The graph below shows the consumption of fish and some different kinds of meat in a European country between 1979 and 2004.
Sample Response
The line graph compares the amount of fish, chicken, beef, and lamb that peoplefish, chicken, beef and lamb people in a European country consumed per person each weekconsumed weekly per person from 1979 to 2004over a period of 25 years. From 1979 to 2004, the consumption of fish in this European country had always been far less than meat with a steady amount of approximately 50 grammes per week per person. Regarding meat consumptionAs for the trends of meat consumption, chickenthe chicken rosehad risen to become the most widely consumed meat in 2004become the most eaten meat in the year of 2004 while beef and lamb consumption gradually decreasedcompared with the gradual decrease of beef and lamb. Despite a small spike appeared in 1984 for beef consumption, the line illustrates a general downward trend, making it the second most eaten meat in the year of 2004 whereas beef was the most consumed meat per week dropped from around 225 grams to 100 grams per person, showing a decrease of 125 grams for these 25 years. People consumedPeople in this European country ate roughly 150 grammes of chicken andor lamb per person per weekper week /per person in 1979. However, by 200425 years after 1979, the consumption of chicken rose significantly to around 250 grammes per person per week250 grammes per week while the lamb consumptionamount of lamb consumed dropped to about 70 grammes per person per weeka little higher than 50 grammes weekly. The opposite trend between chicken and lamb consumption eventually made a gap of 100 grammes in 2004.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response gives a strong overview of the contrasting trends, correctly showing chicken becoming dominant while beef and lamb declined and fish remained lowest. Its main limitation is precision: beef did not spike in 1984, and the 2004 gap between chicken and lamb was about 180 grams rather than 100. The priority is to verify turning points and calculated differences while keeping the effective trend comparisons.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All four series and their principal trends are covered with relevant endpoint data, although the beef turning point and final chicken-lamb gap are inaccurate.
Report beef's fall to about 170 grams in 1984 before its slight recovery, and calculate the 2004 gap from 250 and 70 grams.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response moves logically from overall patterns to individual series, but the single paragraph and an overloaded beef sentence reduce clarity.
Separate the overview from the details and split the beef discussion into shorter sentences with one comparison in each.
Lexical Resource
A good range of trend vocabulary is used, though combinations such as 'a spike appeared,' 'most eaten meat,' and 'made a gap' are occasionally awkward.
Prefer precise forms such as 'rose slightly,' 'most widely consumed meat,' and 'the gap widened to.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied structures are attempted and meaning is generally clear, but tense choice, articles, clause construction, and comparative phrasing are inconsistently controlled.
Avoid incomplete concessive patterns and tangled clauses by writing 'Despite a slight recovery, beef consumption declined overall' as a complete structure.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph below shows the consumption of fish and some different kinds of meat in a European country between 1979 and 2004.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.