The graph shows estimated oil production capacity for several Gulf countries between 1990 and 2010.
Sample Response
The bar chart compares the daily oil production in five Gulf countries between 1990 and 2010. Overall, oil generation in Saudi Arabia was the highest and Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE produced nearly the same amount of oil. As the diagram suggests, Saudi Arabia produced over 8 million barrels oil per day in 1990 which was the highest. Its production went as high as 15 million daily after 2 decades. It is worth noticing that, Saudi Arabia’s oil stock was somewhat similar to the rest of the countries collectively. Oil generating capacity in Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE was almost the same in 1990, around 2-3 million barrels daily. Over the time their production capacity developed and reached to around 4 million barrels in 2010. Iran’s production was marginally higher than that of Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE. The least amount of oil production could be observed in Qatar, less than 1 million barrel in 1990 and this capacity remained exactly the same there except in 2000 when its production slightly progressed.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct country count Original: five Suggested revision: six Why it matters: The chart includes Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
- 2. Name the measure Original: daily oil production Suggested revision: estimated daily oil production capacity Why it matters: The chart reports estimated capacity rather than actual production.
- 3. Use accurate term Original: oil generation Suggested revision: oil production capacity Why it matters: 'Production capacity' matches the measure stated in the chart.
- 4. Describe capacity accurately Original: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE produced nearly the same amount of oil Suggested revision: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE had broadly similar production capacities Why it matters: The bars compare capacity, not the amount of oil actually produced.
- 5. Add missing preposition Original: barrels oil Suggested revision: barrels of oil Why it matters: The quantity noun requires 'of' before 'oil'.
- 6. Fix clause structure Original: in 1990 which was the highest Suggested revision: in 1990, the highest figure shown Why it matters: The revised appositive clearly identifies the value as the chart's maximum.
- 7. Remove faulty transition Original: It is worth noticing that, Suggested revision: Notably, Why it matters: The original transition contains an incorrect comma after 'that'.
- 8. Correct technical term Original: oil stock Suggested revision: production capacity Why it matters: 'Stock' means an existing supply and is different from productive capacity.
- 9. Clarify comparison Original: somewhat similar to the rest of the countries collectively Suggested revision: roughly comparable with the other countries' combined capacity Why it matters: This wording makes the collective comparison explicit and precise.
- 10. Use chart terminology Original: generating Suggested revision: production Why it matters: 'Production capacity' is the conventional and chart-specific expression.
- 11. Remove extra article Original: Over the time Suggested revision: Over time Why it matters: The general time expression does not take the definite article.
- 12. Use trend verb Original: developed Suggested revision: increased Why it matters: A numerical capacity increases rather than develops.
Suggested Rewrites
- five six
- daily oil production estimated daily oil production capacity
- oil generation oil production capacity
- Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE produced nearly the same amount of oil Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE had broadly similar production capacities
- barrels oil barrels of oil
- in 1990 which was the highest in 1990, the highest figure shown
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response clearly identifies Saudi Arabia’s dominance and gives a sensible comparison of the other countries, with most figures and trends matching the chart. Its main weakness is imprecise wording and occasional factual framing, including calling the display a comparison of five countries when six are shown. Focus on reporting capacity with exact country coverage and more natural data-description collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The overview and principal trends are well selected and largely accurate, but the introduction incorrectly states that five countries are shown and some figures are broadly rounded.
State that all six countries are compared and support the overview with precise start-to-finish figures for the main groups.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information moves clearly from the overview to Saudi Arabia, the middle-producing group, and Qatar, although the report is presented as one dense paragraph.
Separate the overview and grouped details into distinct paragraphs to make the progression easier to follow.
Lexical Resource
There is a sufficient range of comparative vocabulary, but collocations such as oil generation, oil stock, reached to, and production progressed are unnatural.
Use consistent technical phrasing such as production capacity rose to, remained stable, and barrels per day.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied sentence structures with generally clear meaning, despite recurring errors in articles, prepositions, punctuation, and singular-plural agreement.
Proofread noun phrases and verb patterns, especially barrels of oil, over time, reached, and one million barrels.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph shows estimated oil production capacity for several Gulf countries between 1990 and 2010.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.