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 in five different activities namely,film club,martial arts,amateur dramatics,table tennis,musical performances, over a period between 2000 and 2020.
Overall,table tennis intally increase,remains stable for a short period then experience a upward trajectories throughout the period.In contrast,amateur dramatics follows the opposite trend to table tennis. While,martial arts shows low volatility throughout the period.In contrast,film club is the most stable activity over a 20 years period.meanwhile,musical performances exhibiting the most dramatic rise by 5 years then level off for rest of the time.
In 2000, film club had the highest number of participants approximately 65,while it showed small dip by 2010 then stable again at 65 by 2020.In 2000 to 2005, Amateur dramatics had around 25-28 number of participants intially,then exhibiting a dramatic downward trend,falling to just 10 participants by 2020.Conversely,table tennis saw intiall growth had around 16-18 participant in first years followed the leveled off trend by 2010.Table tennis experienced a consistent upward trajectories and finished at above 50 participants by 2020.while,musical performances had 0 participants for first 5 years follows a gradual rise around 10 participants by 2010 then leveled off for rest of the time.
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 successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across the five activities shown in the line graph. An overview is provided, noting the distinct trends such as the continuous rise in table tennis and the decline in amateur dramatics. Key data points are cited to support the description, such as film club starting at around 64-65 and ending at 66, and table tennis starting low and finishing above 50. However, there are minor inaccuracies in some of the specific figures reported, such as stating that amateur dramatics fell to just 10 participants by 2020 (whereas the chart shows approximately 6). Despite these minor data inaccuracies, the overall response addresses the prompt well and captures the main trends effectively, placing it securely at Band 6.5, rounded to 6.0 based on the minor inaccuracies in data reporting.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview paragraph, and concluding with a detailed body paragraph. Cohesive devices and transition words are used throughout, such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', 'While', and 'Conversely'. However, paragraphing and sentence boundaries are sometimes compromised by punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after commas (e.g., 'namely,film club,martial arts') and run-on structures. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression within sentences is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and phrasing issues. Overall arrangement is coherent, but mechanical errors in cohesion and punctuation prevent the response from achieving a higher band. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, incorporating terms like 'participants', 'trend', 'volatility', 'downward trend', and 'upward trajectories'. There are clear attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'volatility' and 'trajectories', though some collocations and word forms are awkward or inaccurate (e.g., 'table tennis intally increase', 'exhibiting the most dramatic rise'). Spelling errors occur, including 'intally' instead of initially, 'intiall' and 'intial' instead of initial. While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication, as the reader can easily understand the intended meaning. This vocabulary profile fits the Band 6 criteria.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'followed the leveled off trend by 2010'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and missing prepositions (e.g., 'remains stable for a short period then experience a upward trajectories', 'musical performances exhibiting the most dramatic rise', 'follows a gradual rise around 10 participants'). Punctuation is also problematic, notably missing spaces after commas throughout the text and run-on sentence structures. Although communication is not seriously impeded, the frequency of grammatical errors prevents the score from reaching Band 6.0, warranting a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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