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IELTS Writing Task 1 Learning Lab: Table

Version 2: practise describing a table with multiple categories, contrasting cities, and different levels of participation.

What is expected?

For IELTS Task 1 tables, you must identify patterns across rows and columns. Focus on strong contrasts, highest and lowest values, and meaningful groupings instead of reporting every cell.

Intro
Paraphrase the task and mention what the table compares.
Overview
Summarise the main pattern, especially highest/lowest categories and broad differences.
Body
Compare data across rows and columns using selected figures.
Avoid
Do not explain causes or add opinions. Describe only the table.

Writing structure

Paragraph 1: Introduction — what the table shows.
Paragraph 2: Overview — main contrasts and extremes.
Paragraph 3: Body 1 — strongest/highest categories.
Paragraph 4: Body 2 — lower categories and remaining comparisons.
Useful language: the largest share, the smallest proportion, considerably higher, by contrast, followed by, stood at, respectively.

Guided example

Example: Internet use by age group
Percentage of people, 2026
Age groupEmailSocial mediaOnline shopping
18–2572%88%60%
26–4080%76%68%
41–6066%45%52%

Model structure

Introduction: The table compares the percentage of people in three age groups using the internet for email, social media and online shopping in 2026.

Overview: Overall, social media was most popular among the youngest group, while email was highest among people aged 26–40. The oldest group recorded lower figures for all three activities.

Body 1: Among 18–25-year-olds, social media had the highest figure at 88%, compared with 72% for email.

Body 2: In contrast, the 41–60 group showed lower participation, particularly in social media, at 45%.

Practice table

Task: The table below shows the percentage of residents in four cities who used three public services in 2026.

Use of public services by city
Percentage of residents, 2026
CityPublic transportPublic libraryHealth clinic
Muscat68%42%55%
Sohar54%38%61%
Nizwa47%49%44%
Sur39%31%52%
Word count: 0

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