IELTS Academic Writing Task 1/ Graph Writing – Pie Charts:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The first chart below shows how energy is used in an average Australian household. The second chart shows the greenhouse gas emissions which result from this energy use.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Model Answer:
The two pie charts illustrate how average households in Australia use energy and how much greenhouse gas each type of energy consumption produces as a result.
Overall, although room and water heating consume the largest shares of energy in an average Australian house, other activities such as refrigeration and lighting create a disproportionately high amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
In detail, heating accounts for the biggest share of energy use at about 42%, yet it produces only around 15% of total greenhouse gases. Water heating requires the second-highest share of consumption (30%), and contributes close to 32% of emissions, making it one of the more significant sources. By contrast, household appliances such as refrigeration, lighting and other electrical equipment use far less energy but generate surprisingly high emissions. For instance, refrigeration uses only 7% of energy but produces about 14% of greenhouse gases. Lighting follows a similar pattern, consuming around 4% but creating nearly 8% of emissions. The category labelled “other appliances” takes just under 15% of energy use but is responsible for more than 28% of emissions, making it the single largest contributor among all categories. Finally, cooling shows a minor share in both charts. It uses only about 2% of energy and results in roughly 3% of emissions.