The table below shows the percentage use of four different fuel types to generate electricity in five Asian countries in 2005.
Sample Response
The table shows different fuel sourcessources of fuel for producing electricity and their percentage use in five Asian countries in 2005. Generally, the five countries showed significant differencesfive countries showed a significant difference in their patterns of consumption. Turning first to nuclear powerTaking nuclear fuel first, Japan had the highest percentage at 49%, with South Korea second at 33%. In marked contrast, Thailand used no nuclear power at all. Turning to coal and ligniteCoal and Lignite, Malaysia and Singapore used these fuels to generateused this to generate a large proportion of their electricity (61% and 42% respectively), much higher percentagesa much higher percentage than the remaining countries.
Regarding petroleumPetroleum products, Thailand produced 36% of its electricity from this source. In comparison, the other countries only generated 3% or less of their electricity from this fuel. However, Hydropower and wind power revealHydro and Wind reveal another pattern with South Korea producing almost half of its electricity (48%) from these sourcesthis way (over twice as high as Thailand which had the second highest percentage at 19%). Finally, a significant amount was produced from other sources with three countries (Singapore, Thailand and Japan) generating around 40% of their electricity from other fuels. Overall, it can be seen that there was a significant variation in which fuels countries used to generate their electricity.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response gives an accurate, well-selected account of the table, with effective comparisons across all five fuel categories and generally clear organisation. Its main weakness is that the overview remains broad and is partly repeated at the end rather than identifying the dominant national patterns more sharply. Prioritise a more specific overview that groups countries by their principal electricity source while keeping the detailed comparisons concise.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response accurately selects and compares the main figures across all five fuel categories, although its overview is more general than analytical.
State the dominant fuel pattern for each country or useful country groups explicitly in the overview.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically by fuel type, and cohesive devices make the comparisons easy to follow.
Place one specific overview after the introduction and avoid restating the same general conclusion at the end.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is varied and appropriate for comparison, with only occasional imprecision in phrases such as significant amount.
Use more exact analytical terms such as proportion, dominant source, and negligible share when describing the table.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex comparative structures is used with strong control and only minor awkwardness.
Refine clause structure in longer comparisons so each reference and relationship is immediately clear.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The table below shows the percentage use of four different fuel types to generate electricity in five Asian countries in 2005.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.