IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 with model answer

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows the life cycle of salmon, from egg to adult fish.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 Words.

Model Answer:

The diagram illustrates stages in the life cycle of a salmon fish, from roe to maturity. The salmon spends the first half of its life in freshwater rivers before moving to an estuary and finally reaching maturity in the ocean. It returns to the river as an adult to reproduce.

Submit Task For Review ($15)

Firstly, adult salmon mate and spawn eggs in a river. The eggs are incubated in these waters til fry emerge. Salmon fry continue to inhabit the river and grow.

In the next stage of the cycle, the adolescent salmon travel to an estuary to spend a part of their life there. Following that, they then move on to the ocean where they continue developing physically  and finally become a full-fledged adult salmon.

Upon reaching adulthood, the mature salmon then begin their journey from the ocean towards the river in order to spawn in a freshwater habitat. The adult fish bypass the estuary and head directly to the river to mate and lay eggs.

Lastly, the cycle continues when salmon offspring hatch and go through the stages described above.  

Total Words: 178

Task Achievement: 9

Coherence & Cohesion: 9

Lexical resources: 9

Grammar: 9

Overall Score: Band 9

For unlimited feedback with detailed corrections for speaking and writing tasks, sign up for IELTS Twenty20 Online Course today!

Study 20 minutes a day for 20 days and Ace the IELTS exam.