Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-02

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 proportion of Australian genders both men and women in different age groups who did regular physical exercise in 2010.

Overall, 15 to 24 age group people where male was the highest compared to female, while age group between 25 to 34 was the lowest. In addition, age group between 65 to over remaind the same.

Firstly, 15 to 24 age group accounted for male was 52% which was the biggest one in the chart, while female was 47% making it the highest compared to all. In contrast age group between 25 to 64 all the four graphs female is the highest compared to male that it is dominent in the percentage of females.

However, 65 and over age group showed the same trend respectively, it was 46% to 47% both the male and female are remained stabled making it to different from others age groups.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the chart’s subject and make a relevant attempt at an overview, noting that men lead in the youngest group and that women are higher across the middle age groups. However, the overview is unclear and includes an inaccurate claim: the 65-and-over figures are not the same, and the male rate is not stable across the age groups. Some comparisons are also misreported: 47% is not the highest female figure, which is 53.3% among 45–54-year-olds. The response is 139 words, below the required 150, so the account is underdeveloped. To improve, give a precise overview of the contrasting trends and support it with accurate comparisons across the full age range.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details, and connectors such as “Overall,” “Firstly,” and “However” show an attempt to guide the reader. However, progression is difficult to follow because several sentences combine unclear or conflicting points. For example, “age group between 25 to 64 all the four graphs” does not clearly explain which groups or comparisons are meant, while “65 and over… showed the same trend” is hard to connect to the earlier overview. The linking words sometimes signal contrast without making the relationship clear. Organise the body by comparing the youngest group with the remaining groups, and use clear references to each age band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “age groups,” “accounted for,” and “percentage,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “Australian genders both men and women,” “the biggest one,” “dominant in the percentage,” and “remained stabled.” These expressions make parts of the report difficult to interpret. There are also spelling or form errors, including “remaind” and “dominant” used where a clearer comparison is needed. Aim for precise reporting language such as “the proportion of men,” “the highest figure,” and “women recorded higher rates.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “while” and a sentence beginning “In contrast.” However, grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes obscure the intended comparisons. Examples include “15 to 24 age group people where male was the highest,” “age group between 25 to 34 was the lowest,” and “both the male and female are remained stabled.” These show problems with articles, sentence structure, agreement, and verb forms. The sentence about the 25–64 groups also lacks a clear grammatical structure. Use complete comparison patterns, for example, “Among 15–24-year-olds, the male figure was higher than the female figure,” and check that each sentence has a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

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

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