Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-17

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 graph depicts the percentage of Australian men and women in distinct age groups who did constant physical activity in 2010. The units are measured in percentage.

Overall, age group of 15 to 24 for male peaked and for female it was the highest for age group 45 to 54, whereas 65 and over was almost the same percentage for both male and female.

For male, the young people between 15 to 24 was the higher age group who had done regular physical activity; additionally the age group of 35 to 44 was very least for all other age group which was 39.5%, interestingly the older age group 65 and over was 46.7% which was almost similar for the female.

For female, 15 to 24 was 47.7% which was lower than male, but which noted changes in the trend where female was the highest who had done regular physical activity, where 45 to 54 age group showed went up with 53.3%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the chart’s subject and give a relevant overview: men record their highest participation in the youngest group, while women peak among those aged 45–54, and the oldest group has similar figures for both sexes. You also accurately report key values such as 39.5% for men aged 35–44 and 53.3% for women aged 45–54. However, some important comparisons are missing or unclear. For example, women exceed men in every age group except 15–24, and the male rate falls before rising again; neither pattern is clearly summarised. The claim that the female figure was highest “for age group 45 to 54” is accurate, but the description of its trend is underdeveloped. Include more of the age-group comparisons to make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for men and women. This gives the reader a coherent overall arrangement, and linking expressions such as “Overall” and “For female” signal the sections. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. The male paragraph moves from the youngest group to the lowest figure and then to the oldest group without clearly explaining the sequence of changes. In the final paragraph, repeated uses of “where” make the relationship between ideas unclear. Organise the details in a consistent order, such as moving from youngest to oldest, and use clearer links to show contrasts and trends.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “age group,” “peaked,” and “trend,” so the topic is generally clear. There are also attempts to vary wording, such as “depicts” and “distinct.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this task: “constant physical activity” does not convey regular exercise naturally, “the very least” is an awkward way to describe the lowest figure, and “the higher age group” is unclear when you mean the group with the highest participation rate. Some phrases are repeated, particularly “age group” and “physical activity.” Choose precise terms for describing data and use natural collocations; this will make comparisons easier to understand and demonstrate a more controlled range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast in “15 to 24 was 47.7% which was lower than male.” The main meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors and awkward sentence structures reduce clarity. For example, “age group of 15 to 24 for male peaked” lacks a natural subject construction, while “the age group of 35 to 44 was very least” has an incomplete comparison structure. In “the age group showed went up,” the verb pattern is incorrect, and “the highest who had done” does not form a grammatical clause. Practise building sentences around the figures themselves—for example, “The male rate peaked at…”—and check agreement, articles, and verb forms.

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

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