ielts essay u s energy consumption by fuel

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Writing Task 1 Line Graph Sample Answer (US Consumption of Energy)

Below is a sample Task 1 question on line graphs. It uses the following structure.

Paragraph 1

Paraphrase question

Paragraph 2

Overview  of 2 main features. You will notice that I have included no numbers and used very general language.

Paragraph 3

Details of the first main feature. Here I have gone into more detail about the first general point I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Paragraph 4

Details of the second main feature.

You will notice that I have written a lot more about the first feature. I did this because I think the most used fuels and more significant. You will also notice that I shortened ‘Quadrillion units’ to ‘q’. This is acceptable if you tell the examiner this by putting it in brackets, as I have done.

Don’t look at the answer yet try to do the question without any help and then compare it with my answer.

The graph below gives information from a 2008 report about energy consumption in the USA since 1980, with projections until 2030.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and making comparisons where relevant.

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

The line graph shows energy consumption by fuel type in the United States from 1980-2008, with projected use until 2030.

Overall, fossil fuels have been the dominant type and will continue this trend into the future. Nuclear and renewable energy sources have represented a small but significant proportion of total energy use, and despite small projected gains, they are projected to continue doing so.

Petrol and Oil command the biggest share with 35 quadrillion units (35q) in 1980, rising to approximately 40q in 2008, and this trend is set to continue with a projected value of nearly 50q in 2030. In 1980 natural gas and coal came in second and third, with around 16q and 20q, respectively. However, coal overtook natural gas in 1990 and, despite some fluctuation, is set to be the second most used fuel in 2030 with just over 30q. It is predicted that natural gas will level off and remain relatively constant at about 25q.

Nuclear and renewable energies all represented around 4q in 1980 and fluctuated up until 2008.  It is speculated that nuclear energy will reach 10q by 2030 and solar/wind around 5q, with hydropower dropping and then remaining constant at approximately 2q.

I hope you have found this useful and if there are other questions you would like me to answer, just let me know in the comments section below.

For a more detailed post, visit how to answer IELTS task 1 chart questions .

You may also find my grammar guide for IELTS task 1 useful. It has lots of phrases to help you describe data.

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: US Energy Consumption

Writing task 1.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below gives information from a 2008 report about the consumption of energy in the US since 1980 with projections for 2030. 

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main feature and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Version 01: Y-Axis

The line graph compares the six different sources of fuel in the United States and its consumption from 1980 and its projection until 2030 made in 2008. Overall, Petrol and Oil will be the highest energy source while Solar/Wind and Hydropower to remain steady. 

In the US, Petrol and Oil recorded the highest source of energy consumption amongst the six, accounting for 35 quadrillion units in 1980. Although there was a slight decrease in 1985 and 1995, it remained the highest, and by 2030 it is projected to reach 50 quadrillion units.

Natural Gas and Coal were in second and third place for energy utilization accounting for 20 and 15 quadrillion units in 1980, and by the following years, these two sources raced to be in second place. Coal usage will double by 2030, while natural gas use will increase by five quadrillion units.

Nuclear, Solar/Wind, and Hydropower started around four quadrillions in 1980 and remained constant until 1990. Nuclear power output peaked at seven quadrillions in 2010, and it is predicted to remain stable through 2030. Solar/wind and hydropower were projected to be around five and four quadrillion units, respectively, indicating that these two are the least used energy sources in the US.

Version 02: X-Axis

The line graph compares the 2008 report about the different energy consumption by fuels in the US from 1980 until 2030. Overall, within five decades, Petrol and Oil will be the primary source of power while hydropower will be the least. 

In 1980, Petrol and Oil were the highest fuel used in the US, accounting for 35 quadrillion units. Natural gas and goal came in the second and third place, with 20 q and 15 q units accordingly. After five years, a slight decrease happened while the other three energy sources (Nuclear, Solar/Wind, and Hydropower) started to increase slightly around 5 q units.

In 2005, petrol and oil reached 40 q units while natural gas and coal reached the same level of around 23 q units. Solar/Wind and Hydropower remained constant, but nuclear power had reached 6 q units. 

In 2030, coal will reach 30 q units and outperform natural gas by 5 q units, while nuclear and solar /wind will remain at the same level. Hydropower is projected at only 3 q units while Petrol and Oil will reach 48 q units. 

Source: IELTS Cambridge 09. Test 4

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• April 8, 2022

IELTS Academic Writing Line Graph Sample: The US Energy consumption by fuel

The graph below gives information from a 2008 report about the consumption of energy in the USA since 1980 with projections until 2030.

Summaries the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where revelant.

The line graph compares the amount of energy consumption, in quadrillion units, generated from six types of sources in the USA from 1980 to the present (2022) with the predicted trend for each until 2030.

Overall, clean energies have not been popular so far and will most probably not be for the foreseeable future. By contrast, fossil fuels, especially petrol and oil, will continue to have more share of the industry as they have since 1980.

Regarding the clean energies, their initial figures were equal at approximately 4q. While the consumption rates of nuclear power and solar or wind energy have risen and are expected to continue to increase to about 10q and 5q respectively, those of hydroelectricity, which have remained relatively constant so far, will not change until the end of the period.

