Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-29
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 line graph provides information about the number of shops that closed and the number of new shops that opened in one country from 2011 to 2018 over a 8 years,measured in numbers.
Overall,it can be seen that the number of shops closures showed an increasing trend,while the number of openings experienced a decreasing trend over a period.
In the beginning,in 2011, started with 6500 number of shops closures and increased to 7300 closures in 2013.However, it decreased slightly in 2014 about 6600 clousers.By 2015,there was a dramatic decline and its around 500 closures.Following this,the number of shops closures showed a rapid increase of 5100 closures between 2015 to 2018.
On the other hand, the number of openings had the highest opennings in 2011,at around 8500 ,and a gardual decline over the time,which reaching nearly 4000 number of oprnnings in 2012.Meanwhile, the number of shops openning was goes up in 2014,at 6000.But there was a sharp fall in 2015 approximately 4000 number of opennings.Finally,the country shops oppening decreased rapidly to finish the period 3000 number of opennings in 2018.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The candidate covers all the key features of the graph, presenting an overview and reporting specific data points for both shop closures and openings. However, there are several noticeable inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, the student states that closures reached '7300 closures in 2013' (chart shows around 7,200), and dramatically misreads the 2015 figure for closures as 'around 500' when the line indicates 600, followed by a confused statement that it rose to '5100 closures between 2015 to 2018' (it actually rose from 600 to 5,200). Furthermore, the overview is overly simplistic. Because of these inaccuracies in data transcription and somewhat limited development of comparisons, the response falls into the Band 5.0 range.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is structured into four distinct paragraphs, following a logical layout (introduction, overview, body paragraph for closures, body paragraph for openings). However, the progression is sometimes hindered by clunky transitions and mechanical cohesive devices. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main categories of data, but referencing within the text is occasionally unclear, such as abrupt shifts in the openings paragraph ('Meanwhile, the number of shops openning was goes up...'). Overall arrangement is coherent, but the execution of cohesive elements and referencing errors place this at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts to use topic-specific terminology like 'increasing trend', 'decreasing trend', 'dramatic decline', and 'sharp fall'. However, there are numerous word formation and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'clousers', 'oprnnings', 'oppening', and awkward phrasing like 'number of shops closures showed an increasing trend'. Lexical control is inconsistent, leading to noticeable errors that occasionally distract the reader. This performance aligns best with the Band 5.0 descriptors, showing a limited yet minimally adequate range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent errors in verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, such as 'started with 6500 number of shops closures', 'its around 500 closures', and 'was goes up'. Punctuation is also problematic, with missing spaces after commas throughout the text (e.g., 'Overall,it can be seen'). While communication is generally maintained, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors restricts the score to Band 5.0.
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