The table below shows the percentage of water used for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes in six countries.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 1 question on IELTSX. The table below shows the percentage of water used for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes in six countries.

Percentage water used agriculture industry domestic purposes six countries - IELTS Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

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

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Writing Task 1 chart for Percentage water used agriculture industry domestic purposes six countries
Chart supplied with the IELTS Writing Task 1 question: Percentage water used agriculture industry domestic purposes six countries

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 8.5 ยท 249 words.

The table illustrates the percentages of water used for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes in six countries in 2003.

Overall, agricultural activities consumed the largest proportion of water in the United Kingdom, China, India and Japan, whereas domestic use accounted for the greatest share in Canada and Australia. In addition, Canada recorded the highest percentage of industrial water use, while Australia had the lowest figure in this category.

Looking first at domestic water consumption, Australia and Canada had by far the highest proportions, at 65% and 63% respectively. Japan ranked third, with 19% of its water being used for household purposes. By contrast, the figures for India, China and the United Kingdom were considerably lower, at 10%, 6% and 5% respectively.

Regarding industrial use, Canada again recorded the highest percentage, with almost one-third (32%) of its water allocated to this sector. Japan followed at 15%, while India, China and the United Kingdom used relatively small proportions of water for industrial purposes, at 8%, 7% and 5% respectively. Australia had the lowest figure, at just 2%.

Turning to agricultural water consumption, the United Kingdom devoted the largest share of its water resources to this sector, at 90%. Similarly, agriculture accounted for the vast majority of water use in China and India, at 87% and 82% respectively. Japan also recorded a substantial figure of 66%, whereas Australia's proportion was markedly lower at 33%. Canada stood out as the country with the smallest percentage of water used for agriculture, at only 5%.

Examiner feedback

This is an exceptionally high-quality response that demonstrates a clear understanding of the data. The structure is logical, the language is precise and varied, and the overview captures the essential trends perfectly.

Task Achievement - 9

- The response fully satisfies all requirements of the task, covering all six countries across all three sectors. - The overview is clear and identifies the main trends (agricultural dominance vs. domestic dominance). - Key features are skillfully selected and illustrated with accurate data from the table.

Coherence & Cohesion - 8

- Information is logically sequenced by category (domestic, industrial, agricultural), making the data easy to follow. - Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with clear topic sentences for each section. - Cohesive devices like 'By contrast', 'Regarding', and 'Turning to' are used effectively to signal transitions.

Lexical Resource - 8

- A wide resource is used to convey precise meanings, including terms like 'allocated', 'substantial', and 'markedly'. - Collocations such as 'accounted for the greatest share' and 'devoted the largest share' are used naturally. - Synonyms for 'use' (consumption, allocated, devoted) prevent repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 9

- A wide range of structures is used with full flexibility and control. - The majority of sentences are error-free with precise punctuation. - Sophisticated use of participial phrases (e.g., 'with 19% of its water being used...') and complex comparisons.

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