What the examiner is really doing
When you get your Academic Task 1 score, it can feel like one big mystery. But the examiner is not judging your whole report at once. They are quietly asking four simple questions about it. Each question gives one score. The first one is different from Task 2, and it is where most people lose marks. Learn the four questions and you will know exactly what to fix.
The 4 questions behind your score
01Task Achievement: Did you summarise the main features and give a clear overview?
02Coherence and Cohesion: Is your report easy to follow?
03Lexical Resource: Did you use the right chart and data words?
04Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Are your sentences varied and correct?
See the difference in one line
The overview (Task Achievement)
✕The graph shows sales in 2010 were 20, in 2011 were 35, and in 2012 were 50.
✓Overall, sales rose steadily across the whole period, while costs stayed flat.
The first line just starts listing numbers with no big picture. The second names the main pattern in one sentence and uses no specific numbers. That is a real overview, and it is the single most important thing in Task 1.
Group, do not list (Task Achievement)
✕France was 40%, Spain was 38%, Italy was 12%, and Greece was 10%.
✓France and Spain had similar large shares, while Italy and Greece were far smaller.
Reading every number one by one is the most common data mistake. The second line groups the similar items and makes a comparison. That is the skill the examiner rewards.
The right data word (Lexical Resource)
✕The number of visitors went up a lot and then went down a bit.
✓The number of visitors rose sharply, then fell slightly.
Both are correct English. But rose sharply and fell slightly are precise trend words, while went up a lot is vague and basic. Precise data vocabulary is what lifts this score.
Your weakest score sets your band
Here is the key. Your overall band is the average of the four scores, rounded to the nearest half. So your weakest score pulls the whole band down, no matter how strong the other three are. For most people in Task 1, the weak one is Task Achievement, because they described the numbers but forgot the overview. Do not keep polishing what you are already good at. Find your lowest of the four and work on that one. That is the fastest way to raise your band.
Read next
Keep going with the series: 6 Task 1 myths that lower your score.
See your four scores clearly
VoyaLang scores your Task 1 report on all four questions and shows you which one is holding you back, with a corrected version you can learn from. Write one report and find out if your overview is doing its job. Create a free account and check your next one in about a minute.
