By English Test Coach · Updated
All sample answersAcademic Task 1 · 235 words
Electricity sources: describe a changing mix
Compare percentage shares across two years without claiming that the charts show total electricity output.
Study the method: Charts and tables: build an overview and compare details →
Worked example: Compare electricity shares when category labels change →
Band 7 goal: Data comparisons
Develop and connect relevant ideas or select and compare the most useful details. This is a study route, not an examiner score assigned to the answer. How IELTS Writing is assessed.
The question
The charts compare the sources used to generate electricity in a country in 1995 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Open full-size diagram (new tab)Read the chart data as a table
These figures belong to the original English Test Coach practice visual. They are fictional teaching data, not measured statistics about real places.
| Source as labelled | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Coal | 35 |
| Gas | 20 |
| Nuclear | 15 |
| Hydro | 5 |
| Other | 5 |
| Oil | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
| Source as labelled | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Coal | 15 |
| Gas | 10 |
| Nuclear | 30 |
| Renewables | 25 |
| Other sources | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
Both bars include the complete 100% mix, including oil at 20% in 1995 and other sources at 20% in 2025. The categories differ: 1995 labels hydro separately, while 2025 uses renewables and other sources. Do not assume an unlisted source fell to zero or treat these labels as an exact like-for-like breakdown. Percentages alone do not show the total amount of electricity generated.
The sample answer
The stacked charts compare the percentage shares of electricity generated from different sources in one country in 1995 and 2025. The figures describe the generation mix rather than the total amount of electricity produced.
Overall, the country became less dependent on coal, gas and oil, while nuclear power and renewables accounted for much larger shares in 2025. Coal was the largest named source in 1995, whereas nuclear power ranked first thirty years later. The combined share of the three fossil fuels shown separately also fell substantially.
In 1995, coal supplied 35% of electricity, followed by gas and oil at 20% each. By 2025, the coal share had fallen by 20 percentage points to 15%, while the gas share had halved to 10%. Oil was no longer shown as a separate category in the later chart; instead, other sources together represented the remaining 20%. The two charts therefore do not support a claim that oil alone provided that final share.
The nuclear share doubled from 15% in 1995 to 30% in 2025, making nuclear power the largest named source in the later year. Hydroelectricity represented only 5% initially, while the broader renewables category accounted for 25% in 2025. A further 5% was classified as other in 1995. Together, nuclear power and renewables made up 55% of the 2025 mix, compared with 20% for nuclear and hydro combined in 1995, although the category definitions are not identical.
Vocabulary in context
Each phrase appears in the answer above. Learn how it works, not just a replacement word.
- generation mix
- The proportional combination of sources used to produce electricity.
Use the phrase for composition; it does not describe the absolute quantity generated.
- percentage points
- The arithmetic difference between two percentage shares.
A change from 35% to 15% is a fall of 20 percentage points.
- accounted for
- Made up a stated part or proportion of a total.
Follow accounted for with the share and identify the total being divided.
Now make it your own
Write a new two-sentence overview that identifies the main ranking change and the reduced fossil-fuel share without including any individual percentage.
For a smaller practice step, use the explanation, knowledge check and self-review exercise in Select and compare visual information.
The practice link opens the original question, not a copy of this answer.
Open the writing workspaceMore examples of this question type
Give an overview of the main patterns and support selected comparisons with accurate figures and units.