Overviews for IELTS Writing Task 1 – Global literacy

The chart below shows the proportion of adults able to read and write in different regions of the world.

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

The chart below shows the proportion of adults able to read and write in different regions of the world.

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

Overall, male literacy was higher than that of females, at 87% and 77% respectively, North Americans and Europeans had the highest levels of literacy, and the largest gender disparity was seen in Arab nations.    

nb - If there is a global average or  total, it must be the most important information, so put it in the overview

Task Achievement, Band score 7:

You need a clear overview to get a bank score 7 for Task Achievement.

Make it easy for the examiner to give you a 7 - use the word overall, and put your overview in a separate paragraph

The overview is the first thing the examiner looks for, so don't hide it in the introduction or at the end. 

Mention at least two features.  

If there's a total or an average, as in this question, it must be the most important information, so include it in the overview.