Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-24

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The bar chart below shows the percentage of Australian men and women in different age groups who did regular physical activity in 2010.

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

in this bar chart as we can see there are the percentage of Australian men and women who are doing their physical activity. and the year is 2010. as we can see the bar chart is categorized in 2 different way one is their gender another one is their age and both are shown with the percentage of the physical activity. as we can see the younger ager(15-24) males are doing more with 52.8% where females are 47.7%, then for the 2nd stage of age(25-34) females activity rate is higher with 48.9% than males 42.7%. then the 3rd age group (35-44) females are ahead again with 52.5% than males with 39.5% only. after that the 4th stage of age group from (45-54) females are consistent with their rate of 53.3% while the males are only 43.1%. at the 2nd last stage of age group (55-64) females activity rate are leading again with 53% on the other hand makes are 45.1% only and at the very last stage of age group(65-over) we see that both male and females are almost equal with 46.7% and 47.1%.so we can see that after being adult females do more physical activity than males.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task by reporting data for all age groups and genders. However, the presentation is somewhat mechanical, as it lists figures sequentially without grouping them into meaningful trends or highlighting the most significant features. For instance, while you correctly identify that females generally participate more, you could improve by grouping the age categories where females lead versus where males lead or are equal. The overview is also weak; it is placed at the very end rather than being integrated into the introduction or a separate paragraph, which is standard for Academic Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response lacks paragraphing, which makes it difficult to follow. It is written as a single block of text, which negatively impacts the logical flow. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often repetitive (e.g., 'as we can see' is used three times) or mechanical. There is a lack of variety in linking words, and the transition between sentences feels like a list of data points rather than a cohesive summary. To improve, you should separate the introduction, the overview, and the body paragraphs clearly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely heavily on basic terms like 'doing' and 'rate'. Phrases such as '2nd stage of age' or 'very last stage of age group' are unnatural and repetitive. There is little attempt to use more sophisticated vocabulary related to data description, such as 'proportion', 'participation', 'surpass', or 'marginal difference'. Improving your range of synonyms and collocations would significantly enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains several grammatical errors that affect the flow. There are issues with punctuation (e.g., missing capital letters at the start of sentences), subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'females activity rate are leading'), and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'makes are 45.1% only'). You rely mostly on simple sentence structures. To reach a higher band, you need to incorporate more complex sentence structures, such as using relative clauses or subordinating conjunctions, and ensure better control over basic grammar and punctuation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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