The graph below shows how the prices of apples and oranges changed between 2010 and 2014 in Australia.
Sample Response
The bar graph compares price variations of apples and oranges in Australia over the five-year period from 2010over a 5-year period, commencing from 2010. Overall, the prices of both fruitsthe price of these two fruits went up every year and oranges became more expensive than apples in the later yearsorange became more expensive than apples in later years despite the opposite pattern in the earlier yearsa reverse price scenario in early years. According to the graphdiagram, a pound of apples costper pound apple cost approximately 4.75 dollars in 2010 in Australia. At that time, the price per pound of orangesprice of per pound orange was 4 dollarsdollar. In 2011Next year, the price of both fruits increased and it took roughly 5 dollars to purchase one pound of applesone pound apple while oranges sold forper pound orange was sold at just over 4 dollars. Interestingly, the prices of apples and oranges in 2012price of apple and orange in 2012 became almost identical – 5 dollarsdollar. After a year, orange was slightly expensive than apple as their prices were nearly 5 dollars 10 cents and 5 dollars 20 cents respectively. In the final year, 2014, oranges became even more expensivethe orange became even more expensive than apples. At that time, apple was sold for roughly 5 dollars 20 cents per pound while it was approximately 70 cents more for the same amount of orange.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The report gives a clear overview and tracks both fruit prices across every year, with most values and the change in relative price accurately described. Its main limitation is precision in 2013, where the order of the two figures conflicts with the stated comparison, alongside recurring awkward price expressions. Prioritise matching each value to the correct fruit and using consistent ‘dollars per pound’ phrasing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and complete chronological coverage capture the main trends accurately, apart from a reversed value pairing for 2013.
Verify the order of figures in every comparison so ‘respectively’ assigns each price to the correct fruit.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses clearly from 2010 to 2014 with effective sequencing, but presenting the entire report as one paragraph weakens structural clarity.
Separate the overview from the yearly details and divide the chronology into two focused detail paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a useful range of trend and comparison vocabulary, though several price collocations and comparative forms are unnatural.
Use consistent expressions such as ‘cost $5 per pound’ and ‘was slightly more expensive than’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sentence structures show some variety and meaning remains clear, but errors with articles, plurals, noun phrases, and comparatives occur repeatedly.
Proofread countable nouns and comparative constructions, especially forms involving ‘apple’, ‘orange’, ‘dollar’, and ‘expensive’.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph below shows how the prices of apples and oranges changed between 2010 and 2014 in Australia.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.