Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-17
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 number of participants for various activities at one of the social centre in Melbourne, Australia over the twenty year period from 2000 to 2020.
Overall, firm club accounted for the highest number of participants, consistently remaining the highest throughout the period with some minor fluctuations. Furthermore, the most dramatic increase was seen for the category table tennis and amateur dramatics, both of which experienced a sharp decline and growth from the year 2010.
In 2000, Firm club stood at the highest chosen activity, the number of participants being 65 and this figure rose steadily reaching approximately 68 by 2020. In contrast, number of participants engaged in martial arts remained constant after some minor fluctuations, the figures being around 46 in both 2000 and 2020.
As for the Amateur dramatics, which began from around 16 in 2000 experienced a substantial decline by 2020 reaching figures below 10. Conversely, table tennis which started off with number of participants around 26 in 2000 experienced a significant increase by 2020, figures reaching above 50. Moreover, Musical performances which had no participants in 2000 increased overtime and the number of participants reached around 19 by 2020.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to address the task by reporting the main features and trends of the line graph, providing an overview and selecting specific data points. However, there are notable data inaccuracies when compared to the visual reference. For instance, the student states that the film club started at 65 and reached 68, whereas the chart shows 64 rising to 66. More significantly, the figures reported for martial arts (around 46) and amateur dramatics/table tennis in the opening year do not align well with the source graph (martial arts was 36, amateur dramatics 26, and table tennis 16). Additionally, grouping table tennis and amateur dramatics as both experiencing a 'sharp decline and growth' is contradictory and inaccurate, as table tennis grew significantly while amateur dramatics declined. These inaccuracies and misinterpretations prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is structured into four distinct paragraphs, following a logical layout with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific trends. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'In contrast', 'Conversely', and 'Moreover' are used to guide the reader through the data comparisons. However, referencing is occasionally problematic, such as referring to the 'firm club' instead of the 'film club' and grouping categories together inaccurately in the overview. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different categories of activities. While the logical progression is generally maintained, the mechanical use of transitional phrases and minor cohesion slips limit the score to a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for describing graphical data, employing terms like 'fluctuations', 'substantial decline', 'significant increase', and 'remained constant'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and spelling/word-choice inaccuracies, such as repeating 'firm club' instead of 'film club' and imprecise collocation or phrasing like 'stood at the highest chosen activity'. While the vocabulary used is adequate to convey the general message, these recurring lexical errors and limitations in precision restrict the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including participial clauses and comparative structures (e.g., 'the number of participants being 65 and this figure rose steadily'). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as missing articles ('one of the social centre' instead of 'centres'), subject-verb agreement issues ('Amateur dramatics, which began from around 16 in 2000 experienced'), and punctuation slips. Despite these errors, communication is not severely impeded, and the sentence variety demonstrates an adequate grammatical range, supporting a Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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