted for 41%, made up a third |
| Aproximación | about, around, roughly, just over, just under, nearly |
No repitas la misma palabra en cada frase: alterna verbo y sustantivo («rose sharply» y «a sharp rise»). Se nota en Lexical Resource.
Procesos y mapas
- Proceso: describe las fases en orden, casi siempre en pasiva: the leaves are collected, then they are dried. Para unir las fases: first, next, after that, once, finally. En la visión general, cuántas fases hay y cómo empieza y termina el proceso.
- Mapa: normalmente, dos mapas del mismo lugar en años distintos. Describe qué se construyó, se eliminó o se transformó: was replaced by, was converted into, was extended, to the north of. En la visión general, los cambios principales.
La carta de General Training: tono y ejemplo
A quién escribes decide el saludo, la despedida y si se pueden usar contracciones.
| Tono | A quién | Inicio y cierre |
|---|---|---|
| Formal | Una empresa, una administración, alguien desconocido | Dear Sir or Madam, … Yours faithfully; sin contracciones como I’m |
| Semiformal | Alguien a quien conoces por el apellido: un jefe, un casero, un vecino | Dear Mr Brown, … Yours sincerely o Kind regards |
| Informal | Un amigo o un familiar | Dear Sam, … Best wishes; las contracciones están bien |
Enunciado: «You recently stayed at a hotel and were not happy with your stay. Write a letter to the hotel manager. In your letter: give details of your stay, explain what was wrong, say what you would like the manager to do.» Ejemplo de 169 palabras sin saludo ni firma:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to express my disappointment with my recent stay at your hotel, where I spent three nights, from 14 to 17 September, in a double room booked through your website.
Unfortunately, there were several problems during my visit. Firstly, although I had asked for a quiet room, I was given one directly above the hotel bar, and loud music continued until well after midnight every evening. Secondly, the air conditioning did not work properly, so the room was uncomfortably hot, despite two complaints to reception. Finally, breakfast, which was included in the price, had run out of most hot dishes by 8.30 each morning.
As a result, I did not get the relaxing break I had paid for. I would therefore be grateful if you could refund the cost of one night or offer me a discount on a future stay. I would also appreciate an explanation of the steps you will take to prevent these problems for other guests.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully, Alex Taylor
Errores frecuentes
- Sin visión general, o explicando causas que no aparecen en el gráfico. Sin overview, Task Achievement suele quedarse como mucho en un 5.
- Una lista de cifras sin agrupar ni comparar, lo que perjudica Coherence and Cohesion.
- Copiar la primera frase del enunciado. Las palabras copiadas no cuentan para el total y no muestran tu vocabulario.
- Mezclar tiempos verbales. Pasado para los años pasados; will o is expected to para las previsiones.
- Una carta que olvida uno de los tres puntos, o con un tono que no encaja con quien la recibe.
Los cuatro criterios en detalle están en criterios de evaluación del IELTS.