Pick out the main features of this table 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 table below shows coffee production and consumption in five countries.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Country | Production | Consumption |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 3,700 | 1,250 |
| Vietnam | 1,800 | 180 |
| Colombia | 850 | 130 |
| USA | 0 | 1,500 |
| Germany | 0 | 570 |
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
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Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
The table shows coffee production and consumption in five countries, in thousand tonnes.
Overall, the countries divide into producers and consumers. Brazil was by far the largest producer and also a major consumer, while the USA and Germany consumed coffee without producing any.
Brazil produced 3,700 thousand tonnes of coffee, more than double the output of Vietnam, the second-largest producer, at 1,800 thousand tonnes. Colombia produced 850 thousand tonnes, less than a quarter of the Brazilian figure. Brazil also consumed 1,250 thousand tonnes, so it retained about a third of what it grew.
Vietnam and Colombia consumed very little of their own output. Vietnamese consumption stood at only 180 thousand tonnes, while Colombian consumption, at 130 thousand tonnes, was the lowest of all five countries and less than a sixth of Colombia's production.
The USA and Germany produced no coffee but drank substantial quantities. The USA consumed 1,500 thousand tonnes, the highest consumption figure in the table and more than the whole of Brazil, while Germany consumed 570 thousand tonnes, more than Vietnam and Colombia combined.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| coffee production | growing and processing coffee |
| consume | use or drink |
| produce none | make zero |
| the leading producer | top maker |
| net exporter | a country that sells more than it uses |
| far more than | much greater |
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