The pie chart below shows the main reasons why agricultural land becomes less productive. The table shows how these causes affected three regions of the world during the 1990s.
Sample Response
The given picture contains two charts, one pie chart and another table chart. As is observed from the pie chart, the main reason for less productivity is overgrazing of animals which constitutes 35%. Another big reason of land degradation is deforestation which holds 30% of the total. Over cultivation also affects the production of land which constitutes 28% while other reasons of land degradation are remaining 7%. As a result, the biggest reason of land degradation is overgrazing of animals in agricultural land. According to the given table, we will analyse what are main causes of less production of land in different regions and how they affect the lands' production. As it can be seen clearly, that Europe is badly degraded by 23%. Europe is degraded by deforestation by 9.8% while 7.7% is affected due to over cultivation and finally, 5.5% degraded by overgrazing. Europe is affected badly by 23% while North America holds 5% and Oceania by 13%. In conclusion, Europe is badly affected by these factors in all of the regions.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Name the table Original: another table chart Suggested revision: one table Why it matters: A table is not described as a table chart.
- 2. Use precise term Original: main reason for less productivity Suggested revision: main cause of land degradation Why it matters: This wording matches the measure shown in the visual more precisely.
- 3. Correct collocation Original: Another big reason of land degradation Suggested revision: Another major cause of land degradation Why it matters: Cause of is the natural collocation for a factor producing degradation.
- 4. Describe proportions Original: holds 30% of the total Suggested revision: accounts for 30% of the total Why it matters: Accounts for is the standard expression for a chart proportion.
- 5. Hyphenate compound Original: Over cultivation also affects Suggested revision: Over-cultivation also affects Why it matters: The compound noun is conventionally hyphenated.
- 6. Fix verb phrase Original: are remaining 7% Suggested revision: account for the remaining 7% Why it matters: The original verb phrase is ungrammatical for expressing a proportion.
- 7. Signal an overview Original: As a result Suggested revision: Overall Why it matters: The sentence summarises the chart rather than presenting a consequence.
- 8. Correct preposition Original: in Suggested revision: on Why it matters: On is the appropriate preposition for activity occurring on land.
- 9. Remove stray comma Original: seen clearly, that Suggested revision: seen clearly that Why it matters: No comma should separate the verb phrase from its that-clause.
- 10. State total accurately Original: badly degraded by 23% Suggested revision: the most degraded, at 23% Why it matters: The figure is the share of European land degraded, not an amount by which it degraded.
- 11. Use chart language Original: affected due to over cultivation Suggested revision: degraded by over-cultivation Why it matters: This phrasing names the cause and outcome directly.
- 12. Add the verb Original: 5.5% degraded Suggested revision: 5.5% is degraded Why it matters: The passive clause needs an auxiliary verb.
Suggested Rewrites
- another table chart one table
- main reason for less productivity main cause of land degradation
- Another big reason of land degradation Another major cause of land degradation
- holds 30% of the total accounts for 30% of the total
- Over cultivation also affects Over-cultivation also affects
- are remaining 7% account for the remaining 7%
Why this response received Band 5.5
The response accurately identifies the global proportions and Europe's overall degradation, and its movement from the pie chart to the regional table is easy to follow. However, it gives almost no causal detail for North America or Oceania and repeatedly uses awkward or incomplete grammar; the priority is to compare all three regions by their dominant causes while expressing each comparison in a complete, precise sentence.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response accurately reports the pie-chart shares and regional totals, with a valid overview, but omits the cause breakdowns for North America and Oceania.
Compare each region's dominant and absent causes, including Oceania's 11.3% over-grazing and zero over-cultivation.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses from the pie chart to the table, but repetition and presentation as one undeveloped block weaken organisation.
Separate the overview from two focused detail paragraphs and avoid repeating that Europe is the most affected region.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary covers the required degradation categories, but several collocations such as less production of land and holds 30% are unnatural.
Use precise chart language such as land degradation, accounts for, and was affected by throughout the report.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning remains understandable, but article, clause, agreement, and missing-verb errors recur across both simple and complex sentences.
Check every comparison for a complete subject-verb structure and use consistent passive forms when reporting how land was degraded.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The pie chart below shows the main reasons why agricultural land becomes less productive. The table shows how these causes affected three regions of the world during the 1990s.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.