Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-05
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The graph below shows the number of shops that closed and the number of new shops that opened in one country between 2011 and 2018.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Number of shop closures and openings 2011– 2018
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The graph illustrates the number of shop openers and closers during the year between 2011 and 2018.
In an overview graph shows the downward action of shops openers while shops closers fluctuated considerably. The most noticeable feature is that the shop closers fall dramatically to below around 1000 in the year of 2015. whereas shops openers ended their period below in 2018.
In the beginning The amount of shops openers is 8500 which is shown highest in the graph while shops closers are 6000 in 2011. after this openers shows a small fall in 2012 and remaining 4000 while there is a small change of shops closers which is 6000.After that, openings recovered to approximately 5,000 in 2013 and continued to rise to about 6,200 in 2014. Meanwhile, shop closures reached a peak of roughly 7,200 in 2013 before declining to around 6,500 the following year.
In 2015, the number of shop closures experienced a dramatic fall to below 1,000, which was the lowest figure shown on the graph. However, this number recovered rapidly to just over 5,000 in 2016 and remained relatively stable during the final three years, finishing at approximately 5,200 in 2018. By contrast, shop openings stayed at around 4,000 in both 2015 and 2016 before increasing slightly to about 4,200 in 2017. Finally, the figure declined to approximately 3,000 in 2018, the lowest level for shop openings during the period.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task, providing a clear overview and highlighting key trends. You successfully identified the main features, such as the dramatic fall in closures in 2015 and the overall downward trend for openings. However, the overview paragraph is slightly disjointed and contains some inaccuracies in phrasing, such as 'downward action of shops openers'. While the main features are reported, the comparison between the two categories could be more integrated to improve the flow of information. Overall, the response is well-structured and addresses the requirements of the prompt effectively.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'meanwhile', 'by contrast', and 'after this' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing and sentence structure that occasionally disrupt the flow. For instance, the transition 'In the beginning The amount of shops openers is 8500' is slightly awkward. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different time periods, which helps the reader follow the progression of the data.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'fluctuated', 'dramatically', and 'recovered'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'shop openers' and 'shop closers' instead of 'new shop openings' and 'shop closures'. Additionally, phrases like 'downward action' are not natural in this context. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Expanding your repertoire of reporting verbs and noun phrases related to data trends would be beneficial.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the year of 2015') and verb tense consistency ('openers shows a small fall'). Some sentences are slightly fragmented or lack proper punctuation, such as 'In the beginning The amount...'. Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear, and the grammatical mistakes do not significantly impede the reader's understanding. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles when describing data.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.