The pie charts below show units of electricity production by fuel source in Australia and France in 1980 and 2000.
Sample Response
The pie charts illustrate the total production of electricity measured in units and broken down by fuel sourcedivided by different sources of fuel in Australia and France in 1980 and 2000in the year 1980 and 2000.
Overall, the charts show thatit is clearly shown that the dominant fuel sourcesmajor fuel sources used in electricity production were different in Australia and France.
In AustraliaFirst of all, there were considerably more units of electricity produced in Australia in 2000 (170 units) than in 1980 (100 units)in 2000 (170 units) than 1980 (100 units). The majority of electricity produced in Australia in both years was from coalfrom the coal, but there was a higher dependence on coaldependency of coal in the production of electricity in 2000 than in 1980in 2000 than 1980 (130 of 170 units and 50 of 100 units, respectively130 out of 170 and half of the total respectively). There was a 16-unit increase in electricity generated by hydropoweran increase of 16 units of electricity produced by hydropower from 1980 to 2000 whereas natural gas and oilthe other sources like natural gas and oil contributed less to the electricity production in 2000 than in 1980.
Turning to the fuel sources in France, it is apparent that electricity production doubled from 1980 to 2000doubled in 2000 than in 1980, which was 180 for the former and 90 for the latter. The most striking feature wasis that only 15 of 90 units were producedthere was only 15 out of 90 units of electricity produced by nuclear power in 1980. However, nuclear power became the main fuel sourceit became the main fuel source of electricity production in France in 2000, which generated 126 units, or 70% of the totalwhich was 70%. Not forgetting to mention that the use of other fuel sources in the electricity production became less in 2000 than in 1980.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response is clearly organised by country and accurately reports the large growth in total production, Australia's increasing reliance on coal, and France's shift to nuclear power. Its main limitation is an overgeneralised account of France's other fuels, since coal stayed at 25 units and oil rose to 25; the priority is to add these contrasts and state the main cross-country overview more specifically.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response covers the dominant sources and total production accurately, but its overview is vague and the claim that all other French sources declined is incorrect.
State that Australia became coal-dominated while France became nuclear-dominated, and contrast France's stable coal and rising oil figures with its falling gas and hydropower.
Coherence and Cohesion
Clear introduction, overview, and country-specific paragraphs create logical progression, with referencing and transitions generally used effectively.
Make the final French comparison a complete analytical sentence rather than adding it as a loosely attached afterthought.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for production, sources, contribution, and dependence, though several collocations and repeated phrases lack precision.
Use concise forms such as reliance on coal, electricity generated from hydropower, and total output doubled.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a good mix of structures, but article errors, faulty comparative forms, and occasional fragments remain noticeable.
Revise comparisons to forms such as doubled from 90 to 180 units and use coal without the definite article when naming the fuel generally.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The pie charts below show units of electricity production by fuel source in Australia and France in 1980 and 2000.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.