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 given graph illustrates the number of shops that opened and closed from year 2011 to 2018.

There is a noticeable decrease in the amount of shops shutted down by the end of 2011 which lessened to 8500 to 4000 shops. The year 2012 to 2013 faced a gradual increase in the number of shops closed while lowered back to 4000 in 2015. The number stayed on average for about 2 years before falling to 3000.

On the other hand, the number of newly opened shops remained on an average of 6500 from year 2011 to 2014 before have a significant decrease to less then 1000 by 2015.

This number increased to more then 5000 by 2016 and remained on an average of 5000 newly opened shops by the end of 2018.

Overall, it can be concluded that the number of shops closed decreased from 8500 to 3000, having a signifcant effect on the country's economy in past 7 years. wherease the number of newly opened shops shows a downfall from 6400 to 5000 with important changes during the year 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The student attempts to cover the main trends in the graph, but there are severe inaccuracies in reading and reporting the data. For instance, the text confuses the two series completely, stating that closures lessened from 8500 to 4000 (whereas 8,500 was the opening figure in 2011) and misreporting the sharp drop in openings in 2015 as a drop in closures. Furthermore, the 2015 low point for closures (which hit approximately 600) is completely missed, and the final overview misquotes the starting and ending values of the trends. Because the data is heavily misread and confused across categories, the response falls into Band 4.0 for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is structured into an introduction, two body paragraphs covering each trend, and a concluding overview. However, cohesion is heavily impacted by the confusing content, making logical progression difficult to follow. Devices such as 'On the other hand' and 'Overall, it can be concluded that' are attempted, but referencing is poor due to mixed-up data between openings and closures. Paragraphing is present, separating the two lines of data, which prevents the score from dropping lower, but the overall organization struggles to make sense of the visual information.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses a limited range of vocabulary suited to describing trends, such as 'decrease', 'gradual increase', and 'signifcant effect'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('shutted', 'signifcant', 'wherease') and incorrect word forms ('have a significant decrease' instead of 'had a significant decrease'). Furthermore, vocabulary misuse extends to mixing up the key subjects (shops opened versus shops closed). While basic terms are adequate to convey the general topic, lexical control is weak, justifying a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is low. There are frequent errors such as tense inconsistencies ('lessened to 8500 to 4000', 'before have a significant decrease', 'wherease the number... shows'), missing prepositions, and punctuation issues. Relative clauses and time phrases are attempted ('shops that opened and closed', 'from year 2011 to 2018'), but errors in verb forms and agreement occur frequently throughout the response, impeding smooth reading.

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.