User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 8.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

211 words AcademicTask 1Line Graph

Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

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Ideas to explore

Identify the overall direction of each line separately: margarine and butter fall over the full period, while the low-fat variety rises after it appears and then declines.
Highlight key turning points: butter peaks in 1986, margarine reaches a plateau around 100 grams in 1991–1996, and the low-fat line surges by 2001.
Mention crossovers where they change the ranking: Low Fat & Reduced Spreads is highest in 2001, while butter and margarine are no longer the leading series.

Suggested structure

Introduce the graph, naming all three spreads, the years and the unit.
Give an overview that accurately summarises the different overall patterns and the late-period ranking.
Describe butter and margarine together, using their start values, peaks or plateaus and final values.
Describe the later-starting low-fat series and compare its 2001 peak with the other spreads.

Useful vocabulary & examples

reached a peak of: rose to its highest recorded value
Butter reached a peak of approximately 160 grams in 1986.
remained stable at: stayed at approximately the same level
Margarine consumption remained stable at around 100 grams from 1991 to 1996.
overtook both alternatives: became higher than the other two series
Low Fat & Reduced Spreads overtook both alternatives in 2001.
eased to: fell slightly or gradually to a lower value
The low-fat spread eased to about 70 grams by 2007.

Task Prompt

The graph below shows the consumption of 3 spreads from 1981 to 2007.

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 8.0

The graph illustrates the consumption of three types of spreads (margarine, butter, and low-fat spreads) from 1981 to 2007 in grams. Overall, butter consumption started high but experienced a sharp decline, margarine fluctuated over the period, and low-fat spreads saw a significant rise in the 1990s but fell towards the end of the period. In terms of the figures, butter began at about 140 grams in 1981 and rose to a peak of approximately 160 grams in 1986. It then fell steadily, reaching around 100 grams in 1991 and about 50 grams by 2007. Margarine stood at roughly 90 grams in 1981, dipped to 80 in 1986, and climbed to 100 in 1991. It remained at this level in 1996 before declining to around 80 grams in 2001 and 40 in 2007. Low-fat spreads first appeared on the graph in 1996, at about 10 grams. Their consumption then increased sharply to approximately 85 grams in 2001, before falling to around 70 grams at the end of the period. By 2007, butter and low-fat spreads were both consumed more than margarine, with low-fat spreads the most popular of the three. Overall, the graph shows a marked shift away from butter and towards low-fat spreads, although the latter also declined after its peak.

Targeted Improvement Tips

Check that the final comparison ranks the three categories accurately: in 2007, low-fat spreads were highest, butter was next, and margarine was lowest.

Use the graph’s labelled years to describe the low-fat spread increase as occurring from 1996 to 2001, rather than referring broadly to the 1990s.

Avoid repeating the same overall shift in both the overview and conclusion; use the final sentence for a distinct end-point comparison or omit it.

AI Feedback

Overall Band

8.0

Excellent

Words

211

Type

Line Graph

Criteria Breakdown

Task Achievement

8.0 Band

The overview clearly identifies the major patterns: “butter consumption started high” and low-fat spreads “fell towards the end of the period.” The completed response also includes the key turning points and end values for all three categories. A useful refinement would be to keep the final comparison precise: low-fat spreads ended above butter as well as margarine, rather than implying that butter and low-fat spreads were equally popular.

Coherence & Cohesion

7.5 Band

The answer moves logically from an overview to the figures for each spread, and time markers such as “in 1986” and “by 2007” make the trends easy to follow. The closing sentence repeats the general shift already described in the overview, so the ending is slightly redundant. You could use that space for a concise comparison of the final figures instead.

Lexical Resource

7.5 Band

Phrases such as “rose to a peak,” “fell steadily” and “increased sharply” describe the main movements clearly and suit a line graph. “Experienced a sharp decline” is understandable, though “declined sharply” is more direct and economical. Continue using varied trend verbs, but avoid repeating broad labels such as “significant rise” when the time period and approximate figures can make the change more specific.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

8.0 Band

The response uses a good range of accurate sentence forms, including contrasts with “before” and clauses such as “although the latter also declined after its peak.” Tense is consistently appropriate for historical data, and the lists of years and values are readable. As a small refinement, vary some of the repeated sentence openings with “By 1991” or “Over the following years” to make the progression less formulaic.

Topic Band Distribution

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