# IELTS Writing Task 1 line graph A line graph shows how one or more quantities change over time, so your report is about trends: rises, falls, peaks and the points where lines cross. The examiner looks for a clear overview of the main trends, key features selected and reported rather than every value, comparisons between the lines where relevant, and accurate figures. ## Structure 1. **Introduction**: Paraphrase the prompt in one sentence: what the graph measures, where, and over which period. Openers: The line graph illustrates ... / The graph compares ... between ... and ... / The line graph tracks how ... changed from ... to ... 2. **Overview**: State the two or three biggest trends or contrasts in plain words, without detailed figures. Openers: Overall, ... / The most noticeable feature is that ... / In general, while ... rose, ... 3. **Body 1**: Describe the first group of lines with their key figures: starting points, end points, peaks and crossing points. Openers: At the start of the period, ... / In 2000, ... accounted for ... / Starting at ..., ... then ... 4. **Body 2**: Describe the remaining lines and compare them with the first group. Openers: By contrast, ... / Turning to ..., ... / Meanwhile, ... ## Key language ### Trend verbs and nouns - **rise / increase / climb (to)**: Wind power rose to 31% in 2020. - **fall / decline / drop (to)**: The share of coal fell to 14%. - **peak at / reach a peak of**: Natural gas peaked at 39% in 2012. - **level off / remain stable**: Solar power remained stable at 1% until 2004. - **overtake / surpass**: Wind power had overtaken coal by 2016. - **a steady rise / a sharp fall**: There was a sharp fall in the use of coal after 2008. ### Degree and speed adverbs - **sharply / dramatically**: Solar generation rose sharply after 2012. - **steadily / gradually**: Natural gas rose gradually from 30% to 39% between 2000 and 2012. - **slightly / marginally**: Gas fell slightly in the final years. ### Time phrases - **over the period / throughout the period**: Coal's share fell throughout the period. - **by + year (a point reached)**: By 2020, wind supplied 31% of electricity. - **between ... and ... / at four-year intervals**: Gas overtook coal between 2008 and 2012. ## The task The line graph below shows the percentage of electricity that one country generated from coal, natural gas, wind and solar power between 2000 and 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. Electricity generated by source in one country, 2000-2020 (%) (%) | | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Coal | 52 | 49 | 44 | 35 | 24 | 14 | | Natural gas | 30 | 34 | 38 | 39 | 37 | 33 | | Wind | 3 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 26 | 31 | | Solar | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 18 | Chart by Testmigo. The data is invented for practice. ## Band 6 to 9 sample answers ### Band 6 The line graph shows the percentage of electricity which was generated from four sources, coal, natural gas, wind and solar, in one country from 2000 to 2020. Overall, coal went down and the other sources went up. In 2000, coal was the biggest source of electricity with 52%. After that it decreased to 49% in 2004 and 44% in 2008. Then it continued to decrease and in 2020 it was only 14%. Natural gas was 30% in 2000 and it increased to 39% in 2012. After that it decreased a little and it was 33% in 2020, so it was the highest source at the end. Wind power was very small in 2000, only 3%. But it increased a lot and in 2016 it was 26%, which was more than coal. In 2020 it reached 31%. Solar power was also small at the beginning. It was 1% in 2000 and 2004, then it went up to 5% in 2012 and 18% in 2020, which was more than coal too. In conclusion, coal decreased very much and wind and solar increased a lot. _This Band 6 report addresses the task and every figure it quotes is accurate, but the overview ("coal went down and the other sources went up") is mechanical and misses that gas peaked and then fell. The body moves line by line and year by year with simple linking ("After that", "Then") and repeats "increased" and "decreased", so Lexical Resource and Coherence and Cohesion stay at 6. For Band 7, the overview should name the shift from coal to renewables, and the body should select key points and compare the lines instead of listing them._ ### Band 7 The line graph illustrates the proportion of electricity produced from coal, natural gas, wind and solar power in one country over a twenty-year period from 2000 to 2020. Overall, there was a clear shift away from coal towards renewable sources. Coal, which was the main source in 2000, became the smallest of the four by 2020, while wind and solar power grew strongly. Natural gas remained relatively stable and was the leading source at the end of the period. In 2000, coal generated just over half of the country's electricity (52%), but its share fell continuously, dropping to 35% in 2012 and to only 14% in 2020. Natural gas, in contrast, rose from 30% to a peak of 39% in 2012, before declining slightly to 33%. Wind power started at only 3%, yet it increased rapidly and had overtaken coal by 2016, when it accounted for 26% of electricity. By 2020, it