IELTS Writing Task 1 · Academic

Bar chart: electricity generation by source, 1990 and 2020

A real-format chart task with a band 8 report written from its data, the plan behind it, and the phrases worth keeping. Aim for 150 to 190 words in 20 minutes.

The task

The chart below shows the share of electricity generated from each source in one country in 1990 and in 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Share of electricity generation by source (%)	Coal	Gas	Nuclear	Wind & solar	Hydro
1990	48	22	17	1	12
2020	8	34	20	26	12

Band 8 model answer

173 words. The minimum is 150, and anything under it is penalised on Task Achievement; a strong answer sits between 150 and 190, which leaves time to check the figures.

The bar chart compares the proportion of a country's electricity generated from five sources in 1990 and in 2020. Overall, the energy mix was transformed over the period. Coal, once the dominant source, was largely replaced by gas and by wind and solar power, while hydroelectricity did not change at all. In 1990 coal dominated at 48 percent, followed by gas at 22 percent and nuclear at 17 percent. Hydro supplied 12 percent, and wind and solar contributed a mere 1 percent. Together, coal, gas and nuclear power provided 87 percent of the total. By 2020 coal had collapsed to just 8 percent, a drop of 40 percentage points that left it the smallest source. Gas rose to 34 percent, making it the leading source, and nuclear edged up to 20 percent. The most remarkable growth was in wind and solar, which climbed from 1 percent to 26 percent and became the second-largest source, producing more than nuclear and over three times as much as coal. Hydro alone stayed constant at 12 percent.

Why this answer earns band 8

"the energy mix was transformed over the period" names the single biggest truth about the chart without a number, the overview that Task Achievement is capped without.
"coal had collapsed to just 8 percent" chooses a verb and an adverb that carry the size of the change in two words, the Lexical Resource precision that replaces a vague phrase such as decreased a lot.
"a drop of 40 percentage points" uses the right unit for a change between two percentages, an accuracy point that Task Achievement checks and weaker reports blur into "40 percent".
"The most remarkable growth was in wind and solar" is a topic sentence that ranks the changes before the detail arrives, which is the Coherence and Cohesion habit of grouping by importance rather than chart order.
"which climbed from 1 percent to 26 percent and became the second-largest source" packs two verbs into one relative clause, the compact complexity Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards at band 8.

The plan, reusable on any chart of this kind

Introduction (1 sentence, 15-25 words): paraphrase the task. Name the measure, the five sources and the two years.
Overview (2 sentences, 25-35 words): the main shift, the source that lost most and the ones that gained, plus anything unchanged. No numbers.
Body 1 (40-50 words): the starting position in the first year, ranked from largest to smallest.
Body 2 (75-85 words): the final year, taking the biggest fall first, then the biggest rise, and ending on the source that stayed level.

Phrases worth learning

once the dominant source	for a leader that has lost its position by the end of the period
a mere 1 percent	for a very small starting figure that later grows
a drop of 40 percentage points	to state a change between two percentages with the right unit
edged up to	for a small rise that should not be called an increase
stayed constant at	for the one category that did not move

Every figure above, including the 40 percentage points, comes straight from the chart or from simple subtraction of two chart values. In the exam, do that arithmetic on your question paper before you write the sentence, because a wrong difference costs Task Achievement as surely as a misread bar.

Questions about this answer

What band is this model answer?

It is written to band 8, and the notes under it quote the answer's own words to show why.

How long should a Task 1 answer be?

Aim for 150 to 190 words in 20 minutes. This model answer is 173 words, and anything under 150 is penalised on Task Achievement.

What is the most common mistake on Task 1?

Writing under the 150 word minimum, which is penalised on Task Achievement, or running out of time to check the figures.