The table below shows information about three different types of restaurants.
Sample Response
The table data gives information on the average cost of lunch and dinner in three types of restaurants and also reveals the average time people spend on these restaurants. Overall, sit-down restaurants are more expensive and people spend more time on sit-down restaurants than they do in cafeterias and fast food restaurants. As can be seen from the given data, lunch cost $10 in a sit-down restaurant which is 3 dollars higher than the cost of lunch in a cafeteria. Finally, the cheapest lunch could be found in a fast food restaurant which costs 4.5 dollars. During the lunch, people spend 45 minutes in a sit-down restaurant while they stay 30 and 20 minutes respectively in a café and fast food shop. On the other hand, dinners are expensive than the lunch and people spend more time on a restaurant for having the dinner than they do during lunch. Dinner costs $17 in a sit-down restaurant which is $7 higher than the cost of lunch in the same type of restaurant. People spend an hour to have their dinner. Similarly, dinner in a cafeteria costs $9.50 which is almost double than the cost of dinner in a fast food shop. People spend 45 minutes to have their dinner, on an average, when they dine in a cafeteria but take only 20 minutes when they have their dinners in a fast food shop.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use concise noun Original: table data Suggested revision: table Why it matters: Table alone identifies the visual without redundant wording.
- 2. Correct time collocation Original: spend on these restaurants Suggested revision: spend in these restaurants Why it matters: Time is spent in a place, not on it.
- 3. Correct place preposition Original: on sit-down restaurants Suggested revision: in sit-down restaurants Why it matters: The preposition in is required for time spent at this type of venue.
- 4. Keep tense consistent Original: lunch cost $10 Suggested revision: lunch costs $10 Why it matters: The report otherwise uses the present tense to describe the table.
- 5. Standardise currency format Original: 3 dollars Suggested revision: $3 Why it matters: Using the dollar sign consistently makes the figures easier to scan.
- 6. Use direct wording Original: could be found Suggested revision: was available Why it matters: Was available expresses the price comparison more directly.
- 7. Attach price correctly Original: which costs 4.5 dollars Suggested revision: at $4.50 Why it matters: The restaurant does not cost $4.50; that amount is the lunch price.
- 8. Use natural time phrase Original: During the lunch Suggested revision: At lunchtime Why it matters: At lunchtime is the idiomatic phrase for this comparison.
- 9. Describe time spent Original: they stay 30 and 20 minutes Suggested revision: they spend 30 and 20 minutes Why it matters: The table measures time spent eating rather than duration of a stay stated this way.
- 10. Match table labels Original: a café and fast food shop Suggested revision: a cafeteria and a fast-food restaurant Why it matters: These terms match the restaurant categories used in the table.
- 11. Use comparison connector Original: On the other hand Suggested revision: By comparison Why it matters: The sentence compares meals rather than introducing an opposing argument.
- 12. Fix comparative form Original: dinners are expensive than the lunch Suggested revision: dinner is more expensive than lunch Why it matters: The comparative requires more expensive than and the meal nouns are uncountable here.
Suggested Rewrites
- table data table
- spend on these restaurants spend in these restaurants
- on sit-down restaurants in sit-down restaurants
- lunch cost $10 lunch costs $10
- 3 dollars $3
- could be found was available
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response gives a clear, accurate overview and systematically covers the costs and dining times for all three restaurant types. Its main weakness is language control: recurring comparative, article, and preposition errors make otherwise precise information sound awkward, and the single-block presentation limits readability. Prioritise editing comparison structures such as "more expensive than" and "almost double," then divide the report into overview, lunch, and dinner paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The overview is clear, and the report accurately covers the principal cost and time figures for lunch and dinner across all three restaurant types.
Preserve this comprehensive selection while making the fast-food dinner cost explicit rather than conveying it only through a comparison.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses logically from an overview to lunch and dinner details, but the single paragraph and occasionally mechanical connectors limit clarity.
Separate the introduction and overview from two detail paragraphs organised around lunch and dinner.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficient for precise cost and duration comparisons, though repeated wording and awkward collocations reduce flexibility.
Use natural alternatives such as "diners spent," "the meal cost," and "on average" while avoiding unnecessary articles before meal names.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses several complex comparison structures, but recurring errors with comparatives, articles, and prepositions remain noticeable despite clear meaning.
Correct patterns such as "more expensive than," "almost double," and "spend time in a restaurant" throughout the report.
Use this task for your next draft
Feedback is more useful when you actively apply it in a draft, rather than only recognising improvements on the page.
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.
The question will be loaded automatically.