The table below shows the sales at a small restaurant in a downtown business district.
Sample Response
The visual presentation of the table graph enumerated the business in a local restaurant of a downtown district in a week of October. The whole data has been calibrated in dollars. Overall, the restaurant's dinner sales amount was higher than that of lunch and sales during weekends was lower than that of a regular weekday. As is shown in the illustration, in case of lunch sales, Wednesday sales exhibit a higher figure (2595 dollars) than other weekdays. Whilst the restaurant's sale amount on Sunday was the least (1550 dollars). It is interesting to notice that the business in the first two days of the week (Monday and Tuesday) was almost the same, lunch sale accounted for roughly $2400 and dinner sale over $3600. But on Wednesday, dinner sale abruptly decreases to 3445 dollars while lunch generated a slightly more revenue than the previous days. On the 5th day of the week, lunch sales decreased but dinner sale increased. The restaurant's overall sales on Friday was the highest but sales amount on weekends were comparatively lower.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural reporting Original: The whole data has been calibrated Suggested revision: The figures are presented Why it matters: Data in a table are presented or reported rather than calibrated.
- 2. Fix agreement Original: dinner sales amount was Suggested revision: dinner sales were Why it matters: The plural noun sales requires were and does not need amount.
- 3. Complete comparison Original: that of lunch Suggested revision: lunch sales Why it matters: The comparison should name the corresponding plural sales category directly.
- 4. Fix plural agreement Original: sales during weekends was Suggested revision: weekend sales were Why it matters: The plural subject sales requires the plural verb were.
- 5. Clarify comparison Original: that of a regular weekday Suggested revision: sales on weekdays Why it matters: This wording clearly identifies the group used for comparison.
- 6. Use concise phrasing Original: in case of lunch sales Suggested revision: for lunch sales Why it matters: For lunch sales is the natural phrase for introducing this category.
- 7. Keep past tense Original: Wednesday sales exhibit Suggested revision: Wednesday's sales showed Why it matters: A past-tense verb is needed to describe the completed week.
- 8. State the maximum Original: a higher figure (2595 dollars) than other weekdays Suggested revision: the highest figure, at $2,595 Why it matters: The replacement expresses the superlative comparison more precisely and formats the value clearly.
- 9. Fix sentence link Original: Whilst Suggested revision: By contrast, Why it matters: Whilst introduces a dependent clause here, leaving the sentence incomplete.
- 10. Specify lunch sales Original: sale amount on Sunday was the least Suggested revision: lunch sales on Sunday were the lowest Why it matters: The value $1,550 refers specifically to Sunday lunch, not to an unspecified sales amount.
- 11. Name the measure Original: the business in the first two days of the week Suggested revision: sales on the first two days of the week Why it matters: The table reports sales rather than the broader concept of business.
- 12. Repair clause structure Original: was almost the same, lunch sale accounted for Suggested revision: were similar: lunch sales were Why it matters: The replacement fixes agreement and separates the comparison from the supporting figures.
Suggested Rewrites
- The whole data has been calibrated The figures are presented
- dinner sales amount was dinner sales were
- that of lunch lunch sales
- sales during weekends was weekend sales were
- that of a regular weekday sales on weekdays
- in case of lunch sales for lunch sales
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response identifies the main sales patterns and supports them with several accurate weekday figures, especially the lunch peak and stronger dinner trade. Its main limitation is incomplete coverage of the week and some vague or slightly misleading comparisons, compounded by frequent awkward phrasing and agreement errors. Prioritise clearer comparisons across all seven days and edit each sentence for accurate verb forms and natural data-reporting language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and several accurate figures identify the principal patterns, though some days and comparisons receive little or imprecise coverage.
Compare the weekday peaks with both weekend lows and report the omitted Sunday dinner figure to give fuller coverage.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses logically from the overview to supporting details, but the single-paragraph structure and some abrupt links weaken organisation.
Separate the overview and details into clear paragraphs and group comparisons consistently by meal or part of the week.
Lexical Resource
The response uses adequate data-reporting vocabulary, but several unnatural choices such as 'calibrated' and 'enumerated the business' reduce precision.
Use straightforward collocations such as 'the table shows sales' and 'revenue rose or fell' instead of unnecessarily elaborate wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures conveys the meaning, although agreement, tense, and article errors occur repeatedly.
Check subject-verb agreement and keep past tense consistent when describing the restaurant's sales for the recorded week.
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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.