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 the installed wind and solar power capacity in five countries in 2010 and 2022.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Country | Wind 2010 | Wind 2022 | Solar 2010 | Solar 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 45 | 365 | 1 | 393 |
| USA | 40 | 141 | 3 | 113 |
| Germany | 27 | 66 | 18 | 67 |
| India | 13 | 42 | 0.1 | 63 |
| Brazil | 1 | 25 | 0 | 24 |
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 the installed wind and solar power capacity, in gigawatts, in five countries in 2010 and 2022.
Overall, capacity grew in every country for both technologies, and China expanded most. Solar power grew especially fast, overtaking wind in China, India and, narrowly, Germany by 2022.
China's wind capacity increased from 45 to 365 gigawatts, while its solar capacity rose from a mere 1 gigawatt to 393 gigawatts, making solar the larger technology. The USA also expanded, with wind growing from 40 to 141 gigawatts and solar from 3 to 113.
Germany grew more slowly because it started from a higher base for solar. Its wind capacity rose from 27 to 66 gigawatts and its solar capacity from 18 to 67, so solar was marginally ahead of wind in 2022.
India's solar capacity rose from just 0.1 gigawatts to 63, exceeding its wind capacity of 42, which had grown from 13. Brazil started with almost nothing, at 1 gigawatt of wind and none of solar, but reached 25 gigawatts of wind and 24 of solar by 2022.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| installed capacity | maximum power that can be generated |
| wind power | energy from wind |
| solar capacity | power from the sun |
| expand dramatically | grow enormously |
| from a low base | starting from small figures |
| GW | gigawatts, a unit of power |
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