The total amount of waste produced by cities and towns of six countries in 1980, 1990 and 2000

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Tables

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IELTS Writing Task 1 Question

The graph below shows the total amount of waste produced by cities and towns of six countries in 1980, 1990 and 2000. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Common Questions for Column Graph Data

1. Graph Type: Column graph.

2. Title: Total Amount of Waste Produced by Cities and Towns of Six Countries (1980, 1990, and 2000).

3. What are the units of measurement?: Million tonnes.

4. Who: Cities and towns in Japan, Korea, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, and the USA.

5. When: 1980, 1990, 2000.

6. Where: Six countries (Japan, Korea, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, USA).

7. Topic: The total amount of waste produced by cities and towns in six countries.

Comparison Showing and Trends Any change over time (such as an increase or a decrease) is a trend.

Details:
The USA consistently generated the highest waste throughout the period, starting with 141 million tonnes in 1980 and increasing to 213 million tonnes by 1990.
Japan produced the least waste, starting at 0.6 million tonnes in 1980 and seeing a significant increase to 3 million tonnes by 2000.
The waste generated in countries like Portugal, Poland, and Ireland showed moderate increases, with sharp increases observed in Ireland between 1980 and 1990.
Korea’s waste production decreased between 1990 and 2000, while other countries saw either moderate increases or stable waste generation.

Sample Answer

The given graph shows the total amount of waste generated in a million tonnes by cities and towns in six countries—Japan, Korea, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, and the USA—between 1980 and 2000.

Overall, a clear trend emerges: the USA consistently generated the largest amount of waste while Japan remained the lowest waste producer throughout the entire period.

In 1980, Japan produced only 0.6 million tonnes of waste, the lowest among the six countries. The USA, by contrast, generated 141 million tonnes of waste, which was the highest. Over the next decade, waste production increased sharply in Ireland, from 20 million tonnes to 41 million tonnes, and in the USA, from 141 million tonnes to 213 million tonnes. Waste generation in Portugal and Poland grew slightly, while Korea’s data was missing in 1990.

Between 1990 and 2000, waste generation increased moderately in Ireland, Portugal, and the USA, but Korea’s waste production decreased from 31 million tonnes in 1990 to 19 million tonnes in 2000.

Top 27 Vocabularies

Vocabulary	Meaning	Synonyms	Examples	Type
Escalation	A rapid increase or rise	Increase, surge	“There was a sharp escalation in the waste generated by Ireland between 1980 and 1990.”	Noun
Profound	Very great or intense	Significant, Substantial	“The decade from 1990 to 2000 did not see such a profound escalation in waste generation.”	Adjective
Moderate	Average or medium in amount	Reasonable, mild	“Ireland, Portugal, and the USA saw moderate growth in waste production from 1990 to 2000.”	Adjective
Minimal	Very small or insignificant	Slight, negligible	“Portugal and Poland saw minimal increases in waste production from 1980 to 1990.”	Adjective
Consistently	In a way that is unchanging or steady	Unchangingly, constantly	“The USA consistently generated the highest amount of waste throughout the period.”	Adverb
Trends	General directions or patterns of change	Patterns, tendencies	“The graph reveals a clear trend in waste generation over the years.”	Noun
Sharp	Sudden and intense in degree	Steep, drastic	“Waste production in the USA saw a sharp increase between 1980 and 1990.”	Adjective
Increase	A rise or growth in amount or level	Growth, rise	“Waste generation increased significantly in the USA from 1980 to 1990.”	Noun
Significant	Having a noticeable effect or importance	Notable, considerable	“The increase in Ireland’s waste production was significant between 1980 and 1990.”	Adjective
Decline	A reduction or decrease in amount	Drop, decrease	“Korea experienced a decline in waste production from 1990 to 2000.”	Noun
Data	Factual information used for analysis	Information, statistics	“The data from 1990 showed a decrease in Korea’s waste production.”	Noun
Sharp increase	A rapid or steep rise	Sudden surge, significant jump	“The sharp increase in waste production was observed in the USA.”	Noun
Moderate	Average in size or degree, not extreme	Reasonable, mild	“The waste increase in Portugal was moderate between 1980 and 2000.”	Adjective
Slight	Small or insignificant in amount or degree	Minor, small	“Poland’s waste production saw only slight growth from 1980 to 1990.”	Adjective
Amount	A quantity or volume of something	Quantity, sum	“The amount of waste produced by Japan remained low over the entire period.”	Noun
Proportion	The relationship in size or amount between parts or elements	Ratio, share	“The proportion of waste generated by Japan was the lowest.”	Noun
Generate	To produce or create	Create, produce	“The USA generated the highest amount of waste in 1980.”	Verb
Consistently	In a way that remains constant or uniform	Constantly, unchangingly	“Ireland consistently saw growth in waste production.”	Adverb
Rise	To increase in amount or level	Increase, climb	“There was a rise in the amount of waste produced in Portugal in the 1990s.”	Noun
Sharp rise	A rapid increase or surge	Steep increase, rapid growth	“The sharp rise in waste generation in the USA was striking.”	Noun
Increase steadily	To grow gradually and evenly	Grow smoothly, rise gradually	“Korea’s waste production increased steadily from 1980 to 1990.”	Verb
Comparatively	In relation to something else	Relatively, in comparison	“Korea’s waste production was comparatively low in the 1990s.”	Adverb
Throughout	Across the entire period or area	All through, during	“Japan remained the lowest waste producer throughout the period.”	Preposition
Period	A length or span of time	Duration, interval	“The period from 1980 to 2000 showed varying levels of waste production.”	Noun
Chart	A visual representation of data	Graph, diagram	“The chart shows the clear trends in waste production across the countries.”	Noun
Fluctuate	To change or vary irregularly	Vary, change	“Waste generation fluctuated significantly in several countries.”	Verb
Substantial	Of considerable importance or size	Significant, considerable	“The increase in waste generation in the USA was substantial.”	Adjective

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