📊 IELTS Writing Task 1 – Topic 3

🎯 Question

The line graph below shows the population growth in three regions (Asia, Europe, and Africa) between 1960 and 2020.

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📝 Model Answer (Band 8–9, ~190 words)

The line graph compares population growth in Asia, Europe, and Africa between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, Asia experienced the most dramatic increase, while Europe’s population grew slowly before stabilising. Africa also saw rapid growth, particularly after 1990.

In 1960, Asia had the highest population, at about 1.5 billion, compared with 600 million in Europe and around 300 million in Africa. Over the following decades, Asia’s figure rose sharply, more than doubling to over 3.5 billion by 2020.

Africa’s growth was also notable. From a relatively low base of 300 million, its population increased steadily, accelerating after 1990 to reach approximately 1.3 billion in 2020 — more than four times its 1960 level.

By contrast, Europe showed the least growth. Its population climbed slowly from 600 million in 1960 to just over 700 million in 1990, before levelling off and remaining almost unchanged thereafter.

In summary, Asia and Africa saw substantial rises in population over the period, whereas Europe experienced only modest growth followed by stability.

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🔑 Useful Vocabulary

• Rose sharply / grew steadily / levelled off / remained stable

• Dramatic increase / gradual growth / modest rise / stabilised

• More than doubled / quadrupled / more than four times as high

• From a low base / by contrast / the most significant growth

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🔗 Linking Words

• Contrast: whereas, by contrast, while

• Time phrases: over the following decades, after 1990, thereafter

• Cause/Effect: as a result, consequently, therefore

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✍️ Guidelines for Writing This Essay

1. Plan (2–3 minutes)

   • Identify highest (Asia).

   • Identify lowest (Africa in 1960, but rapid growth later).

   • Identify slowest growth (Europe).

2. Structure

   • Introduction: paraphrase question.

   • Overview: main trends (Asia + Africa rapid growth, Europe stable).

   • Body 1: Asia + Africa.

   • Body 2: Europe.

   • Conclusion: summarise.

3. Topic Sentences

   • “Asia experienced the greatest population growth, more than doubling over the period.”

   • “Africa also grew rapidly, particularly after 1990.”

   • “In contrast, Europe’s growth was slow and eventually stabilised.”

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💡 Language Focus

• Verb vs. Noun forms:

  • The population rose sharply / There was a sharp rise in the population.

  • Europe’s numbers levelled off / Europe saw a period of stability.

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🔟 Practice Exercises

A. Fill-in

1. Asia’s population ______ from 1.5 to 3.5 billion.

2. Europe’s population ______ at around 700 million after 1990.

B. Rewrite with noun phrases

1. “Africa’s population grew steadily.” → …

2. “Europe’s population levelled off.” → …

C. Choose overview
a) Asia 1.5 → 3.5bn, Europe 600→700m, Africa 300→1.3bn.
b) Asia and Africa grew rapidly, while Europe remained relatively stable.

D. Comparisons

1. Asia’s population in 2020 was ______ Africa’s in 1960.

2. Africa’s population more than ______ between 1960 and 2020.

E. Spot the error
“Europe population was stable from 1990.”

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✅ Suggested Answers

A: 1. rose sharply 2. remained stable
B: 1. There was steady growth in Africa’s population. 2. There was a levelling off in Europe’s population.
C: b)
D: 1. more than ten times 2. quadrupled
E: Missing article → “Europe’s population…”

 

📖 Chapter 5: Advice from a Caterpillar

Alice wandered through the wood until she came to a large mushroom. On top of it sat a blue Caterpillar, calmly smoking a long hookah (a water pipe).

The Caterpillar looked at Alice for some time without speaking. At last, in a slow, deep voice, it said:
“Who are you?”

Alice felt confused. “I—I hardly know, sir. I knew who I was this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked the Caterpillar.

