Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-16
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)
The bar chart compares the percentage of Australian males and females in six age groups who enrolled in physical excercises across 2010.
Overall, it is evident that women were more physically active than men in most age groups, except among adolsecent age groups.
Looking first at the highest figure for men which was approximately 52% in the age of 15-24, then it fell to 42.2% by age of 25-34, followed by 35-44 reached the lowest point at 39.5%. By comparison, among 45-54 age of males were stood at 43.1%.This was lower than the figure for further to 45.1% among 55-64 aged people.Interestingly over 65+ age people enrolled in regular exercises were accounted for 46.7%.
Turning to women data, the figure for females at the age of 45-54 stood at53.3%, followed by35-44 at 52.5%. Whereas, 15-24 age womens accounted for 47.7%. Meanwhile, 55-64 aged females experienced an increase reaching 53%. ooverall. 65 and over it was contributed to 47.1%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features, and making relevant comparisons. The student provides an overview, noting that women were generally more active than men except in younger age groups. Key data points for both genders are highlighted, such as the peak for men at 15-24 (52.8%) and for women at 45-54 (53.3%). However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting precise figures (e.g., stating men peaked at 'approximately 52%' rather than 52.8%, and misreporting the order of data points in the second paragraph). Despite these minor data reporting flaws, the overall picture of the chart is successfully communicated.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall arrangement and is divided into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs for each gender. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Looking first at', 'By comparison', and 'Turning to women data'. However, progression is sometimes hindered by awkward sentence structures and repetitive phrasing (e.g., starting multiple sentences with 'the figure for...'). Paragraphing is present and appropriate, but referencing and transitions between sentences occasionally feel mechanical or unclear, such as the abrupt phrasing 'ooverall. 65 and over it was contributed to 47.1%'.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'physically active', 'proportion', and 'experienced an increase'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'enrolled in physical excercises' (people do physical activity, they don't enroll in exercises) and spelling mistakes like 'excercises' and 'adolsecent'. Vocabulary is sometimes repetitive, with frequent reliance on words like 'figure' and 'percentage'. These errors do not completely impede communication but restrict the score to a Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Overall, it is evident that women were more physically active than men in most age groups, except among adolsecent age groups.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, particularly in the body paragraphs where sentence fragments and run-on structures occur (e.g., 'By comparison, among 45-54 age of males were stood at 43.1%' and 'Whereas, 15-24 age womens accounted for 47.7%'). Punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after commas and typos like 'ooverall', also detract from accuracy, though meaning is generally preserved.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.