Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-28

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 5.0)

The Graph Illustrates the number of closing and opening of new shops over 8 years from 2011 to 2018 in one country.

Overall, Graph shows flactuation in eight years and opening of new shops shows the significant drop in this period. While, The rest depict the minor growth and drop significantly in this period.

According To what is shown, Number of closing shops in 2011 were 8500.But in 2012 there was a significant drop to 4000 .Similarly in next two years 2013,2014 growth pattern was seen,In addition to it, in next years remains same and drop was also notice to 3000 in 2018.

The number of new shops was 6200 in 2011 drop to 6000 in 2012.Furthermore,A significant increase was seen.and acquire 7100 numbers.After it there was a massive drop in 2015 from 7100 to 800.While,In 2016 huge growth was also seen getting numbers of 5200.In the next two years the amount remains constant with slight increase in 2018from 500 to 5100.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The candidate attempts to cover the main features of the graph showing shop closures and openings between 2011 and 2018. However, there are significant data inaccuracies and confusion between the two categories. For instance, the student states that closing shops in 2011 were 8,500, whereas the data shows openings at 8,500 and closures at 6,400. Furthermore, data points are frequently misread or confused (e.g., mixing up the lines for openings and closures). The overview is attempted but lacks clarity regarding the overall trends. Because of the noticeable inaccuracies in reporting the data and confusing the two data sets, this performance aligns with Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is organised into paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and an overview, followed by body paragraphs. However, the logical progression is hindered by poor referencing and confusing sentence structures. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as 'While, The rest depict...' and 'According To what is shown...'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs is weak, often resulting in disjointed sentences that make it difficult to follow the relationships between data points. This corresponds to a Band 5 for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses a limited range of vocabulary relevant to the task, including words like 'flactuation', 'growth', 'drop', and 'constant'. There are spelling errors (e.g., 'flactuation') and awkward phrasing or word choices, such as 'acquire 7100 numbers' and 'getting numbers of 5200'. The lexical range is minimally adequate to convey basic trends, but frequent inaccuracies in word choice and collocation prevent it from reaching a higher band. Therefore, a Band 5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are frequent punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after periods and commas, and awkward sentence fragments (e.g., 'Furthermore,A significant increase was seen.and acquire 7100 numbers.'). Subject-verb agreement issues also appear, such as 'Number of closing shops... were'. While some sentences are understandable, grammatical errors and faulty complex structures frequently cause difficulty for the reader, placing this response firmly in Band 5.

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