The table below shows the sales at a small restaurant in a downtown business district.
Sample Response
The sales at this small restaurant during the week of October 7 to 13th followed a fairly set pattern from Monday to Friday, and then showed notable shift on the weekend. The lunch and dinner sales during the week peaked on Friday and then dipper down as the weekend set in. During the week of October 7-14th, the lunch sales averaged at approximately $2,400. The highest lunch sales occurred on Friday, and the lowest occurred on Sunday. Sunday’s lunch sales were approximately $1,000 less than the average lunch sales during the rest of the week. Dinner sales, which generated at least $1,000 to $1,500 more a day than lunch sales, also remained steady during the week. Just like the lunch sales, the dinner sales peak on Friday and dipped down for the weekend. Excluding Wednesday and Thursday, the lunch and dinner sales from October 7-11 rose gradually until the end of the business week. Midweek, on Wednesday and Thursday, the sales were slightly lower than they were on Tuesday. According to the sales report, this restaurant has a steady lunch and dinner crowd. The most profitable day during the second week of October was Friday. Sunday, was the least profitable day, with the full day’s sales totaling/totalling less than the Friday dinner sales. These numbers are reflective of a restaurant that is located in a business/financial district where business hours are Monday through Friday.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix date range Original: 13th Suggested revision: 13 Why it matters: Use matching cardinal-number forms for both dates in the range.
- 2. Add article Original: showed notable shift Suggested revision: showed a notable shift Why it matters: The singular countable noun “shift” requires an article here.
- 3. Correct verb form Original: dipper down Suggested revision: dipped Why it matters: “Dipper” is a spelling error, and “dipped” expresses the fall concisely.
- 4. Correct date range Original: 14th Suggested revision: 13 Why it matters: The table covers October 7 through October 13, not October 14.
- 5. Remove preposition Original: averaged at approximately Suggested revision: averaged approximately Why it matters: The verb “averaged” takes the numerical value directly in this structure.
- 6. Correct the average Original: 400 Suggested revision: 260 Why it matters: The seven lunch figures average about $2,260.
- 7. Correct lunch peak Original: Friday Suggested revision: Wednesday Why it matters: Lunch sales peak at $2,595 on Wednesday, rather than at $2,500 on Friday.
- 8. Correct difference Original: approximately $1,000 less Suggested revision: approximately $830 less Why it matters: Sunday lunch sales are about $828 below the average for the other six days.
- 9. Correct sales range Original: at least $1,000 to $1,500 more a day Suggested revision: between about $850 and $1,850 more per day Why it matters: The dinner-lunch gap ranges from $850 on Wednesday to $1,850 on Friday.
- 10. Fix comparison Original: Just like the lunch sales Suggested revision: Unlike the lunch sales Why it matters: Dinner peaks on Friday, whereas lunch reaches its maximum on Wednesday.
- 11. Use past tense Original: peak Suggested revision: peaked Why it matters: Past tense is required because the report describes a completed week.
- 12. Use precise trend verb Original: dipped down for the weekend Suggested revision: fell over the weekend Why it matters: “Fell” states the downward trend more concisely and naturally.
Suggested Rewrites
- 13th 13
- showed notable shift showed a notable shift
- dipper down dipped
- 14th 13
- averaged at approximately averaged approximately
- 400 260
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response is strongest in identifying the broad weekday-to-weekend pattern and comparing lunch with dinner sales, and its language is generally clear and varied. However, several key claims conflict with the table, notably that Friday had the highest lunch sales, while some midweek comparisons and stated differences are also inaccurate. Prioritise checking every reported peak, low and comparison against the figures before adding interpretation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A broad weekday-to-weekend pattern and the most and least profitable days are identified, but the claimed Friday lunch peak and several comparisons are inaccurate or unsupported.
Verify each claim against the table, especially the Wednesday lunch maximum, the daily lunch-dinner gaps, and the exact midweek movements.
Coherence and Cohesion
The report follows a generally understandable progression, but one long paragraph, repeated peak-and-weekend points, and shifts between observations and interpretation weaken organisation.
Use a separate overview followed by two focused detail paragraphs, grouping weekday patterns and weekend changes without repetition.
Lexical Resource
There is a reasonably varied range for describing trends and profitability, although awkward choices such as "averaged at" and "steady crowd" reduce precision.
Use precise data-reporting collocations such as "averaged", "sales figures", and "the gap between lunch and dinner revenue".
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex sentences is used with generally clear control, despite occasional errors in articles, tense, punctuation, and word form.
Proofread for localised slips such as the missing article in "a notable shift", the tense in "sales peaked", and the form "dipped".
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The table below shows the sales at a small restaurant in a downtown business district.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.