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Verbs and tenses can be really helpful for your Writing Task 1 as long as you know the rules. The tenses you use are usually determined by the information or dates in the diagram. If you see any dates you should check if the dates are in the past, present or future.

The simple guideline to use the appropriate tenses includes using the present tense for present dates or when no dates are mentioned, using the past tense for any dates in the past and using the future tense for any dates in the future.

Use present simple tense to write about the introduction of the graph and processes or when you are directly writing about any diagram. For instance, what the diagram shows, describes or compares: ‘The diagram shows….’ or, ‘The process describes…… ’.

Use present simple tense to write about the introduction of the graph and processes or when you are directly writing about any diagram. For instance, what the diagram shows, describes or compares: ‘The diagram shows….’ or, ‘The process describes…… ’.

Use past simple tense to write about past years. For instance, to write about 1990 to 2020: ‘The trends for download rates of both the computer packages were very similar’.

Use the past perfect tense to write about what happened before and up to a time in the past. For instance, ‘By 2009, the food prices had more than doubled’.

Use the future tense to write about future. Future simple tense is used to write about what will happen in the future. For instance, ‘The oil production will increase significantly in the next two years’.

Use the future perfect tense to write about what will be completed by a particular time in the future. For instance, ‘The number of women in full- time employment will have reached almost a million by 2023’.

Use passive voice to write about process diagrams, maps or to make predictions. We use passive voice when the focus in on the action rather than the one performing the action.

For instance, use passive voice to make predictions: ‘The number of people that own a private vehicle is predicted to increase….. ’

Use passive voice to write about processes. For instance, ‘The clay is dug up from the ground’.

You can simply compare the tenses that you use in your Writing Task 1 with the above tenses and work on making improvements. Remember! Practice is the key!