In terms of fossil fuels, petrol and oil were by far the most used sources of energy in the USA with the number at 35q in 1980. This rate has risen to around 45q and is predicted to reach a little under 50q by the end of the period. Similarly, the initial shares of coal (nearly 16q) and natural gas (20q) have experienced rather similar upward trends throughout the years, but it is expected that the consumption of the former will continue to rise to around 30q and that of the latter will remain constant at around 25q during the final 15 years.

This sample was written in the year 2022, so if you are reading it in 2023 or later, please know that 2023+ was considered future to me while writing.

Personalized feedback and more guides:

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Energy consumption by the fuel - line chart in ielts writing task 1

Us energy chart.

beckaa 3 / 7   Jun 24, 2022   #3 The line graph doesn't end at the moment but continues to the future so I don't think the sentence "it develops stably until now" reflects the best what you are trying to infer.

U.S. Energy Consumption by Fuel (1980-2030): AC Writing Task 1

U.S. Energy Consumption by Fuel (1980-2030). Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Sample 1 U.S. Energy Consumption by Fuel (1980-2030): AC Writing Task 1

The information about the USA’s energy consumption of full in 1980 to 2030 is depicted by the line graph. From an oral analysis, it is clear that petrol and oil are at maximum point whereas hydropower is at the minimum.

As elucidated from the illustration, petrol and oil were on 35 quadrillion units in 1980. In 1985 year, petrol and oil stood at 32 quadrillion units, and the figure will slightly increase to 50 quadrillion units in 2030. There was a difference of 4% in the consumption of coal and natural gas in the year 1995, and the respective figure were 22 and 19 for quadrillion units.

Moreover, it is interesting to note that the US energy consumption of nuclear, solar energy and hydropower was the same at three quadrillion units from 1980 to 1985. Nuclear power will slightly increase to 7 quadrillion units from 2005 to 2030. Hydropower will be stable from 2010 to 2030.

Sample 2 U.S. Energy Consumption by Fuel (1980-2030): AC Writing Task 1

The line graph describes the number of U.S power gas usage from 1980 to 2030 and is measured in a quadrillion. Overall, it can be seen that petrol and oil had the highest consumption in history and projections while hydropower is rarely used in the country over the period.

Firstly, in 1980, the number of people that consumed petrol and oil stood at 35. Following this, it decreased slightly to about 29 in 1985, it then fluctuated for the next ten years, after that it remained constant from 2000 and finally hit a peak of about 47 in 2030 predictions.

Next, coal users started at 16 in 1980 and remained the same for ten years. Subsequently, it rose minimally to about 22 in 1995, thereafter did not change for the next 30 years and finally witnessed a trough of about 26 in the last year of the forecast.

In contrast, natural gas 20 quadrillion people that utilized it in 1980 compared to a difference of 4 in carbon. After this, it saw a small fluctuation for 15 years and later increased gradually to about 23 in 2000. However, it declined slowly to 20 after ten years, then rise to 23 again in 2015 and levelled out from 2020-2030.

Nuclear, solar/wind and hydropower are in a different category because it has the lowest purchase. History has it that only about four quadrillion users were recorded in 1980. Their projections fluctuated steadily between 5,4,3(Q) consumers, respectively, over the period.

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Ielts writing task 1 #89.

The verb Tell can be used to refer to a chart/graph: The graph tells us how much energy was consumed. However, it is better to use language that is more impersonal: The graph shows how much energy was consumed. You should not use Say to talk about charts/graphs: From the graph I can say how much energy …

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below gives information from Annual Energy Outlook 2008 about consumption of energy in the USA since 1980 with projection until 2030.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Model answer

The graph shows consumption of energy in the U.S. since 1980 with projections through 2030.

The historical trends show Petrol and Oil as the major sources of fuel, rising from 35 quadrillion (35q) units used in 1980 to 42q in 2012. Despite some fluctuation between 1980 and 1995, there was a steady increase, which is expected to continue, reaching 47q in 2030.

Consumption of energy from natural gas and coal followed a similar pattern over the period. From 20q and 15q respectively in 1980, gas showed an initial fall and coal a gradual increase, with the two fuels equal between 1985 and 1990. Consumption has fluctuated since 1990 but both now provide 24q. Coal consumption is projected to rise to 31q in 2030, whereas after 2014, natural gas is forecast to remain stable at 25q.

In 1980, energy from solar/wind, nuclear, and hydropower was the least-used, with only 4q. Nuclear has risen by 3q, and solar/wind by 2. Since 2005, hydropower has fallen back to the 1980 figure. It is expected to remain approximately constant through 2030, while the others are projected to rise gradually after 2025.

Overall, fossil fuels will remain the chief energy source for the US, with a little bit of hydroelectric, nuclear and a smidgen of renewables like wind and solar.

(215 words)

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Graph Writing # 105 - Consumption of energy in the USA since 1980 with projections

Ielts academic writing task 1/ graph writing - line graph:, the graph below gives information from a 2008 report about consumption of energy in the usa since 1980 with projections until 2030..

• Graph Writing
• Academic Writing Task 1

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US ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY FUEL (1980-2030)

IELTS academic US ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY FUEL (1980-2030)

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