The bar chart shows the monthly spending in dollars of a family in the USA on three items in 2010.
Sample Response
The bar chart illustrates monthly spending by a familydollars consumed by families in three different categories in four months in 2010.
Overall, it is immediately apparent from the chart that the highestfrom the chart the highest monthly expenditure by the family in the US was on clothing in April, while in January, clothing was the category with the lowest expenditureleast popular item for the familyamong the individuals.
In detail, the average expenditure line was stable in the first two months nearby, at $370, and nominal inclination was observed and surged by above $400 in March. The averageTherefore, this ratio fellgradually declined below $300 in the final month. Turning to the details, families in the USA spent approximately $500 on foodon the food section, which rose to approximately $550which soared by nearly five $580 in February. However, in March, individuals were not interested in the food section, and outlay plummeted to nearly $400 in 2010. Moreovermoreover, food spendingthis consumption took a nosedive to $300 in AprilApril month.
Furthermore, clothing expenditure fluctuatedthere was some fluctuation observed in the clothing section. In the US, approximately $200 was spent by the family on clothingutilised by families on closing at the beginning of the year, and this amount skyrocketed to nearly $600 in February. After that, in March, about $320only 340 dollars were spent by the family on clothingby an individual on the clothing section. Interestingly, this number hit its peak in April at nearly $700of more than $600 used on clothing items. Therefore, gas was the most prominent source among the family in the USA, beginning at nearly $370 spent on gas, and this value plunged to approximately $200. After a month, this ratio climbed and reached $580 used on the gas section.
Why this response received Band 5.5
The response identifies the standout peak for clothing and describes most monthly movements, while its basic paragraph sequence is easy to follow. However, several figures are approximate or confused, the gas series is incompletely sequenced, and frequent unnatural word choices make comparisons less precise. Prioritise organising each category chronologically and using straightforward language such as spending rose or fell, supported by carefully checked figures.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The overview identifies a valid key feature and all categories are addressed, but several values are inaccurate and the gas trend is incomplete.
Report each series across all four months with checked figures and highlight the contrasting April outcomes for food, gas, and clothing.
Coherence and Cohesion
Paragraphing provides a basic progression, but ideas are crowded together and connectors such as Therefore are often used mechanically.
Give each category a clear chronological sequence and use linking words only where they express the actual relationship.
Lexical Resource
The response attempts varied trend vocabulary, but frequent miscollocations such as dollars consumed, interested in food, and gas source reduce precision.
Use conventional chart terms consistently, including expenditure, amount spent, increased, decreased, and category.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Some complex sentences are attempted, but recurring article, agreement, punctuation, and clause-construction errors weaken control.
Write shorter complete sentences and check articles, subject-verb agreement, and capitalization before adding complex structures.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The bar chart shows the monthly spending in dollars of a family in the USA on three items in 2010.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.