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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 7.0 Example

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

208 words AcademicTask 1Pie Chart
Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

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Ideas to explore

  • Renewables rose from 15.0% in 2014 to 26.2% in 2018, the most notable increase.
  • Coal fell from 28.4% to 18.1%, while nuclear declined slightly from 22.5% to 21.6%.
  • Gas remained the largest category at 30.1% in both years; Oil and Other stayed at 4.0%.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the two pie charts, the UK, the years and the percentage measure.
  2. Give an overview highlighting the main increase, the main decrease and stable categories.
  3. Compare the 2014 shares, grouping the larger sources before the smaller ones.
  4. Describe the 2018 figures and directly compare them with 2014.
Useful vocabulary & examples
accounted for
made up a particular proportion of the total

Gas accounted for 30.1% of energy generation in both years.

remained unchanged
stayed at the same level

The share for Oil and Other remained unchanged at 4.0%.

recorded the largest increase
showed the biggest rise in the figures

Renewables recorded the largest increase between 2014 and 2018.

fell by 10.3 percentage points
decreased by the difference between two percentage values

Coal fell by 10.3 percentage points, from 28.4% to 18.1%.

Task Prompt

The pie chart below shows the energy generation by fuel type in the UK over two years. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 7.0

The two pie charts provide information about the proportion of energy generation by fuel type in the United Kingdom in 2014 and 2018. Units are measured in percentages. Overall, the gas led both charts with the same percentages, while the reverse was true for oil and others. What stands out most is that nuclear and renewables moved in opposite directions over the period. Gas was the largest source in both years, accounting for 30.1% of generation in 2014 and 2018. Coal was the second-largest contributor in 2014, at 28.4%, but its share fell considerably to 18.1% in 2018.

By contrast, renewables rose from 15.0% to 26.2%, becoming the second-largest fuel source by 2018. Nuclear energy accounted for 22.5% in 2014 and edged down to 21.6% four years later. The oil and other category remained unchanged at 4.0% in both charts. Thus, although gas stayed stable, the most notable shifts were the substantial increase in renewables and the decline in coal. Together, these changes meant that renewable generation almost caught up with gas, while coal's contribution became markedly smaller. The data therefore show a redistribution among the middle-sized sources, rather than a change in the leading fuel or the smallest category.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Before writing the overview, note the largest and smallest categories and check whether each changed, stayed the same, or switched rank.
2
Group the two major changes—renewables rising and coal falling—in one comparison, then report the stable gas and oil-and-other figures.
3
Use a final data check to verify every percentage and ensure your overview does not contradict details later in the report.

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