Alice explained about growing and shrinking after eating and drinking different things. The Caterpillar puffed smoke and said coolly, “It is very confusing to you, isn’t it?”

Alice sighed. “Yes. I can’t remember things as I used to. For example, I try to say How doth the little busy bee, but it comes out all wrong.”

“Repeat You are old, Father William,” said the Caterpillar.

Alice tried, but the words came out strangely again. The Caterpillar listened, then said, “That is not correct. But it doesn’t matter. Keep your temper.”

Alice bit her lip. “It is very provoking,” she said.

The Caterpillar puffed his hookah a few more times, then asked, “So, you think you’ve changed? Do you like being different sizes?”

“Well, I’d like to be a little larger,” said Alice politely. “Three inches is such a very small size.”

“It is a very good height indeed!” said the Caterpillar angrily. “I am exactly three inches high.”

Alice quickly apologized. She didn’t want to upset him.

For a while, they sat in silence. At last the Caterpillar took the hookah from his mouth and said, “One side of the mushroom will make you grow taller. The other side will make you grow shorter.”

Then, without another word, he slid down off the mushroom and crawled away into the grass.

Alice looked at the mushroom carefully. But which side was which? She broke off a piece from the right-hand side and tasted it. Instantly, she felt her chin strike her foot—she had shrunk so small she could hardly breathe! Terrified, she quickly nibbled a piece from the other side. At once her neck shot up like a long telescope, rising high above the treetops. Birds screamed at her, thinking she was a serpent.

Alice panicked and ate a little more from the first piece. Slowly, slowly, she returned to her usual size. She was still a little shaky, but she felt proud. “At least now I can control it,” she said to herself. “One piece makes me bigger, the other makes me smaller.”

With the mushroom pieces in her hands, Alice felt ready for new adventures in Wonderland.

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📘 Glossary

• Caterpillar – a small insect that later becomes a butterfly

• Hookah – a long water pipe for smoking, often used in the Middle East and Asia

• Confused – not able to think clearly or understand

• Puffed – blew smoke from the mouth

• Provoking – making someone annoyed or angry

• Apologized – said sorry

• Mushroom – a type of fungus with a stem and a round top

• Nibbled – ate in small bites

• Telescope – an instrument that can stretch long, like Alice’s neck here

• Serpent – a large snake

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❓ Comprehension Questions

1. What was the Caterpillar doing when Alice first saw him?

2. How did Alice feel when asked “Who are you?”

3. What problem did Alice describe about her memory?

4. Which poem did the Caterpillar ask her to repeat?

5. Why was the Caterpillar angry when Alice wished to be taller?

6. What advice did the Caterpillar give Alice about the mushroom?

7. What happened when Alice ate from the right-hand side of the mushroom?

8. What happened when she ate from the other side?

9. Why did the birds scream at Alice?

10. How did Alice feel after she learned to control her size?

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✅ Answers

1. Sitting on a mushroom and smoking a hookah.

2. She felt confused and unsure of herself.

3. She said she couldn’t remember poems properly.

4. You are old, Father William.

5. Because he himself was only three inches high.

6. That one side of the mushroom made her taller, the other made her shorter.

7. She shrank until she was extremely tiny.

8. Her neck grew very long, like a telescope.

9. They thought she was a serpent.

10. Proud, though a little shaky.

 

📊 IELTS Writing Task 1 – Topic 2

🎯 Question

The pie chart below shows the percentage of electricity generated from different sources in Country X in 2022.

(I will generate the pie chart after building the lesson content.)

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📝 Model Answer (Band 8–9, ~190 words)

The pie chart illustrates the proportion of electricity produced from five different sources in Country X in 2022.

Overall, fossil fuels were the dominant source of power, accounting for more than half of the total, while renewable energy sources together made up a smaller but still significant share. Nuclear energy contributed the least.

According to the chart, coal was the largest contributor, generating 35% of the electricity supply. This was followed by natural gas at 25%, meaning that together these two fossil fuels accounted for 60% of total production. Oil represented a smaller share of 10%.

