The tables below give information about sales of Fairtrade*-labelled coffee and bananas in 1999 and 2004 in five European countries. Sales of Fairtrade-labelled coffee and bananas (1999 & 2004) *Fairtrade: a category of products for which farmers from developing countries have been paid an officially agreed fair price.
Sample Response
The tables compare sales of two categories of products, namely,namely: Fairtrade-labelledfair-trade-labelled coffee and Fairtrade-labelled bananas in five European countries in two different yearsterms, 1999 and 2004. These productsThese coffees and bananas were produced by farmers in developing countriesfarmers of developing nations and a fair price is paidgiven to those farmers according to the agreement and that’s why the name Fairtrade is attached.
Overall, it is clear that the majoritythat majority of the countries experienced increased salesan increased sales of those products and the largest increases in sales were recordedthe biggest rise in sales were in the UK and Switzerland respectively. In 1999, the largest coffee sale, 3 million Euros, was in Switzerland but after five years, the highest sale could be observed in the UK (20 million Euros) that recorded more than three times higher than that of Switzerland (6 million Euros). The sales amounts in Denmark, Belgium and Sweden were 1.8, 1 and 0.8 million Euros respectively in 1999 and these figures increased over the five-year periodthese amounts increased in five years.
Meanwhile, Switzerland was the largest market for the Fairtrade-labelled banana sales with 15 million Euros sold in 1999 which was higher than the combined sales in the other four countriesother four countries. The sales amount of bananas reachedreached to 47 million Euros in 2004 which was more than three times the 1999 figuremore than three times higher than that of 1999 and the second largest market for this product was in the UK where 1 million Euros was sold in 1999 and that increased to 5.5 times its 1999 levelincreased by 5.5 times in 2004. Interestingly sales of Fairtrade-labelled bananas were lower in Sweden and Denmark in 2004 than in 1999the sales volume of the fairtrade bananas decreased in Sweden and Denmark in 2004 than that of 1999.
The lowest amount of sales for Fairtrade-labelled coffee could be seen in Sweden and it was Denmark and Sweden where the lowest amount of Fairtrade-labelled bananas were sold in both years.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is well organised and highlights the dominant coffee and banana markets with several accurate comparisons. Its main weakness is selective coverage and one inaccurate concluding claim: Belgium, rather than Denmark or Sweden, had the lowest banana sales in 1999, while several 2004 coffee figures are omitted. Prioritise a more precise overview and complete, accurately checked comparisons, then refine recurring grammar and collocation problems in comparative statements.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response provides a clear overview and covers the largest changes, but omits some useful figures and misidentifies the lowest 1999 banana market.
Check every ranking against the tables and include Belgium’s banana rise alongside the falls in Sweden and Denmark.
Coherence and Cohesion
The report is logically divided by product and moves clearly from overview to supporting comparisons, with only a slightly detached final paragraph.
Integrate the final lowest-sales comparison into the relevant coffee and banana detail paragraphs for a tighter progression.
Lexical Resource
A varied range of reporting and comparison vocabulary is used, though several collocations such as ‘two different terms’ and ‘reached to’ are inaccurate.
Use standard data-reporting combinations such as ‘in the two years’, ‘rose to’, and ‘was three times as high as’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are attempted successfully and meaning remains clear, but article, agreement, and comparison-form errors occur repeatedly.
Proofread noun phrases and comparative clauses, especially ‘the majority’, ‘increased sales’, and ‘lower in 2004 than in 1999’.
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 tables below give information about sales of Fairtrade*-labelled coffee and bananas in 1999 and 2004 in five European countries. Sales of Fairtrade-labelled coffee and bananas (1999 & 2004) *Fairtrade: a category of products for which farmers from developing countries have been paid an officially agreed fair price.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.