Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · 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 8.0)

The bar chart compares the proportion of Australian males and females in six different age categories who engaged in regularvphysical activity in the year 2010.

Overall, women were more physically active than men in most age groups, with the exception of the youngest group. While participation among men was highest among 15-to-24-year-olds and then generally declined before rising slightly in older age, the opposite trend was observed for women, whose participation increased with age and peaked in the 45-to-64 age brackets. In the oldest age group, the figures for both genders were almost equal.

In the youngest age group, 15 to 24, just over half of Australian men, at 52.8%, did regular exercise, which was about 5% higher than the figure for women, at 47.7%. However, this pattern was reversed in the next three age groups. The percentage of men doing physical activity fell sharply to 42.2% among 25-to-34-year-olds and reached its lowest point of 39.5% in the 35-to-44 age bracket. In contrast, the proportion of active women rose steadily, from 48.9% to 52.5% in the same age groups.

This gender gap became most pronounced among people aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64. In these groups, over 53% of women exercised regularly, with figures of 53.3% and 53% respectively, compared to only 43.1% and 45.1% of men. Finally, in the oldest category, those aged 65 and over, the rates of physical activity were almost identical for both, at 46.7% for men and 47.1% for women, and were slightly lower than in the middle-aged groups.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.5

The response covers all parts of the task extremely well, presenting a fully developed and well-supported overview. The student successfully identifies and highlights key trends, such as the inversion of participation rates between genders across different age brackets and the peak points for both men and women. Data is used accurately and selectively to support the main features, such as citing the 52.8% figure for young men and the 53.3% peak for middle-aged women. To reach the highest possible level, the response could push the analysis slightly further by drawing a more sophisticated concluding synthesis about the overall age-related shift in physical activity lifestyles.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 8.0

Ideas are logically sequenced, providing a clear progression from a global overview down to specific age group comparisons. Cohesive devices are managed with a high degree of skill and fluency, utilising phrases like "with the exception of", "While participation among men", and "In contrast" naturally and effectively without becoming obtrusive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to structure the response, ensuring that each paragraph has a distinct focus, such as the overview followed by detailed body paragraphs. Referencing is clear throughout, contributing to a seamless reading experience.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.5

The student demonstrates a wide, fluent, and flexible range of vocabulary suited to an academic report. Less common lexical items are used skilfully, such as "proportion", "engaged in regular physical activity", "participation", and "pronounced". There is a very minor typographical slip in the first paragraph ("regularvphysical"), but word choice and collocation are generally accurate and sophisticated, reflecting a strong command of language. To push higher into the upper band, the student could incorporate even more nuanced academic collocations regarding statistical trends and variations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 8.0

A wide variety of complex structures is deployed with a high degree of flexibility. The majority of sentences are entirely error-free, showcasing excellent control over subordination, relative clauses, and participial phrases, as seen in structures like "whose participation increased with age and peaked in the 45-to-64 age brackets". Verb forms, tenses, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation are handled with exceptional accuracy, with only very occasional minor slips. The control of grammatical features allows the information to be conveyed smoothly and precisely.

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