Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-01

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 physical activities done by both male and females related to six different age groups in Australia in 2010.

Overall, men belongs to 15 to 24 age group dominates significantly with the highest percentage. In contrast, in other age groups women percentage of doing physical activites were on highest level than men. Furthermore, the percentage of both male and females were almost similar in the age group of 65 and over.

First, the percentage of men belongs to 15 to 24 age group dominates with 52.8% of doing physical activities while women belongs to this age group were only 47.7%. Moreover, in 25 to 34 age group percentage of women 48.9% were highest than men with 42.2%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response only partially addresses the task and fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, stopping abruptly after 123 words. While the writer attempts to present an overview and select some key features, such as the highest male participation in the 15 to 24 age bracket, the information provided is incomplete. Important trends across the remaining age groups are omitted, and the summary is cut short before the data can be fully reported. To achieve a higher band, the response must meet the word count requirement and present a more fully developed overview of all age categories, ensuring that the main comparisons between genders are systematically covered.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates some organisation with an attempt at an introduction, an overview paragraph, and a body paragraph. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression, and the text ends prematurely. Cohesive devices are occasionally used, such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Furthermore', but their application is at times mechanical or repetitive. Paragraphing is initiated, but the body of the text is underdeveloped due to the truncated length. To improve, the writer should ensure that ideas flow logically from the introduction through the overview to well-supported body paragraphs, using a wider and more natural variety of cohesive links without relying on repetitive transitional phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, but the range is limited and contains noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'men belongs to' instead of 'men belonging to', and 'women percentage of doing physical activites were on highest level' instead of 'women's participation rates were higher'. There are also spelling errors like 'activites'. These lexical slips and inaccuracies occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To move up to a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider and more flexible range of vocabulary, demonstrating better control of word formation, collocations, and precise reporting verbs and nouns suitable for an academic data summary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing exhibits a limited range of sentence structures, with frequent grammatical errors that can cause strain for the reader. There are persistent issues with subject-verb agreement and relative clauses, such as 'men belongs to 15 to 24 age group dominates' and 'women belongs to this age group were only'. Punctuation and prepositional usage also need closer attention. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to ungrammatical phrasing. To attain a higher band, the student must produce a better mix of error-free simple and complex structures, paying careful attention to verb tenses, agreements, and the omission of necessary auxiliary verbs.

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

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