The diagram shows the consumption of renewable energy in the USA from 1949-2008.
Sample Response
The given line graph compares the consumption of the main renewable energy sourcesconsumption of main renewable energy sources in the United States of America from the year 1949 to 2008. As shown in the graphAs is observed from the graph, at the start of the period in 1949initially in 1950 about 3 quadrillionquadrillions BTU of renewable energy was consumedtotal renewable energy was used in the USA and this amount reached aboutreached to about 8 quadrillions BTU in 2008. As is presented in the line graph, wood and hydroelectric power were the two sources of renewable energy in the USA in 1950 and a total of 3 quadrillion BTU of energytotal 3 quadrillion BTU energies were consumed in the USA that yearin this year. The consumption of renewable energy in the USA increased overallkept increasing each year with some fluctuations. In the year 2008, the consumption stood at around 7.3 quadrillion BTUreached to around 8 quadrillions BTU. Until 1982, wood and hydroelectric powers were the two main sources of renewable energy and these 2 sources provided the renewable energy for the USA people. In the early 1980sAfter 1982, biofuelsBiofuels and wind power began contributing to renewable energy consumptionwere introduced as renewable energy sources and after thatthen consumption of both sourcesthe usages of these two sources kept increasing overallkeep increasing. To summarise, in the earlier yearsin earlier states, the wood and hydroelectric power were the main sources of renewable energy in the USA and after 2005, the usages of Bio-fuel and wind increased while the total consumption of renewable energy in the USA increased over time.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response identifies the overall rise in renewable-energy use and names the four sources, so its main message remains clear. However, it gives very limited coverage of the individual trends, repeats the total endpoints, and contains frequent awkward forms such as pluralised units and reached to. Prioritise organising the report into an overview and detailed comparison paragraphs, then describe the contrasting fluctuations in hydroelectricity and wood and the late growth of biofuels and wind with accurate data.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response identifies the overall increase and the four sources, but it provides little detail on their distinct trends and overstates continuous growth.
Compare the peaks and falls in hydroelectricity and wood, then quantify the later rises in biofuels and wind.
Coherence and Cohesion
The account follows a broadly understandable sequence, but repetition and the absence of paragraphing weaken progression.
Separate the overview from two detail paragraphs grouped around the established and newer energy sources.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main trends, although repetition and frequent collocational or word-form errors reduce precision.
Use standard forms such as quadrillion BTU, reached, consumption, and people in the USA.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Some complex sentences are attempted and meaning remains clear, but errors in articles, plurals, agreement, and verb forms recur.
Edit each sentence for countable-noun forms and verb patterns, especially reached, was consumed, and usage increased.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The diagram shows the consumption of renewable energy in the USA from 1949-2008.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.