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Writing Academic Task 1 Band 8.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

207 words AcademicTask 1Line Graph
Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

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Ideas to explore

  • Petroleum was the leading fuel throughout, reaching about 140 in the mid-1980s, dipping around 1990–91, then recovering to a similar level.
  • Coal had a sharp early fall, a partial rebound, and then a longer decline to about 35 by 2000.
  • Natural gas stayed near 40 for much of the 1980s, rose strongly after 1991, and ended at about 100, above coal but below petroleum.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the graph by naming the three fuels, the UK, the years and the unit.
  2. Give an overview of the overall ranking and the contrasting directions of change.
  3. Describe petroleum’s rise, dip and recovery with key dates and approximate figures.
  4. Compare coal’s decline with natural gas’s later growth, including their end values.
Useful vocabulary & examples
remain the leading source
continue to have the highest production level among the categories.

Petroleum remained the leading source throughout the period.

fall sharply
decrease quickly and substantially over a relatively short interval.

Coal production fell sharply to around 40 in 1984.

recover to approximately
rise again after a decline to reach a similar or specified level.

Petroleum recovered to approximately 140 in 1996.

overtake
become greater than another category after previously being lower.

Natural gas overtook coal in the early 1990s.

Task Prompt

The graph below shows the production levels of the main kinds of fuel in the UK between 1981 and 2000. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparison where relevant.
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 8.0

The provided illustration presents the production levels of the predominant fuel types in the UK from 1981 to 2000. The fuels depicted are coal, natural gas, and petroleum, with the X-axis denoting the years and the Y-axis representing the energy derived from one million tons of oil. Overall, natural gas production experienced a substantial rise and finished at about 100 energy units in 2000. Petroleum remained the leading source throughout, climbing from about 90 units in 1981 to around 140 in 1985. It then fell to roughly 100 by 1990, before recovering to about 140 in 1996 and ending slightly higher, at approximately 145. Coal began at around 80 units, dipped sharply to just under 40 in 1984, then rebounded to about 60 by 1986. After remaining close to that level for several years, coal output declined, with some fluctuation, to roughly 35 by 2000. Natural gas, in contrast, started at approximately 40 units and changed little during the 1980s. It rose gradually around 1990, then increased more quickly from the early 1990s, reaching about 75 in 1994 and 100 by the end of the period. It overtook coal in the early 1990s. Thus, petroleum stayed dominant, while the gap between natural gas and coal widened markedly.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Keep the overview focused on the two or three defining comparisons: petroleum remains highest, natural gas rises and overtakes coal, and coal ends lowest.
2
Use the axis unit consistently when reporting values, especially after a sentence that contains several figures.
3
Make the introduction more concise by naming the graph and its time span without explaining both axes in a long sentence.

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