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Task 1 - body paragraphs

It is necessary to group the information in task. Putting the groups in separate paragraphs helps a lot. To see how to group the information, go to the grouping page.

Topic sentence

What is a topic sentence?

The topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a body paragraph which lets the reader know what the main idea of that paragraph is.

Why do I need a topic sentence?

It helps the reader smoothly follow your report. It lets the examiner how how you have grouped the information.

How do I write a clear topic sentence?

Task 1 reports are not long, so I recommend using one of the following stems to start your body paragraphs.

Body 1

Starting with .. (group), ... (start describing your first main feature)
Beginning with (group),... (start describing your first main feature)
To begin with (group), .... (start describing your first main feature)
First, let's start with (group). (start describing your first main feature)

Body 2

Moving on to ... (group), ... (start describing your first main feature)
Turning to ... (group), ... (start describing your first main feature)
Regarding .. (group), ... (start describing your first main feature)
Now, let's turn to (group). (start describing your first main feature)

Examples:

Data tasks

Dynamic:

Body 1: Starting with the increasing trends, .......

Body 2: Moving on to those which decreased, ......

Body 1: First, let's look at the first half of the year.

Body 2: Regarding the last six months, ......

Static:

Body 1: Beginning with the more popular sports, ......

Body 2: Turning to those with fewer participants, .....

Body 1: Starting with the jobs where more women were employed, ......

Body 2: Moving on to positions with mostly men, ....

Maps

Body 1: Starting with the part of the town east of the river, ....

Body 2: Moving on to the western part of the town, .....

Body 1: First, let's look at the changes which in the north of the map.

Body 2: Regarding the south of the area, .....

Processes

Body 1: Starting with the first half of the process, ...

Body 2: Turning to the remaining stages, .....

Body 1: First, let's look at the stages before the bricks are heated.

Body 2: Moving on to what happens now that the bricks are finished, ...

Organising information within the body paragraphs

Why do I need to think about organising the information?

It is important for your coherence and cohesion score. It makes it easy for the reader to follow your report.

How should I organise the paragraph?

I advise focusing on the main features first and then briefly looking at other aspects.

Data tasks:

Body 1: increasing trends

Starting with the increasing trends, the most significant growth occurred in ....... While ..... was highest at the beginning, it had the smallest rise ......... (subject) and (subject) also saw improvements ....

Body 2: decreasing trends

Moving on to those which decreased, ..the most dramatic drop can be seen for ..... Only a slight decline happened for...... There were falls in ...... as well.

Static tasks:

Beginning with the more popular sports, the one with greatest number of players was ....... Anther sport which was well liked was ......... There were quite a lot of people doing ...... as well.

Turning to those with fewer participants, very few people enjoyed ...... While they had more players, (subject) + (subject) also had lower than average figures.

Maps

I advise starting from one side and moving across or down/up.

Starting with the part of the town east of the river, there were... in the far east. To the left of those changes, ....... Between that and the river ........

Moving on to the western part of the town, furthest away from the river .... Next to that ...... Besides the river .....

Processes

You just need to follow the sequence of the processes. Look at the describing processes page.