had reached 31%, almost the same level as gas. Solar power grew more slowly at first, staying at 1% until 2004, but it then rose sharply to 18% in final year. _This Band 7 report has a clear overview that names the main shift, the leader at the end and the stable source, and key features such as the peak in gas and wind overtaking coal are reported accurately. Comparisons ("in contrast", "almost the same level as gas") are present but not used throughout, and there is a minor slip ("in final year"). For Band 8, the writer would compare the lines more consistently, for example how fast coal fell after 2008, and use more precise, less general vocabulary._ ### Band 8 The line graph compares the share of electricity that one country generated from four sources (coal, natural gas, wind and solar) between 2000 and 2020. The most notable feature is the reversal in the positions of coal and renewable energy. Coal went from supplying over half of the country's electricity to being the least used of the four sources, while wind and solar expanded significantly. Natural gas, meanwhile, fluctuated within a narrow range and ended the period as the largest contributor. Coal's share contracted throughout, falling gradually from 52% in 2000 to 44% in 2008 and then far more steeply to just 14% in 2020. Natural gas initially moved in the opposite direction, climbing from 30% to 39% in 2012, before easing back to 33%, which still placed it marginally ahead of every other source. The growth of renewables was the other key development. Wind power rose more than tenfold, from 3% to 31%, and had already overtaken coal by 2016. Solar power remained negligible for the first eight years, at no more than 2%, but accelerated in the second decade, reaching 18% by 2020 and also surpassing coal. _This Band 8 report selects the key features well and builds the overview around the most important contrast, the reversal between coal and renewables. Comparisons run through every paragraph ("moved in the opposite direction", "marginally ahead of every other source"), and the vocabulary is precise and flexible ("contracted", "easing back", "negligible") with no noticeable errors. To reach Band 9, the report would need to cover every key feature: it never says when gas overtook coal (between 2008 and 2012), a crossing point the Band 9 answer reports, and its overview describes gas only as fluctuating rather than as the most stable source._ ### Band 9 The line graph tracks the proportion of one country's electricity that came from coal, natural gas, wind and solar power between 2000 and 2020. Overall, the country's electricity mix was transformed over these two decades. Coal, initially the dominant source, declined continuously until it was the smallest of the four, whereas wind and solar power grew from minimal levels to become major contributors. Natural gas was the most stable source and finished the period narrowly in first place. At the start of the period, coal accounted for 52% of electricity generation, ahead of natural gas at 30%. However, coal's share fell in every interval, with the decline gathering pace after 2008, and by 2020 it stood at just 14%. Gas overtook coal between 2008 and 2012, peaking at 39%, and then slipped back to 33%. Renewables followed a strikingly different path. Wind power, which supplied only 3% in 2000, expanded consistently to 31%, having already surpassed coal by 2016. Solar power was negligible until 2008, never exceeding 2%, but it then gained momentum, rising to 10% in 2016 and 18% in 2020, by which point it, too, had overtaken coal. _This Band 9 report fully satisfies the task: the overview captures the whole story, and every key feature, including all three crossing points and the gas peak, is selected, compared and reported with exact figures. Paragraphing and cohesion are effortless ("Renewables followed a strikingly different path"), vocabulary such as "gathering pace" and "gained momentum" is precise and natural, and the wide range of structures is error-free. That combination of complete, accurate coverage and full flexibility is what places it at the top band._ ## Common mistakes - **No overview: going straight from the introduction into figures.** Add a paragraph starting "Overall, ..." that names the two or three main trends, such as coal falling while wind and solar rose. - **Getting the length wrong: listing every value on every line, or stopping under 150 words.** Aim for about 170-190 words of selected detail: the start, the end, peaks and crossing points, with lines that behave the same way grouped together. An answer under 150 words loses marks. - **Using the present tense for data from the past.** Use the past simple for finished years ("Coal fell to 14% in 2020") and the past perfect for "by" points ("had overtaken coal by 2016"). - **Explaining why a line rose or fell, for example new government policy.** Task 1 reports only what the graph shows. Leave out causes and opinions, however obvious they seem. - **Confusing "by" and "to": "Wind power rose by 31%" when it rose to 31%.** "Rose to" gives the new level; "rose by" gives the size of the change (in percentage points for a percentage graph). Check which one the figure is.