Academic Writing Task 1 · table

Daily lunch and dinner sales at a downtown restaurant for one week: IELTS Writing Task 1 sample answer

An IELTS Writing Task 1 table question with a Band 8 sample answer, the chart redrawn with its data, the vocabulary that lifts the report and how to write about tables.
  • 190 words
  • Tables
  • Academic
  • 20 minutes

The question

The table below shows the sales at a small restaurant in a downtown business district.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Sales: Week of October 7th – 13th
CategoryMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
Lunch$2,400$2,450$2,595$2,375$2,500$1,950$1,550
Dinner$3,623$3,850$3,850$3,800$4,350$2,900$2,450

Chart redrawn by BandLadder from the data in the original IELTS practice task. Many IELTS practice tasks come from the Cambridge IELTS series (Cambridge University Press & Assessment); all rights in the original tasks remain with their owners.

Model answer

Band 8 sample answer

Band 8190 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

The table illustrates the daily revenue generated by a downtown restaurant for lunch and dinner services during the week of October 7th to 13th. Overall, dinner sales consistently outperformed lunch throughout the week, with both meal periods experiencing a significant decline in revenue during the weekend.

During the weekdays, from Monday to Friday, lunch sales remained relatively stable, fluctuating between $2,375 on Thursday and a peak of $2,595 on Wednesday. Similarly, dinner revenue was robust during this period, starting at $3,623 on Monday and climbing to a weekly high of $4,350 on Friday. Notably, Wednesday saw identical dinner figures of $3,850 as Tuesday, while Thursday’s dinner sales dipped slightly to $3,800.

In contrast, the weekend witnessed a marked downturn for both services. Lunch revenue dropped to $1,950 on Saturday and reached its lowest point of $1,550 on Sunday. Dinner sales followed a similar downward trajectory, falling to $2,900 on Saturday and further decreasing to $2,450 on Sunday. Despite this weekend slump, dinner remained the primary source of income, consistently generating higher figures than lunch across all seven days, with the gap between the two services being most pronounced on Friday.

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Tables

How to write about tables: tips and vocabulary

  • →Tables hide the trend: find the highest, lowest and biggest change yourself.
  • →Select; do not list every cell.
  • →Organise paragraphs by row or by column, whichever gives the clearer comparison.
  • outperformed

    achieved better financial results than another category

  • fluctuating

    changing irregularly between high and low values

  • peak

    the highest point reached during a period

  • downward trajectory

    a trend showing a continuous decrease over time

  • pronounced

    very noticeable, obvious, or strongly marked difference

  • slump

    a sudden or significant decline in performance

Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?+

Overall, dinner sales consistently outperformed lunch throughout the week, with both meal periods experiencing a significant decline in revenue during the weekend.

How many words and how long for IELTS Writing Task 1?+

At least 150 words; 170 to 200 is the safe range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

How is IELTS Writing Task 1 scored?+

On four criteria: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, vocabulary, and grammatical range and accuracy. A clear overview of the main features is what most separates Band 6 from Band 7 and above.

How do I describe tables?+

Tables hide the trend: find the highest, lowest and biggest change yourself. Select; do not list every cell. Organise paragraphs by row or by column, whichever gives the clearer comparison.

Keep practising

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