PDF worksheet
Lesson
Writing Task 1: Two charts together, selecting and grouping
When Task 1 gives you two charts, you can't describe every number. Learn to select the key features, group the data and link the charts, then write the report.
The selection problem
Two charts may contain twenty or more figures. A Band 7+ report selects: the largest categories, the biggest changes, and the link between the charts. Describing every number reads as a list and hides your overview.
A strategy
- Find the story of each chart in one sentence.
- Find the connection between them. Does one explain the other?
- Group similar items: "Heating and hot water together accounted for over 70%…"
- Mention small categories only if they changed significantly.
Language for proportions
| Expression | Use |
|---|---|
| accounted for / made up 41% | share of a total |
| the bulk of / the majority of | more than half |
| just over / just under / roughly a fifth | approximations |
| nearly doubled / fell by a fifth | changes in proportion |
Practise freely
Questions 1–6
Study the data, then complete each sentence with ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.
Share of household energy use by purpose (%) in one country
| Purpose | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Heating | 52 | 41 |
| Hot water | 20 | 18 |
| Appliances and electronics | 13 | 24 |
| Cooking | 9 | 8 |
| Lighting | 6 | 4 |
| Cooling | 0 | 5 |
Average energy use per household (kWh per year): 18,000 in 2000; 15,500 in 2020.
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In 2000, heating for just over half of household energy use.
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The share used by appliances and electronics nearly , from 13% to 24%.
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Heating and hot water together made up the of energy use in both years.
-
Cooling, which was not used at all in 2000, accounted for % by 2020.
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Average household consumption fell by kWh over the period.
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Cooking remained roughly , at 9% and 8%.
Questions 7–8
Choose the best answer.
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Which is the best overview?
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Which category is least worth describing in detail?
Your turn: write the report
The table and figures show how household energy was used in one country in 2000 and 2020, and the average total energy used per household. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Use the data above. Write at least 150 words.
Check your answer
Model answer
The table illustrates how households in one country divided their energy use between six purposes in 2000 and 2020, while the additional figures show the average annual consumption per household in each year.
Overall, households used less energy in 2020 than in 2000. Although heating remained by far the largest single use, its share declined, while appliances and electronics took up a considerably larger proportion.
In 2000, heating alone accounted for just over half of all household energy (52%), and together with hot water (20%) it made up almost three-quarters of the total. By 2020, these two purposes still represented the bulk of consumption, but their combined share had fallen to 59%, with heating dropping to 41%.
The most significant growth was in appliances and electronics, whose share nearly doubled from 13% to 24%. Cooling, which did not feature at all in 2000, accounted for 5% two decades later. Cooking and lighting, by contrast, changed little, at under 10% each. Meanwhile, average consumption per household fell from 18,000 to 15,500 kWh a year.
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