The table below shows sales made by a coffee shop in an office building on a typical weekday.
Sample Response
The table illustrates a typical weekdays’ sales of a coffee shop which is located in an office building. The sales of coffee, tea, pastries, and sandwich are shown in four times, 7.30-10.30, 10.30-2.30, 2.30-5.30, and 5.30-8.30.
It can be clearly seen that the highest sale in a day was recorded for coffee. The best selling time is between 7.30 am - 10.30 am, when the sales of each item are the biggest, except for the sandwich. The sale of sandwiches is just 50 at that time. Coffee becomes a favourite menu for costumers in the morning and evening. The sale of this menu is the highest within 7.30-10.30 am and 5.30-8.30 pm, which is 265 and 200 respectively. The sales of sandwich become the highest at 10.30 am -2.30 pm period while coffee is in the second rank with 185 sales. At 2.30-5.30 pm, the sale of pastries is the highest among the menu. However, this number is under the morning sales of pastries which is 275.
To sum up, coffee has the highest sales in a day. On the contrary, the sale of tea is the lowest. Early morning (7.30 -10.30 am) is the time when the number of sales is the highest.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix possessive form Original: typical weekdays’ sales Suggested revision: typical weekday's sales Why it matters: The singular possessive correctly describes sales on a typical weekday.
- 2. Use plural noun Original: sandwich Suggested revision: sandwiches Why it matters: The table reports multiple sandwich sales, so the category noun should be plural.
- 3. Use time periods Original: shown in four times Suggested revision: reported for four time periods Why it matters: Sales are reported across periods rather than shown in four times.
- 4. Clarify total sales Original: highest sale in a day Suggested revision: highest total daily sales Why it matters: Coffee has the highest cumulative sales across the four periods, not the highest single figure.
- 5. Hyphenate compound Original: best selling time Suggested revision: best-selling time period Why it matters: The compound adjective needs a hyphen and "time period" is more precise.
- 6. Fix range form Original: between 7.30 am - 10.30 am Suggested revision: from 7.30 am to 10.30 am Why it matters: Use "from ... to" rather than combining "between" with a dash.
- 7. Use highest Original: biggest Suggested revision: highest Why it matters: "Highest" is the natural term for numerical sales values.
- 8. Clarify units sold Original: sale of sandwiches Suggested revision: number of sandwiches sold Why it matters: The table gives numbers of items sold rather than monetary sales values.
- 9. Use present tense Original: becomes Suggested revision: is Why it matters: The table describes a typical weekday, so the simple present is appropriate.
- 10. Use menu item Original: favourite menu Suggested revision: favourite menu item Why it matters: Coffee is an item on a menu, not a menu itself.
- 11. Correct spelling Original: costumers Suggested revision: customers Why it matters: "Customers" is the correct spelling for people buying from the shop.
- 12. Name the product Original: sale of this menu Suggested revision: sales of coffee Why it matters: This wording clearly identifies the product being compared.
Suggested Rewrites
- typical weekdays’ sales typical weekday's sales
- sandwich sandwiches
- shown in four times reported for four time periods
- highest sale in a day highest total daily sales
- best selling time best-selling time period
- between 7.30 am - 10.30 am from 7.30 am to 10.30 am
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response gives a clear overview and accurately identifies the main sales patterns, with a sensible paragraph structure and mostly clear progression. Its main weakness is recurrent imprecision in word choice and grammar, while several useful comparisons—especially the full contrast across quieter afternoon and evening periods—are left undeveloped; prioritise more accurate noun phrases and a more systematic comparison of categories and time slots.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and several accurate figures identify the principal patterns, although coverage of the afternoon and evening data is selective.
Compare all four products across the quieter periods and include the most revealing omitted figures, such as evening sandwich sales and afternoon tea sales.
Coherence and Cohesion
The introduction, detail paragraph, and conclusion create a logical progression, though repetition and occasionally mechanical linking limit fluency.
Group related comparisons more deliberately and avoid repeating overview points in a separate concluding paragraph.
Lexical Resource
The response uses adequate reporting vocabulary, but recurrent collocational and word-form problems reduce precision.
Use accurate combinations such as sales period, most popular item, and customers, while checking singular and plural product nouns.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the data clearly, but article, agreement, possessive, and plural errors recur.
Proofread each sentence for noun-phrase accuracy and subject–verb agreement, especially around sales, items, and time periods.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The table below shows sales made by a coffee shop in an office building on a typical weekday.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.