Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-18
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The graph below gives information on the numbers of participants for different activities at one social centre in Melbourne, Australia for the period 2000 to 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The Line graph provides information on the participants for various activities at one social centre in Melbourne, Australia between the years 2000 to 2020.
Overall, There are total of five activities in the centre. It is clear that, the majority of participants were from film club. In Musical performance, the participants started from 2005. The participants plunged in table tennis and in contrast, the amateur dramatics steadily decreased its participants from the year 2005.
From the year 2005, the Amateur dramatics steadily decreased number of participants. But, the Musical performance peaked from this year. Whereas, from 2010, large number of participants joined table tennis reaching over 50.
The film club activity, slightly decreased in 2010. And Martial arts had frequently fluctuated with up and downs in every five years. Table tennis rapidly increased number of participants from the year 2010.
The film club, martial arts and musical performance remained constant with 65, 35 and 15 participants respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all five activities mentioned in the graph, but the analysis is somewhat superficial and lacks a clear, cohesive overview of the trends. While you identify some key features, such as the peak in table tennis and the decline in amateur dramatics, the description of the data is occasionally confusing or inaccurate (e.g., stating participants 'plunged' in table tennis, when the graph shows an increase). The summary of the final year is also slightly disjointed from the rest of the report. To improve, ensure that your overview highlights the most significant trends across the entire period rather than just listing isolated observations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression between ideas is weak. The use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or misused, such as starting a sentence with 'But' or 'Whereas' in a way that does not effectively link to the previous thought. The transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is abrupt, and the referencing (e.g., 'from this year') is sometimes ambiguous, making it difficult for the reader to follow the timeline of events. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear thematic focus would significantly enhance the flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. You use some relevant terms like 'fluctuated' and 'remained constant', but there are errors in word choice, such as 'plunged' (which implies a sharp decrease, whereas the data shows an increase) and 'peaked from this year' (which is slightly unnatural). There is also some repetition of basic structures. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise verbs and nouns to describe trends, such as 'experienced a steady decline' or 'reached a plateau'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with articles ('the majority of participants were from film club'), subject-verb agreement, and punctuation. For example, 'There are total of five activities' is missing an article, and 'The participants plunged in table tennis' is grammatically awkward. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for missing articles would help improve your accuracy.
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.