The chart below shows the amount of money per week spent on fast foods in Britain. The graph shows the trends in consumption of fast foods.
Sample Response
The column graph shows how much money the British citizens spent on three fast food items in 1990 while the line graph reveals the consumption of these items between 1970 and 1990. Overall, rich British spent more on junk food than the low-income class in 1990 and hamburgers became the most consumed junk food over the period. In details, wealthy British spent more on hamburgers while less on fish & chips. They drained around 45 pence per person in a week for hamburgers while roughly 15-20 pence on the other two items. The moderate-income class prefered hamburgers but spend approximately 33 pence on that. They spent the least to purchase pizza which amounted to nearly 12 pence. Low-income class, on the contrary, spent less on fast foods and they spent between 7 to 14 pence for each item, despite fish and chips being their favourite. According to the line graph, British citizens consumed fish & chips more than the other two items in 1970. Their consumption of fish & chips accounted for 300 gm per person while it was less than 100 gm for the other two items. Over time, hamburgers became the most consumed fast food with 500 gm consumption in 1990.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use chart category Original: rich British Suggested revision: high-income British consumers Why it matters: This wording identifies the chart's income group more precisely.
- 2. Use neutral group term Original: class Suggested revision: group Why it matters: Group is a more appropriate label for the income category shown.
- 3. Improve consumption phrasing Original: hamburgers became the most consumed junk food Suggested revision: hamburgers became the most widely consumed fast food Why it matters: Widely consumed and fast food are more natural terms for describing the graph.
- 4. Fix fixed phrase Original: details Suggested revision: detail Why it matters: The fixed transition is in detail, with detail in the singular.
- 5. Use spending verb Original: drained Suggested revision: spent Why it matters: Drained does not mean paid a stated amount for an item in this context.
- 6. Use standard unit Original: 45 pence per person in a week Suggested revision: 45 pence per person per week Why it matters: Per person per week states the chart's measurement concisely.
- 7. Supply missing verb Original: while roughly 15-20 pence on Suggested revision: and spent roughly 15–20 pence on Why it matters: The second comparison needs its own verb to form a complete coordinated clause.
- 8. Use spending collocation Original: spent the least to purchase pizza Suggested revision: spent the least on pizza Why it matters: Spend an amount on something is the natural collocation.
- 9. Clarify the figure Original: which amounted to nearly 12 pence Suggested revision: at nearly 12 pence per person per week Why it matters: The original relative clause incorrectly makes pizza itself amount to a monetary figure.
- 10. Add article Original: Low-income class, on the contrary Suggested revision: The low-income group, on the contrary Why it matters: A singular specified group requires the definite article here.
- 11. Use uncountable noun Original: foods Suggested revision: food Why it matters: Fast food is normally uncountable when referring to the category generally.
- 12. Correct range Original: between 7 to 14 pence Suggested revision: between 7 and 17 pence Why it matters: The chart shows approximately 7 pence for pizza and 17 pence for fish and chips in the low-income group.
Suggested Rewrites
- rich British high-income British consumers
- class group
- hamburgers became the most consumed junk food hamburgers became the most widely consumed fast food
- details detail
- drained spent
- 45 pence per person in a week 45 pence per person per week
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response has a clear overview and presents the main expenditure pattern with generally accurate figures, supported by logical sequencing and a useful range of trend vocabulary. Its main limitation is incomplete coverage of the consumption graph: the changes in pizza and fish-and-chips consumption, and most intermediate trends, are omitted. The highest priority is to select and compare the major movements in both visuals, then proofread tense, articles, and awkward word choices.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and mostly accurate expenditure figures address the task, but the consumption graph is substantially underdeveloped and one low-income range is inaccurate.
Describe and compare the full trajectories of all three foods, especially pizza's sharp late rise and the decline in fish and chips.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overview to expenditure and consumption, with generally clear linking despite the response being presented as one dense paragraph.
Separate the overview and the two sets of details into purposeful paragraphs and use less mechanical linking phrases.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a useful range of reporting vocabulary, but imprecise or awkward choices such as "drained" and "junk food" reduce accuracy.
Prefer precise chart language such as "spent," "consumption," "rose," and "declined," and check spelling carefully.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, although recurring errors in tense, articles, and range expressions remain noticeable.
Proofread for consistent past tense and accurate forms such as "the low-income group" and "between 7 and 17 pence."
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 chart below shows the amount of money per week spent on fast foods in Britain. The graph shows the trends in consumption of fast foods.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.