WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.270 Teachers often tell their students that 00:00:03.270 --> 00:00:05.670 introductions are very important because it's 00:00:05.670 --> 00:00:06.480 the first 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.660 thing the examiner will read. And indeed, they 00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:11.800 are important, but they don't have to 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:14.730 be complicated. In this video, we're going to 00:00:14.730 --> 00:00:16.620 look at a simple structure for writing 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:19.400 task 1 introductions. Coming up. 00:00:24.400 --> 00:00:28.080 Welcome, my name is Eli and today we're looking 00:00:28.080 --> 00:00:31.800 at how to write a task 1 introduction. Let's 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:35.950 have a look at the slides. Okay, so here we have 00:00:35.950 --> 00:00:39.360 a typical task 1. It says, "The graph 00:00:39.360 --> 00:00:43.180 below shows the favourite sport of people from 00:00:43.180 --> 00:00:47.640 the US between 1985 and 2015." So we 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:52.410 have 5 different categories. American football, 00:00:52.410 --> 00:00:56.920 baseball, basketball, hockey, and other sports. 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:01.100 Now, when we write the introduction, we need to 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:04.560 look at the rubric, which is here at the 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:10.270 top. So, our introduction should do 3 things. We 00:01:10.270 --> 00:01:14.880 should use different words, these are synonyms. 00:01:14.880 --> 00:01:18.750 We should use different grammatical structures, 00:01:18.750 --> 00:01:21.630 if possible, and we should change the 00:01:21.630 --> 00:01:22.640 description 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:27.410 of the time period. Let's have a look at a 00:01:27.410 --> 00:01:32.600 sample introduction from one of our students. 00:01:32.600 --> 00:01:35.920 The introduction says, "The line graph gives a 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:39.000 comparison of the favourite sport of US 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:44.970 citizens from 1985 to 2015." This is a simple 00:01:44.970 --> 00:01:48.800 but effective introduction. Now, let's have 00:01:48.800 --> 00:01:52.180 a look at the changes that they've made. Well, 00:01:52.180 --> 00:01:57.520 the rubric says, "The graph below." And in 00:01:57.520 --> 00:02:01.380 the student's introduction, they have said, "The 00:02:01.380 --> 00:02:03.880 line graph." So, a small change, but 00:02:03.880 --> 00:02:08.180 an effective change to show their own writing. 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:13.720 In the rubric, it says, "The graph below shows." 00:02:13.720 --> 00:02:17.920 And in this introduction, it says, "The line 00:02:17.920 --> 00:02:22.080 graph gives a comparison." So, again, a small 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:27.740 change in the words used. Here, another change, 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:31.280 "People from the US has been changed to US 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:37.180 citizens and between 1985 and 2015," which is 00:02:37.180 --> 00:02:41.240 the time period, "has been changed to from 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:46.660 1985 to 2015." Now, this is an ideal 00:02:46.660 --> 00:02:50.730 introduction. It's short and it makes the 00:02:50.730 --> 00:02:52.520 necessary changes 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:56.150 to the rubric. Remember, you do not need to 00:02:56.150 --> 00:02:59.920 spend a long time on a task 1 introduction. 00:02:59.920 --> 00:03:03.070 It should be very brief, one to two sentences. 00:03:03.070 --> 00:03:06.120 You need to write it, but the important thing 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:09.880 is that you move on quickly to writing your 00:03:09.880 --> 00:03:13.860 overview and your main body paragraphs. Some 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:17.280 teachers tell their students that you need to 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:20.660 write what is in the X and Y axis. However, 00:03:20.660 --> 00:03:24.420 this is not true. You do not need to write the Y 00:03:24.420 --> 00:03:27.480 axis shows the percentage of people, 00:03:27.480 --> 00:03:31.510 the X axis shows the year. This student's 00:03:31.510 --> 00:03:34.160 introduction is all that you need to write, 00:03:34.160 --> 00:03:37.460 one sentence, and then plenty of time for the 00:03:37.460 --> 00:03:40.120 overview and body paragraphs. Let's have 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:44.330 a look at another example. So, this time we have 00:03:44.330 --> 00:03:48.480 a bar graph. This is a stacked bar graph 00:03:48.480 --> 00:03:52.180 and it shows the different stores that are in a 00:03:52.180 --> 00:03:55.520 shopping center or shopping centers in 00:03:55.520 --> 00:04:02.000 a European city between 2000 and 2015. Let's 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.720 have a look. So, we have