The line graph shows estimated sales of gold in Dubai for 12 months in 2002 in millions of Dirhams.
Sample Response
The given line graph shows data on goldGold sales in Dubai from January to December of the year 2002. As is presented in the illustration, the highest sales occurredhighest amounts of sales were done in March and lowest sales were in July and September. As is presented in the line graph, initially in January 2002, 200 million Dirhamstwo hundred millions of Dirham Gold was sold in January and this amount kept increasing for the next two monthsmonth and in March it reached 350 millionreached to 350 million which is the largest amount throughout the whole year. After that, the sales volume declined steadilykeeps declining steadily and fell to about 120 million in Julyreached to 110 million in July. With some fluctuations, salesthe sale amount reached to 200 million in August and finally, in December, it totalled about 200 million. In summary, MarchMars was the best month for Dubai Gold sales in the year 2002 and throughout the year the sale volume fluctuated keeping an approximate average of 180 million Dirhams180 million of Dirham per month.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The report identifies the main fluctuations and follows the year chronologically, clearly highlighting the March peak and the later recovery. Its effectiveness is reduced by inaccurate figures for key months, repetition between the overview and summary, and frequent awkward or grammatically unstable phrasing. The highest priority is to verify every plotted value, retain one concise overview, and use consistent past-tense line-graph language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response covers the main peak in March, the lows around July and September, and the late-year recovery. Some values are approximate but a few are inaccurate, especially July at 110 instead of about 120 and December at about 200 instead of just under 200.
Recheck the plotted points and report the lowest months as about 120 million Dirhams, with December around 190 million.
Coherence and Cohesion
The report has an introduction, overview, chronological description, and summary, but it repeats As is presented and includes both an overview and a final summary with overlapping information.
Keep one concise overview near the beginning and then describe the monthly changes in one clear chronological paragraph.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is adequate for a line graph but includes awkward collocations such as sales were done, sale amount, and millions of Dirham.
Use standard line-graph language: sales stood at, rose to, fell to, peaked, dipped, and remained stable.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Frequent errors with tense, prepositions, plurals, and capitalization reduce control, though the message remains understandable.
Use past tense consistently for 2002 data and check number phrases such as two months and million Dirhams.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The line graph shows estimated sales of gold in Dubai for 12 months in 2002 in millions of Dirhams.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.