Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-06

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 line graph illustrate the amount of old shops that have been shutdown and new shops were opened in the very same country from the 2011 to the 2018.

To beging with, in the end of the 2012 there was a sharp plunged in the old business and after that the there was a dramatically switched in the businedd and boomed till 2014. Howvere by the end of 2018 the old business sucsequently submerged.

In constarcst to this, although the new business were seem running with slightly fluctuation from 2011 to 2014 but there was a massive changed had seen in the graph which depicts the sudden declined in the number of shops. Despite this phenomenon the new market hugely increased in 2016 then the trend follows the same.

In short, During these seven years of period the new business had shown the dipped only for two years while the old shops revealed the countinuous fluctaion adn eventually come to an end.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource4.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response attempts to address the prompt by discussing shop closures and openings, but it only does so minimally and with severe inaccuracies. The data reported is largely incorrect or confusing, such as mentioning that closures 'subsequently submerged' by 2018 or misinterpreting the graph's trajectory entirely. There is no clear overview provided of the overall trends shown in the chart. Instead of a cohesive summary of the main features, the text offers disjointed and inaccurate statements about the data points. To move to a higher level, the writer must carefully select key features from the chart, report the numbers or trends accurately without distorting the facts, and provide a clear overview outlining the main differences between shop closures and openings over the period.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text is organized into paragraphs, and attempts are made to link ideas using transitional markers such as 'To beging with', 'In constarcst to this', and 'In short'. However, the overall progression of ideas is difficult to follow due to confusing logic and awkward sequencing. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or misused, creating mechanical and unnatural transitions between sentences. Referencing is also weak, making it hard to determine what specific data points are being contrasted. To improve in this area, the writer needs to ensure that logical links genuinely connect ideas and that each paragraph flows naturally into the next with clear, accurate signposting.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is very basic, repetitive, and heavily flawed. There are numerous word choice, word form, and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'beging' instead of beginning, 'plunged' used as a noun, 'businedd', 'Howvere', 'sucsequently', 'constarcst', and 'declined' instead of decline. These errors and the limited range of terminology strain the reader and obscure the intended meaning of the data. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their vocabulary to include precise terms for describing trends and data (such as 'fluctuation', 'decline', or 'surge') and eliminate basic spelling and word-formation errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The grammatical structures attempted are very limited and plagued by frequent errors. The text contains numerous basic grammatical mistakes, including tense errors ('The line graph illustrate'), incorrect passive and active voice formations ('new shops were opened', 'business were seem running'), missing or incorrect articles, and faulty prepositions ('in the end of the 2012'). Complex sentence structures are attempted, but they are almost always faulty and contain errors that frequently impede communication and cause difficulty for the reader. To progress, the writer needs to focus on fundamental grammar rules, such as subject-verb agreement, correct verb tenses for describing data, and accurate sentence construction.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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