Task 1 Pie Chart
Sample Answer
by Bianca and Laura (students of IELTS Dublin)
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.The pie charts show the electricity generated in Germany and France from all sources and renewables in the year 2009.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
The graph compares the different percentages of the main sources of energy between Germany and France in 2009. Some of the main sources included conventional thermal, nuclear and renewables. The various sources of energy are divided into “all types” and “renewables:. Renewables are broken down into biomass, hydroelectric and wind.
The main source of electricity in Germany came from conventional thermal, while in France power originated from Nuclear sources. On the other hand, in terms of renewables, there were not substantial differences between the two countries, indeed in both countries the percentage of this type of electricity was less than a fifth. In addition the pie shows that the main source of renewables in Germany originated from biomass, whereas in France it came from hydroelectric. Lastly, in both the countries the percentage of the geothermal was non-existent.
To sum up, the methods of electricity generation was very different when we compare the sources in the two countries.
Writing by Laura and Bianca, who are students at Everest Language School.
This example would get between 6 and 7 in the IELTS:
Some more useful language for IELTS task 1 Pie Charts:
Vary your language
As with any task 1, this is important. You should not keep repeating the same structures. The key language when you write about pie charts is proportions and percentages.
Common phrases to see are “the proportion of…” or “the percentage of…”
However, you can also use other words and fractions. These are some examples from the model answer:
A large number of people
over a quarter of people
a small minority
A significant number of people
less than a fifth
This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to fractions or ratios:
Percentage
Fraction
Percentage
Fraction
40%
two-fifths
80%
four-fifths
35%
more than a third
75%
three-quarters
30%
less than a third
70%
seven in ten
25%
a quarter
65%
two-thirds
20%
a fifth
60%
three-fifths
15%
less than a fifth
55%
more than half
10%
one in ten
50%
half
5%
one in twenty
45%
more than two fifths
If the percentages are not exact as above, then you can use qualifiers to make sure your description remains accurate. Here are some examples:
Percentage
Qualifier
77%
just over three quarters
77%
approximately three quarters
49%
just under a half
49%
nearly a half
32%
almost a third
This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to other phrases:
75% – 85%
a very large majority
65% – 75%
a significant proportion
10% – 15%
a minority
5%
a very small number
The words above are interchangeable, though number is for countable nouns and amount is for uncountable nouns.
