Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-19
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 chart illustrates the number of individuals participated in several activities at one social centre in Melbourne, Australia between 2000 and 2020.
Overall, Film club recorded the highest number of participants in all years, whereas amateur dynamics recorded the lowest in 2020.
In 2000, the number of participants in film club was over 60 which decreased gradually to 60 in 2010, after experiencing a slight increase to 65 in 2020. Martial arts followed the fluating pattern. Musical performance was intriduced in 2005, and the number of participants kept on increasing to 15 in 2020.
Table tennis experienced a dramatic increase in number of participants to over 50 in 2020, after slight increase till 2010. In contrast, amateur dynamics figure increased slightly to over 25 in 2005, followed by drastic declined to under 10 in 2020.
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 addresses the main features of the prompt by selecting key trends across the 20-year period, such as the dominance of the Film club and the dramatic rise of Table tennis. An overview is present, highlighting the highest and lowest participants. However, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 136 words. This under-length impacts the full development of ideas, restricting the task achievement score. Furthermore, there are minor data inaccuracies, such as stating that Musical performances reached 15 in 2020 (whereas the graph shows approximately 18). While the overall comparisons are relevant, the slight lack of full development and the word count penalty limit this criterion to a band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The report has a logical overall structure, beginning with an introduction and overview, followed by body paragraphs detailing specific activities. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as "Overall", "In 2000", "In contrast", and "after experiencing a slight increase". Paragraphing is attempted, though the division could be better organised to group similar trends together. Referencing is mostly clear, though some mechanical transitions are present. The progression of information is generally easy to follow, but the short length limits the depth of the cohesive links. Overall, the organisation is coherent enough to merit a band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items and descriptive phrases such as "fluating pattern" (fluctuating pattern), "dramatic increase", and "drastic declined" (drastic decline). However, there are several noticeable spelling and word formation errors, such as "participated" instead of "participating", "amateur dynamics" instead of "amateur dramatics", and "intriduced" instead of "introduced". These lexical inaccuracies and typos slightly impede communication in places. Despite these errors, the range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main trends of the visual data, supporting a band 5.5 score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating temporal clauses and past tense structures like "after experiencing a slight increase to 65 in 2020". However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are errors in verb forms and word classes, such as "the number of individuals participated" (should be participating) and "drastic declined" (should be a drastic decline). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips occur frequently enough to cause occasional hesitation for the reader. The control of grammar corresponds to a band 5.5 descriptor level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.