In contrast, renewable sources made up nearly one-third of the total. Hydropower contributed 15%, and solar and wind combined provided another 20%. Despite this, their total still fell short of fossil fuel output. Nuclear power was the least significant source, producing just 5%.

In summary, electricity generation in Country X remained heavily dependent on fossil fuels, although renewables also played an important and growing role.

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🔑 Useful Vocabulary

• Dominant source / accounted for / represented

• Made up / contributed / provided

• Fell short of / in contrast / the least significant

• More than half / nearly one-third / together made up

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🔗 Linking Words

• Addition: in addition, furthermore, together, combined

• Contrast: whereas, in contrast, while

• Proportion language: accounted for, represented, made up

• Superlatives: the largest contributor, the least significant

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✍️ Guidelines for Writing This Essay

1. Plan (2–3 minutes)

   • Identify largest (coal, 35%).

   • Identify smallest (nuclear, 5%).

   • Group fossil fuels vs renewables.

2. Structure

   • Introduction: Paraphrase question.

   • Overview: Highlight main trends (fossil fuels dominate, nuclear least).

   • Body 1: Fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil).

   • Body 2: Renewables + nuclear.

   • Conclusion: Summarise.

3. Topic Sentences

   • “Fossil fuels together produced the majority of electricity.”

   • “By contrast, renewable sources contributed a smaller but notable proportion.”

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💡 Language Focus

• Comparisons:

  • Coal produced more than double the share of nuclear energy.

  • Gas accounted for 25%, slightly higher than hydropower at 15%.

• Verb phrases vs. Noun phrases:

  • Coal contributed 35% / Coal’s contribution was 35%.

  • Nuclear represented only 5% / Nuclear’s share was just 5%.

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🔟 Practice Exercises

Exercise A (fill-in)

1. Coal ______ 35% of electricity.

2. Nuclear was the ______ contributor at 5%.

3. Renewables together ______ nearly one-third of total power.

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Exercise B (rewrite)

1. “Coal produced 35%.” → Rewrite using a noun phrase.

2. “Gas accounted for 25%.” → Rewrite using a noun phrase.

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Exercise C (overview)

Choose the better overview:
a) Coal 35%, gas 25%, oil 10%, hydro 15%, solar + wind 20%, nuclear 5%.
b) Fossil fuels made up the majority, while nuclear was the smallest contributor.

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Exercise D (true/false)

1. Coal and gas together represented 60%.

2. Nuclear contributed the same share as oil.

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Exercise E (vocabulary match)

1. Dominant

2. Fell short of

3. Accounted for
   a) was the main part
   b) made up
   c) did not reach

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Exercise F (comparisons)

Rewrite: “Coal was 35%, nuclear was 5%” using:

• seven times as much as

• more than six times greater than

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Exercise G (spot the error)

Find the error: “Solar and wind makes up 20% of the total.”

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Exercise H (short writing)

Write one sentence comparing fossil fuels and renewables using whereas.

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Exercise I (expand)

Turn into full sentence: “Coal 35%, Hydro 15%, gap 20%.”

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Exercise J (mini-essay)

Write a 50-word overview of the pie chart.

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✅ Suggested Answers

A: 1. accounted for / contributed 2. least 3. made up
B: 1. Coal’s share was 35% 2. Gas’s share was 25%
C: b)
D: 1. True 2. False
E: 1=a, 2=c, 3=b
F: Coal produced seven times as much as nuclear. / Coal’s share was more than six times greater than nuclear’s.
G: Error: “makes” → should be “make up.”
H: Fossil fuels produced 60% of electricity, whereas renewables accounted for 35%.
I: Coal generated 35% of electricity, compared with 15% for hydro, a difference of 20%.
J: Overall, fossil fuels dominated electricity generation, led by coal, while renewables together formed a significant minority. Nuclear was by far the smallest source.