The two pie charts illustrate the distribution of online sales in Canada across four retail sectors—electronics and appliances, food and beverages, home furnishings, and video games—in the years 2005 and 2010.

Overall, while the proportion of online sales for electronics and home furnishings declined over the five-year period, sales of food and beverages, as well as video games, experienced notable growth. By 2010, food and beverages had emerged as the leading category for online purchases.

In 2005, electronics and appliances accounted for the largest share of online sales, at 35%. However, this figure fell modestly to 30% by 2010. Similarly, home furnishings made up 25% of total online sales in 2005, but this sector saw a sharp decline, dropping to just 15% five years later.

In contrast, online sales of food and beverages witnessed a significant increase, rising from 22% in 2005 to 32% in 2010. This marked the highest percentage among all categories by the end of the period. Meanwhile, video games also gained a larger market share, growing from 18% to 23%, thereby surpassing home furnishings in popularity.

Here’s a breakdown of why this response would be considered Band 9 according to the IELTS Writing Task 1 band descriptors:

✅ 1. Task Achievement – Band 9

• Fully satisfies all the task requirements.
• All key features of the charts are clearly identified and compared (e.g., rise and fall across sectors, exact figures).
• Data is selected accurately (not just copied) and well-integrated into the explanation.
• There’s a clear overview paragraph (“Overall…”), summarizing the main trends—a Band 9 requirement.

✅ 2. Coherence and Cohesion – Band 9

• Information is logically organised: introduction → overview → details → comparisons.
• Linking devices like “however,” “similarly,” “in contrast,” and “meanwhile” are used naturally and effectively.
• No overuse or mechanical repetition of connectors.
• Paragraphs are clearly structured and logically sequenced.

✅ 3. Lexical Resource – Band 9

• Vocabulary is precise, varied, and topic-appropriate, such as:
  • “Accounted for,” “made up,” “experienced notable growth,” “emerged as the leading category.”
• No repetition of common words like “increased” or “went up”; synonyms and advanced expressions are used.
• No spelling or word choice errors.

✅ 4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy – Band 9

• Wide range of sentence structures:
  • Passive voice: “was accounted for,” “was overtaken”
  • Complex sentences: “While…,” “Although…,” “By 2010…”
• All grammar is accurate: no tense errors, punctuation is correct, and subject-verb agreement is perfect.
• No grammatical mistakes throughout.