Key features to report

• China and the United States are far ahead of every other country: China produced 5,398 and consumed 5,322 billion kWh, and the US produced 4,099 and consumed 3,866 billion kWh.
• Russia is a distant third at 1,057 billion kWh produced and 1,038 consumed, which is only about a fifth of China's figures; it is the only other country above 1,000 billion kWh.
• Japan (936.2 produced, 856.7 consumed) and India (871 produced, 698.8 consumed) come next, with India showing a large gap of over 170 billion kWh between production and consumption.
• The remaining five countries are tightly grouped between about 450 and 620 billion kWh: Canada 618.9 and 499.9, France 561.2 and 462.9, Brazil 530.7 and 455.8, Germany 526.6 and 582.5, and Korea 485.1 and 449.5.
• Germany is the only country that consumed more electricity than it produced (582.5 against 526.6 billion kWh); all the others produced more than they used.
• There is a single year (2014), so there are no trends over time; the answer must compare countries and the balance between production and consumption.

Model overview

Overall, China and the United States were by far the largest producers and consumers of electricity in 2014, with the other eight countries trailing well behind. In almost every country production exceeded consumption, Germany being the only exception.

Paragraph plan

1. 1

   Introduction

   Paraphrase the task: the chart compares the amount of electricity generated and used by the ten leading countries in 2014, measured in billion kWh.

2. 2

   Overview

   Make two general points without figures: China and the US dominate both production and consumption, and nearly every country produced more than it consumed, Germany being the only exception.

3. 3

   Body paragraph 1: the top five

   Give the figures for China (5,398 and 5,322) and the US (4,099 and 3,866), then show the big drop to Russia (1,057 and 1,038), Japan (936.2 and 856.7) and India (871 and 698.8), noting India's large surplus.

4. 4

   Body paragraph 2: the bottom five and Germany

   Explain that Canada, France, Brazil, Germany and Korea all produced roughly 485-620 billion kWh and consumed about 450-580 billion kWh. Give Canada's 618.9 and Korea's 485.1 as the range, then highlight Germany, which consumed 582.5 but produced only 526.6.

Useful comparisons

• Group China and the US as the two giants whose combined production is far greater than that of the other eight countries combined.
• Compare China with Russia: Russia's output was only about a fifth of China's.
• Group the countries from sixth to tenth together because their figures are very close.
• Contrast the countries with the biggest surplus of production over consumption, such as the US (about 233 billion kWh) and India (about 172 billion kWh), with those where the two are almost equal, such as Russia and China.
• Single out Germany as the only country with a deficit, consuming about 56 billion kWh more than it produced.
• Note that Germany ranks ninth for production but would rank sixth for consumption.

Band 8+ model answer

207 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.

Why this answer scores highly

Task Achievement

The overview identifies the dominance of China and the US and the general surplus of production over consumption, and the body selects accurate figures for the leaders, the middle group and the Germany exception rather than listing every value.

Coherence and Cohesion

Countries are grouped by size, the top five then the bottom five, and cohesive devices such as respectively, by contrast and the sole exception link the comparisons clearly.

Lexical Resource

Production and consumption are paraphrased with generated, output, used and surplus, and comparison phrases such as a distant third and trailed well behind add precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The answer uses comparatives and superlatives, respectively constructions, participle clauses such as generating 5,398 billion kWh and a contrastive however to mark the Germany exception, all with accurate past tense verbs.

Useful vocabulary

billion kilowatt hours

the unit of electrical energy used in the chart, written billion kWh

generate electricity

produce electricity; a synonym for production

electricity consumption

the amount of electricity used

output

the amount produced

surplus

an amount by which production is larger than use

shortfall

an amount by which production is smaller than use

by far the largest

much larger than all the others

a distant third

in third place but a long way behind the first two

trail behind

be at a much lower level than others

tightly grouped

having figures that are very close to each other

the sole exception

the only case that does not follow the general pattern

exceed

be greater than

roughly a fifth of

about 20% of another figure

respectively

in the same order as the items just mentioned

Common mistakes

• Describing increases and decreases, such as electricity production rose from China to Korea; the chart shows one year only, so there is no trend over time.
• Listing all twenty figures one country at a time, which leaves no room for comparison and makes the answer too long.
• Missing Germany, the only country whose consumption was higher than its production, which is the most important exception on the chart.
• Omitting the unit or writing kWh instead of billion kWh, which misreports every figure.
• Using the future or present tense; 2014 is in the past, so past simple is required.
• Leaving out an overview that states China and the US dominate both measures.

Frequently asked questions

Which Cambridge book is this question from?

This bar chart of electricity production and consumption in the top ten countries in 2014 is Writing Task 1 of Test 3 in Cambridge IELTS 13 Academic, published in 2018.

Do I need to mention all ten countries?

You should cover all of them, but not individually in detail. Give exact figures for the leaders and for Germany, and summarise the closely grouped bottom five with a range.

Which tense should I use for this chart?

Use the past simple, because the data refers to 2014. There is no change over time, so focus on comparisons rather than trend verbs.

How many words should I write for this Task 1?

Write at least 150 words; about 170-200 words is enough to cover the overview and the main comparisons in around 20 minutes.