The chart below shows sales of three categories of magazines (fashion, music, and sports) in a particular region over five weeks.

Sales of three categories of magazines in particular region over five weeks - IELTS Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 8 · 219 words.

The line graph illustrates the sales of three distinct categories of magazines - fashion, music, and sports in a certain region over five weeks.

Overall, sports generated the highest sales in every week and showed by far the greatest increase over the period. By contrast, fashion remained the least popular category throughout the period. Another notable feature is that music sales experienced a consistent rise and recorded the second-highest sales by week 5.

Sports consistently recorded the highest revenue, rising steadily from about $75 million in week 1 to just over $110 million in Week 3. It then declined significantly to $100 million in Week 4, and reached its peak at $120 million in Week 5. The gap between this and fashion became increasingly noticeable as the weeks progressed. Fashion generated the lowest sales throughout the period. Its revenue fell from around $35 million in week 1 to approximately $20 million in week 3 before recovering gradually to just above $60 million by week 5.

The remaining category showed more moderate figures. Music sales increased steadily from about $45 million in Week 1 and rose to approximately $50 million in Week 2. By Week 3, it had climbed to roughly $55 million before rising to around $70 million in Week 4 and just over $80 million in Week 5.

Examiner feedback

The response is exceptionally well-written, demonstrating strong command across all four IELTS assessment criteria. It features a clear, comprehensive overview, accurate data selection, logical paragraph structure, and a sophisticated range of vocabulary and grammatical structures.

Task Achievement - 8

- All parts of the task are fully satisfied, with accurate coverage of all three magazine categories over the five-week period. - Key features, trends, and comparisons are skilfully selected and clearly highlighted in a well-crafted overview. - Data points are correctly cited and effectively support the description.

Coherence & Cohesion - 8

- Information and ideas are logically organized with clear paragraphing separating the overview and body details. - A good range of cohesive devices is used (e.g., 'By contrast', 'Another notable feature', 'It then declined'). - The progression from overview to specific details for each category is smooth and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource - 8

- A wide and precise vocabulary is used to describe trends and data fluctuations (e.g., 'experienced a consistent rise', 'declined significantly', 'recovering gradually'). - Collocations and word choices feel natural and sophisticated ('distinct categories', 'greatest increase', 'by far'). - Spelling and word formation are entirely accurate.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 8

- A wide range of sentence structures, both simple and complex, is used accurately and flexibly. - Grammar and punctuation are exceptionally well controlled with almost no errors. - Complex clauses for data comparison are handled with high precision.

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