Pick out the main features of this line graph for your overview, write your report on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model answer.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows carbon dioxide emissions in three regions of the world between 1980 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Category | Europe | North America | Asia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.2 |
| 1990 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.3 |
| 2000 | 5.2 | 6.9 | 9.5 |
| 2005 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 13 |
| 2010 | 4.8 | 6.5 | 17 |
| 2015 | 4.3 | 5.8 | 19.5 |
| 2020 | 3.4 | 5.2 | 20.8 |
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
An overview names the main trends or differences in one or two sentences, without numbers. These are the features a strong answer picks out:
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 150 minimum
Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.
Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
The line graph compares carbon dioxide emissions in Europe, North America and Asia between 1980 and 2020, measured in billion tonnes.
Overall, emissions in Asia increased dramatically, whereas those in Europe and North America ended the period lower than they were at its peak. Asia moved from having the lowest emissions to by far the highest.
In 1980 Europe emitted 5.8 billion tonnes and North America 5.4 billion, both well above Asia's 4.2 billion. Europe's figure then stayed almost flat at 5.9 billion in 1990 before falling steadily, to 5.2 billion in 2000, 4.8 billion in 2010 and 3.4 billion in 2020. North America rose to 5.9 billion in 1990 and then to a peak of 6.9 billion in 2000. It declined gradually from then on, ending at 5.2 billion in 2020, below its 1980 level.
Asia's emissions rose at an astonishing rate. They increased from 4.2 billion tonnes to 6.3 billion in 1990, overtaking both other regions, and then reached 9.5 billion in 2000 and 13 billion in 2005. The growth continued to 17 billion in 2010 and 19.5 billion in 2015, and Asia finished at 20.8 billion tonnes, almost five times its 1980 figure.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| carbon emissions | released carbon dioxide |
| rise dramatically | increase by a lot |
| almost fivefold | nearly five times |
| peak at | reach a maximum |
| stagnate | show little or no change |
| overtake | pass another figure |
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