Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-20

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 illustrates the information on percentage of Australian men and women of different age groups who did regular physical activity in year 2010.

Overall, women partictipating on regular physical activities in all age group surpassed male individuals except for age group 15 to 24, where men seem more dominant, at 52.8% for male and at 47.7% for female.

Surprisingly, the age group of 45 to 64 and 55 to 64 despite the age seems to be more active than that of lower age group, where 53.3% of female, 43.1% of male and 53% of female, 45.1% of male respectively were active.

On the other hand, the age group of 35 to 44 and 25 to 34 are at 52.5% for female, 39.5% for male and 48.9% for female, 42.2% for male respectively.

Despite being the oldest among all the age group of 65 and over also seems givibg tough competition for all age groups for accounting females at 47.1% and male at 46.7%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main comparison accurately: women recorded higher participation in every age group except 15–24, where men were at 52.8% and women at 47.7%. You also include relevant figures across the remaining groups, and the overview gives the reader a clear central pattern. However, some features are less fully explained. The description of the 45–64-year-olds as “more active than that of lower age group” is vague and does not specify the comparison clearly; the female rates peak around ages 45–64, while male participation reaches its low at 35–44 and then rises. The final point about the oldest group being “tough competition” is also unclear. State the key peaks, lows and overall trends directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to comparisons among age groups, and phrases such as “Overall” and “On the other hand” help signal relationships. However, progression is not consistently clear: the paragraph beginning “Surprisingly” combines two age ranges, and the next paragraph revisits them in reverse order without a clear organising principle. The phrase “45 to 64 and 55 to 64” is confusing because the first range includes the second. Some linking expressions, including “On the other hand,” do not establish a strong contrast between the information that follows. Group the figures systematically—for example, describe the younger groups first, then the older groups—and use clear references to avoid repetition and ambiguity.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “percentage,” “age group,” “active” and “accounting,” and the meaning is generally recoverable. There are also attempts at more descriptive language, such as “surpassed” and “dominant,” though some choices are unnatural or imprecise in this context. “Women participating on regular physical activities” and “giving tough competition” do not express the chart comparisons naturally, while “Surprisingly” adds an unsupported reaction rather than an objective description. Spelling errors such as “partictipating” and “givibg” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, neutral reporting language, such as “the proportion of women exceeded that of men” and “participation was similar in the oldest group.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview clause beginning “except for age group 15 to 24, where…” and the sentence comparing the 45–54 and 55–64 groups. The main comparisons remain understandable, but some grammatical errors make the relationships harder to follow. For example, “women … surpassed male individuals” lacks a clear object of comparison, and “the age group … despite the age seems to be more active” has an incomplete, awkward clause structure. There are also issues with articles and number, as in “in year 2010” and “all the age group.” Use complete, direct clauses and check agreement and sentence boundaries; for example, “Women were more active than men in five of the six age groups.”

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.