the rubric and we 00:04:05.720 --> 00:04:08.320 know we need to do three things. Use different 00:04:08.320 --> 00:04:11.020 words, use different grammatical structures 00:04:11.020 --> 00:04:14.010 if possible, and change the description of the 00:04:14.010 --> 00:04:16.800 time period. Let's have a look at another 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:21.570 student answer. The bar graph shows the quantity 00:04:21.570 --> 00:04:24.440 of stores in shopping centers in a European 00:04:24.440 --> 00:04:31.530 city from 2000 to 2015. Again, small changes but 00:04:31.530 --> 00:04:35.600 effective. The rubric has the chart and 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:40.250 the student has written the bar graph. One good 00:04:40.250 --> 00:04:43.640 tip is to, at the very beginning, to 00:04:43.640 --> 00:04:47.510 explain what kind of graphic it is. Usually in 00:04:47.510 --> 00:04:50.600 the IELTS rubric it will say the graph 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:54.200 or the chart. In order to change this, you can 00:04:54.200 --> 00:04:57.400 specify what kind of graphic it is. So, 00:04:57.400 --> 00:05:00.130 this student has said the bar graph, but you 00:05:00.130 --> 00:05:02.760 could also say the stacked bar graph or the 00:05:02.760 --> 00:05:07.710 bar chart or stacked bar chart. These are all 00:05:07.710 --> 00:05:09.960 acceptable. What other changes has the 00:05:09.960 --> 00:05:14.210 student made? Well, in the rubric it says gives 00:05:14.210 --> 00:05:17.120 information and this student has written 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:23.070 shows. So, they've changed the verb. Again, here 00:05:23.070 --> 00:05:27.080 it says about the number of stores and 00:05:27.080 --> 00:05:31.380 the student has written the quantity of stores. 00:05:31.380 --> 00:05:35.240 And finally, this student has also changed 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:39.520 the description of the time period. In the rub 00:05:39.520 --> 00:05:44.920 ric it says between 2000 and 2015 and the 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:49.550 student has written from 2000 to 2015. Again, 00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:52.560 these small changes mean that you can write 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:56.500 your own introduction quickly and efficiently, 00:05:56.500 --> 00:05:59.760 giving you more time for the overview and 00:05:59.760 --> 00:06:03.520 the body paragraphs of your answer. Let's have a 00:06:03.520 --> 00:06:05.440 look at another example. Here's the 00:06:05.440 --> 00:06:08.480 rubric. The table below shows the number of 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:11.940 students who went abroad for further education. 00:06:11.940 --> 00:06:15.050 That means studying in a foreign, an 00:06:15.050 --> 00:06:18.960 undergraduate degree or a master's degree in a 00:06:18.960 --> 00:06:20.760 foreign university 00:06:20.760 --> 00:06:25.840 from eight countries in 2005 and 2015 and the 00:06:25.840 --> 00:06:31.000 percentage change between 2005 and 2015. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.420 Now, our introduction again should do three 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:36.000 things, use different words, use different 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:38.460 grammatical structures and change the 00:06:38.460 --> 00:06:40.960 description of the time period. Let's have a 00:06:40.960 --> 00:06:41.400 look at another 00:06:41.400 --> 00:06:44.610 student answer. The table presents the 00:06:44.610 --> 00:06:48.480 differences in the quantity of students studying 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:49.120 abroad 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:54.420 from eight nations in 2005 and 2015 as well as 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:57.760 the percentage difference in these two 00:06:57.760 --> 00:07:03.400 dates. So, in the rubric it says the table below 00:07:03.400 --> 00:07:06.680 shows. The student has written the table 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:11.080 presents, so they've changed the reporting verb. 00:07:11.080 --> 00:07:15.040 The number has been changed to the differences 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:19.430 in the quantity and who went has been changed to 00:07:19.430 --> 00:07:23.320 students studying abroad, so they've changed 00:07:23.320 --> 00:07:28.400 the grammar slightly. Eight countries has been 00:07:28.400 --> 00:07:32.240 changed to eight nations and has also 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:36.600 been changed to as well as. So, again, small 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:40.200 changes in word choice but an effective 00:07:40.200 --> 00:07:41.920 introduction. 