The charts below show the proportion of the energy produced from different sources in a country between 1985 and 2003.
Sample Response
The pie charts illustrate the proportions of energy generated from six different sources in a particular country in 1985 and 2003.
Overall, the reliance on fossil fuels as a whole declined over the period, while cleaner and renewable energy sources became more prominent. Despite experiencing a substantial reduction in its share, oil remained by far the dominant source of energy production in both years.
In 1985, oil accounted for 52% of total energy productionthe majority of energy production, representing 52% of the total. Nuclear power was the second-largest source at 22%, followed by natural gas atwith 13%. Coal contributed 8%a relatively modest 8%, whereas hydro power and other renewable sources made up only 4% and 1%, respectively, together accounting for just 5% of overall energy output.
InBy 2003, the proportion of energy derived from oil had fallen markedly to 39%, although it still ranked first. In contrast, the share of natural gas increased significantlynatural gas increased significantly from 13% to 23%, overtaking nuclear power. Coal's share also rose considerablyCoal also rose considerably, climbing from 8% to 22%, while nuclear energy declined sharply to just 8%. Hydro power remained unchanged at 4%, whereas the share of other renewable sources quadrupledother renewable sources quadrupled from 1% to 4%, matching the share of hydro.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response is strongest in its precise reporting and comparison of every category across the two years, supported by fluent organization and highly controlled language. The central limitation is a materially inaccurate overview: fossil fuels collectively rose from 73% to 84%, so they did not decline, while non-fossil sources became less prominent overall. The highest-priority improvement is to calculate category groups before summarizing the main trend and ensure the overview matches the figures.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All individual figures and most comparisons are accurate, but the overview reverses the dominant aggregate trend by claiming that fossil-fuel reliance declined.
State that fossil fuels increased overall despite oil's fall, while nuclear declined, hydro was stable, and other renewables rose from a very small base.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is well organized into an introduction, overview, and two chronological detail paragraphs, with clear internal progression and controlled linking.
Ensure the overview's organizing claims are derived from the detail paragraphs so the framing and supporting evidence remain consistent.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise range of vocabulary describes proportions, rankings, and changes naturally and with minimal repetition.
Retain the strong comparative language while choosing broader category labels only after verifying that every source belongs to the stated group.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide variety of complex sentence structures is used accurately and flexibly, with punctuation and agreement consistently controlled.
Continue this level of control while keeping long comparative sentences concise enough for the central contrast to remain immediately clear.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The charts below show the proportion of the energy produced from different sources in a country between 1985 and 2003.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.