Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-16
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 the percentage of various participants for a variety of activities at one communal centre in the city of Melbourne in Australia between 2000 and 2020.
Overall, among all the activities the participants with highest numbers are found taking part in film club with 65 participants. However the least number of participants are found to be engaging in musical performances followed by late entry of participants in year 2005 and a negligible growth of 11 participants in 2010, 2015 and 2020. Another activity which displayed a rise through the period of time is table tennis which started with only 18 participants and rose upto 52 along the course of time. Amateur dramatics lost interest in the activity overtime with a sharp decline in participants which started with only 26 participants and after the year 2005 a massive decline can be seen that continued till 2020 and ended at omly 5 participants.
Only one of the activity is noticed to have almost stable participant along the time given that is martial arts it showed a very less fluctuation of participants with 35 participants at the start and same number of participants in the end.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all main activities shown in the graph and attempts to highlight key trends, such as the rise in table tennis and the decline in amateur dramatics. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting the data (e.g., stating the film club had 65 participants constantly, whereas it fluctuated slightly, and reporting the starting value of table tennis as 18 instead of 16). The overview is partially present in the second paragraph, but it is somewhat confused with detailed data points. To reach a higher band, the overview needs to clearly outline the overarching trends without mixing in specific figures, and the data cited must closely reflect the visual information.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response suffers from poor paragraphing, as it consists of only two overly dense paragraphs, making the progression difficult to follow. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes awkward (e.g., 'followed by late entry of participants in year 2005'). While there is a basic logical flow moving from an overview/film club to other activities, referencing and logical transitions between sentences are weak. To improve, the writer should structure the essay into an introduction, a clear overview paragraph, and two distinct body paragraphs, while using a wider range of cohesive devices naturally.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'negligible growth', 'massive decline', and 'fluctuation'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'percentage of various participants' (the graph shows numbers, not percentages), 'lost interest in the activity overtime', and 'ended at omly 5 participants' (spelling error). These inaccuracies prevent the vocabulary from achieving a higher score. Incorporating more precise terminology and ensuring correct collocations will enhance this criterion.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but punctuation is weak, leading to run-on sentences (e.g., 'However the least number of participants...'). There are grammatical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing throughout, such as 'the participants with highest numbers are found taking part' and 'Only one of the activity is noticed to have almost stable participant'. Errors occur frequently, though they rarely impede overall communication. Improving control over complex structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement will help elevate the grammar score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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