IELTS Academic Writing Test Task 1
The table below shows the production quantity of milk for four different countries between 2009 and 2014. The pie chart shows the average population of each country during the same period.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words
| Production of cow milk (tons x 1000) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Belgium | 2.955 | 4.740 | 11.487 | 18.248 | 3.137 | 3.689 |
| France | 22.842 | 23.361 | 24.602 | 24.534 | 24.453 | 25.309 |
| Germany | 28.248 | 28.659 | 29.339 | 29.702 | 30.301 | 31.375 |
| United Kingdom | 13.253 | 13.599 | 13.822 | 13.608 | 13.705 | 14.818 |
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Answer
The table clearly shows that the largest producer of milk among the four different countries was Germany and the smallest milk producer was Belgium.
Over the six-year period, Belgium experienced a significant increase in milk production for two years (2010 and 2011); more than three times the level in 2009 and 2014. France saw a steady but slight increase in its milk production over the six years. Milk production in Germany consistently and steadily increased year after year throughout the entire period in question. Unlike Germany, the UK experienced a slight overall increase in volume of milk produced over the six years; however, growth was not consistent as in the case of Germany.
Clearly, Germany with the largest mean value of population over the period produced the greatest quantity of milk. Likewise, expectedly, Belgium being the country with the smallest mean population for the six-year period produced the lowest volume of milk. Interestingly, although the UK and France had virtually the same mean population levels during the period, France produced considerably more milk per capita than the UK.
IELTS Task 1 Writing Tip
The sample answer above shows how it is possible to summarize the information given in the table and pie chart without the need to use actual numbers from the table and chart.
This is just one method. Also note the variety of language used, for example:
- producer of milk, milk producer, milk production, volume of milk produced
- a significant increase [adjective + noun], consistently and steadily increased [adverb + adverb + verb]
- the six-year period, over the six years, the entire period in question, during the period
Good lexical resource (vocabulary) and variety is essential to achieve a high score in IELTS writing.