Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-15
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 illustration depicts a line chart showing the number of individuals participating in different activities at one social centre in an Australian city, Melbourne, from 2000 to 2020.
Overall, a few trends can be seen, starting with the film club attracting the most participants. In contrast, the musical performance club has been observed to have the least participants. Subsequently, the amateur dramatic and table tennis showed a dramatic change opposite to each other.
In 2000, the film club sarted with more then 60 participants, it had remained the same till 2010, where the number dropped till 60 but recovered in the next few years. In retrospect, the musical performance has zero participants from 2000 till 2005, after which a steady incline in the number has been observed over the years.
The marial arts club have seem contant ups and downs. In 2000, the indivuals participanting were alittle short of 40. In the next year the number dropped to 30 recovering just the next year and remaining steady after that.
The amateur dramtics and table tennis showed similar but opposite trend. Both starting with 25 and 15 participants respectively, and showing a steady upward trend. In 2010, both of their graphs converged and took a dramatic turn. The amateur dramatics graph took a steep decline with less then 10 participants in 2020, while table tennis shot upwards with more then 50 individuals particpating in the last year.
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 student attempts to cover all parts of the task and successfully identifies the main features and general trends, such as the film club remaining the most popular and the contrasting trajectories of table tennis and amateur dramatics. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific data points. For instance, the text states that amateur dramatics and table tennis started with '25 and 15 participants respectively', whereas the chart shows 26 and 16. Furthermore, the claim that amateur dramatics and table tennis 'converged' in 2010 is visually inaccurate based on the graph. Despite these minor data inaccuracies, the overall overview and trends are adequately outlined, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is logically organized with a clear overall arrangement, separating the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs focusing on specific activities. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group related ideas together. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'In retrospect' used instead of 'In contrast'. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional transitional lapses appear between sentences. Overall, the essay flows adequately and meets the requirements for a Band 6 in coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'trajectory', 'incline', and 'converged' (though misused in context). There are several noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'sarted' for started, 'more then' for more than, 'alittle' for a little, 'contant' for constant, 'indivuals' for individuals, and 'participanting' for participating. These vocabulary and spelling errors do not completely impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb tense consistency, prepositions, and comparative structures, such as 'the musical performance has zero participants' instead of 'had zero participants', and 'The marial arts club have seem' instead of 'has seen'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are frequent, they rarely impede the overall communication of the data, which is characteristic of Band 6 performance.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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