The graph and table below give information about water use worldwide and water consumption in two different countries. Water Consumption in Brazil and Congo in 2000 Country Population Irrigated land Water consumption per person Brazil 176 million 26,500 km² 359 m³ Democratic Republic of Congo 5.2 million 100 km² 8 m³
Sample Response
The volume of water consumed in three sectors- agriculture, industry and domestic, in the twentieth century is demonstrated in the line graph. Meanwhile, the given table illustrates the differences between agricultural and personal water consumptions in Brazil and Congo in 2000. As the line graph represents, the highest quantity of water was consumed, throughout the given years, for the farming and it soared remarkably from 500 km3 to around 3000 km3 in 2000. An inconsiderable amount of water was used for the industrial and domestic purposes till the mid of the century. From 1950 onward, industrial water use raised steadily to above 1000 km3 while domestic utilisation of water climbed more slowly to approximately 300 km3. By looking at the table it is clear that Brazil had 176 million population and 26500 km2 irrigation fields compare to Congo that had 5.2 million population and just 100 km2 arming lands in 2000. Consequently, the volume of water consumed by an average Brazilian was overwhelmingly greater than the water consumption of a person who lived in Congo.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Introduce the list Original: sectors- Suggested revision: sectors: Why it matters: Use a colon rather than a hyphen to introduce the three sectors.
- 2. Complete the category Original: domestic, Suggested revision: domestic use, Why it matters: 'Domestic' is an adjective here and needs the noun 'use'.
- 3. Use natural graph language Original: demonstrated Suggested revision: shown Why it matters: 'Is shown' is the more natural verb phrase for presenting graph data.
- 4. Name the table measures Original: agricultural and personal water consumptions Suggested revision: irrigated land and per-person water consumption Why it matters: The table compares population, irrigated land and water use per person, not agricultural consumption.
- 5. Correct the reporting verb Original: represents Suggested revision: shows Why it matters: A graph shows or represents data, but it does not 'represent' in this clause pattern.
- 6. Streamline the time phrase Original: , throughout the given years, Suggested revision: throughout the period Why it matters: The shorter phrase fits the sentence without unnecessary interrupting commas.
- 7. Use the sector name Original: for the farming Suggested revision: in agriculture Why it matters: Water is described as being used in agriculture, not 'for the farming'.
- 8. Use natural quantity language Original: An inconsiderable amount of water Suggested revision: Relatively little water Why it matters: 'Inconsiderable amount' is unnatural for describing the low early figures.
- 9. Use consistent categories Original: purposes Suggested revision: use Why it matters: This matches the sector labels in the graph more directly.
- 10. Correct the time phrase Original: till the mid of the century Suggested revision: until the middle of the century Why it matters: 'The middle of the century' is the standard expression.
- 11. Use an intransitive verb Original: raised Suggested revision: rose Why it matters: The intransitive verb 'rose' is required because water use increased by itself.
- 12. Report the endpoint precisely Original: above 1000 km3 Suggested revision: around 1,200 km³ Why it matters: The industrial-use line ends at approximately 1,200 km³ in 2000.
Suggested Rewrites
- sectors- sectors:
- domestic, domestic use,
- demonstrated shown
- agricultural and personal water consumptions irrigated land and per-person water consumption
- represents shows
- , throughout the given years, throughout the period
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response identifies agriculture as dominant, tracks the three global trends with mostly accurate endpoints, and makes the central Brazil–Congo contrast clear. Its main limitation is incomplete and imprecise table coverage: population and irrigated land are mischaracterised, and the decisive per-person figures are not stated; prioritise a clear overview of all rising sectors and report the table's three measures with exact units and comparisons.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report covers both visuals, identifies agriculture as the largest user, and reports most major line-graph figures accurately, but the table comparison lacks exact per-person values.
State that all three sectors increased and compare Brazil's 359 cubic metres per person directly with Congo's 8, alongside population and irrigated land.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response moves logically from the line graph to the table, but its single-block presentation and some overloaded sentences weaken clarity.
Use separate paragraphs for the overview, global trends, and Brazil–Congo comparison, with one main comparison per sentence.
Lexical Resource
There is adequate range for trends and quantities, but awkward choices such as "inconsiderable," "irrigation fields," and "water consumptions" reduce precision.
Use standard terms such as "relatively little," "irrigated land," "water consumption," and "rose steadily."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are attempted and meaning remains clear, though article, noun-form, comparison, and verb-choice errors recur.
Check countable constructions such as "a population of," comparative forms such as "compared with," and the distinction between "rose" and "raised."
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph and table below give information about water use worldwide and water consumption in two different countries. Water Consumption in Brazil and Congo in 2000 Country Population Irrigated land Water consumption per person Brazil 176 million 26,500 km² 359 m³ Democratic Republic of Congo 5.2 million 100 km² 8 m³
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.