Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-02

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 6.0)

The line graph illustrates changes in the number of closed and newly opened shops in a country between 2011 and 2018.

Overall, closed shops showed a decline trend while new shops experience a constant flow. It is also noticeable that there is a sharp decline of closed shops whilst new shops faced little fluctuation.

At the beginning of the period, the number of closed shops stood at around 6500. Then it fell slighly to 6000 in 2012 before rising further to 7000. Additionally, it fell dramatically to nearly 500 by 2015 and a sharp uprising peak was obtained to 3200 in the next year.

Turning to newly opened shops, the figure initially stood at almost 8500. After falling, it reached at 4000 in 2012. Also, it is clearly visible that newly opened shops faces fluctuations during this time period. By the end of the period, it had fallen to 3000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making comparisons between closed and newly opened shops. However, some data points are inaccurate or misread, particularly regarding the graph's values, such as reporting closed shops as falling to nearly 500 in 2015 when the graph shows around 600, or confusing closures and openings in the details. The overview attempts to summarise the overall trends, stating that closed shops showed a declining trend while new shops experienced fluctuations, but the development of ideas remains somewhat limited and under-developed due to these factual inaccuracies in reading the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical paragraph structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific data points. Cohesive devices such as 'At the beginning of the period', 'Additionally', and 'Turning to newly opened shops' are used to structure the text, though referencing and cohesion can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the main features of the graph, ensuring the reader can follow the general progression of information.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

An adequate range of vocabulary is employed for the task, including appropriate reporting terms such as 'illustrates', 'decline trend', and 'fluctuations'. The student attempts less common vocabulary like 'dramatically' and 'uprising peak', though these sometimes suffer from minor inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as 'decline trend' instead of 'downward trend'. Spelling and word-choice errors are present, for instance 'slighly' instead of 'slightly', but these do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over basic structures. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing subject-verb agreement or awkward phrasing like 'new shops experience a constant flow' and 'newly opened shops faces fluctuations', but these errors are infrequent and rarely impede communication. Tense usage is generally consistent when referring to past years between 2011 and 2018.

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