Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-12
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 illustrates number of people participated in different activities including Film club, Martial arts, Amateur dramatics, Table tennis and Musical performances held in Melbourne, Australia between 2000 and 2020.
Overall, Film club remained top choice of the Australian people while Table tennis increased significantly over the years. Interest of people in Amateur dramatics decline from 2000 to 2020.
In 2000, 65 participants joined film club which fluctuate between 60 to 65 between years 2000 and 2020. Martial arts ranked 2nd in 2000 with 38 participants. Number of people drop to 30 in 2005 and increased again to 40 in 2010. 5 participants left in 2015 and rose again in 2020 with 38 people.
Amateur dramatics was at position 3 in 2000 with 25 people with addition of 2 more participants in 2005. In 2010, the number decline to 20 people and it continued till 2020 with 10 in 2015 and 5 in 2020. Table tennis caught the interest of people with 15 in 2000 and rose to 20 in 2005. The graph showed dramatic surge in 2015 with 35 participants and led to 55 in 2020. Musical performances were not gain any popularity in 2000 and 2005. However increased gradually from 2010 to 2020 with 10, 14 and 20 participants respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and making relevant comparisons across the given timeframe from 2000 to 2020. The student correctly identifies the Film club as the most popular activity and highlights the significant upward trend in Table tennis, alongside the decline in Amateur dramatics and Martial arts fluctuations. An overview is present, giving a clear summary of the overall trends. While some specific data points could be grouped more analytically rather than listed sequentially, the response clearly addresses the prompt requirements well and achieves a solid band 6.5 to 7.0 performance for task coverage.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by an overall summary, and then body paragraphs detailing specific activities. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In 2000', and 'However' are used to structure the text, though referencing and transitions can occasionally feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different categories of information, ensuring the reader can follow the general progression of data throughout the twenty-year period. Cohesion overall is functional and supports clear organization.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for the task, using terms like 'participants', 'fluctuate', 'surge', and 'popularity'. There are some word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'number of people participated' (missing 'who participated'), 'were not gain any popularity' (incorrect passive/active verb form), and 'the number decline' (tense inconsistency). However, these vocabulary errors do not impede communication. The use of less common vocabulary like 'surge' and 'fluctuate' shows an attempt to vary language beyond basic terms, placing the lexical performance solidly at band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as introductory prepositional phrases and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding missing articles ('illustrates number of people'), incorrect verb forms ('were not gain any popularity'), and tense consistency issues ('decline' instead of 'declined'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede the overall flow or comprehension of the text for the reader, fitting the standard descriptors for band 5.5 to 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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