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:45.330 Now here we have a process diagram which is 00:07:45.330 --> 00:07:49.440 another graphic type that can appear in Academic 00:07:49.440 --> 00:07:54.530 Task 1. This is the process of producing one 00:07:54.530 --> 00:07:57.710 bottle of wine. Let's have a look at the student 00:07:57.710 --> 00:07:57.720 's 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:03.010 introduction. Again, very short, simple, but 00:08:03.010 --> 00:08:06.840 effective. The process diagram gives the eight 00:08:06.840 --> 00:08:10.300 steps to make a single bottle of wine. So, 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:14.040 instead of saying the diagram, they've changed 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.130 it to the process diagram. Instead of saying 00:08:17.130 --> 00:08:20.160 shows, they've used a different verb. They 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:25.010 have gives and stages. They've changed to eight 00:08:25.010 --> 00:08:28.760 steps and producing has been changed 00:08:28.760 --> 00:08:33.570 to to make and finally one has been changed to a 00:08:33.570 --> 00:08:38.360 single. So, another good introduction. 00:08:38.360 --> 00:08:41.660 Now, we do need to be careful with synonyms. 00:08:41.660 --> 00:08:44.840 Have a look at this introduction. The process 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:49.100 diagram gives the eight steps to make a single 00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:53.800 bottle of alcohol. Now, alcohol is not a perfect 00:08:53.800 --> 00:08:58.020 synonym for wine. So, this student has attempted 00:08:58.020 --> 00:09:01.920 to change the word wine and they've used alcohol 00:09:01.920 --> 00:09:05.710 instead, but because these are not perfect syn 00:09:05.710 --> 00:09:10.640 onyms, there's a bit of confusion. Ultimately, 00:09:10.640 --> 00:09:14.490 it's better not to use a synonym if you're not 00:09:14.490 --> 00:09:18.440 sure if it's a perfect synonym. So, don't 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:22.730 change the word unless you're sure that the 00:09:22.730 --> 00:09:26.580 other word is a synonym. Let's look at a simple 00:09:26.580 --> 00:09:30.450 structure for writing introductions. Here, we 00:09:30.450 --> 00:09:34.000 have three parts. We have the graphic type, 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:37.100 the verb, and the description. Now, this is a 00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:39.760 simple structure that you can use in more 00:09:39.760 --> 00:09:44.030 or less any task one introduction. We start with 00:09:44.030 --> 00:09:46.160 the graphic type, which is the table, 00:09:46.160 --> 00:09:48.920 the line graph, the bar graph. You just need to 00:09:48.920 --> 00:09:51.720 identify it. We then move on to the verb, 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.680 shows, presents, gives, illustrates, and then 00:09:55.680 --> 00:09:59.160 finally the description, a comparison of the 00:09:59.160 --> 00:10:03.140 differences, the changes. And here is an example 00:10:03.140 --> 00:10:06.100 at the bottom. We can say the table, the graphic 00:10:06.100 --> 00:10:10.540 type, shows a comparison, so verb, and then 00:10:10.540 --> 00:10:13.840 description. This is a simple structure that 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:17.890 you can use in your practice and become familiar 00:10:17.890 --> 00:10:21.380 with before you go into the IELTS writing 00:10:21.380 --> 00:10:24.890 test so that you can write your answers or your 00:10:24.890 --> 00:10:27.760 introductions as quickly as possible, 00:10:27.760 --> 00:10:31.730 giving you more time for your overview and body 00:10:31.730 --> 00:10:34.400 paragraphs. Let's look at a summary of 00:10:34.400 --> 00:10:37.960 today's lesson. First of all, write the 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:41.680 introduction quickly. You want to be spending 00:10:41.680 --> 00:10:42.800 maximum three 00:10:42.800 --> 00:10:46.130 minutes on this. Ultimately, one or two minutes 00:10:46.130 --> 00:10:48.960 is much better because you do not have long 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:52.660 to write your task one answer. You should change 00:10:52.660 --> 00:10:55.640 the words, grammar, and description 00:10:55.640 --> 00:10:59.180 of the time period. Remember, sometimes it's not 00:10:59.180 --> 00:11:02.240 easy to change the grammar without changing 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.940 the meaning, so only change the grammar if 00:11:04.940 --> 00:11:07.960 possible. And again, sometimes there won't 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:10.780 be a time period, for example, with a process 00:11:10.780 --> 00:11:13.800 diagram. So ultimately, we can't change that 00:11:13.800 --> 00:11:18.720 all the time. Don't write what is on the X and Y 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:22.760 axis. This is just wasting time. If 00:11:22.760 --> 00:11:26.650 you are unsure that a word is a synonym, don't 00:11:26.650 --> 00:11:30.720 use it. It's better to be safe than sorry. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:34.890 And finally, practice writing introductions with 00:11:34.890 --> 00:11:38.280 a simple structure that you can replicate 00:11:38.280 --> 00:11:41.470 during the writing exam. So have a look at our 00:11:41.470 --> 00:11:44.000 simple structure and see if it works for 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.800 you. Good luck with your test. Bye-bye then. 00:11:46.800 --> 00:11:48.800 [END] 00:11:49.800 --> 00:11:51.800 [CLICK] 00:11:51.800 --> 00:11:53.800 able to do that.