Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-28
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 multiple activities at one social centre in Australia between 2000 and 2020.
Overall, the number of participants in table tennis and musical performance increased steadily, while the film club, martial arts and amateur dramatics decreased dramatically over the period.
In 2000, the number of participants in table tennis increased steadily from about 17 in 2000 to approximately 55 in 2020. Moreover, there was no change from 2000 to 2005, but the number of participants in musical performance increased steadily over one and a half decades from 0 in 2005 to about 18 in 2020. Furthermore, there were fluctuations in martial arts over the two decades from approximately 37 in 2000 to 38 in 2020.
In contrast, the number of participants in the film club decreased dramatically from approximately 65 in 2000 to 60 in 2010. After 2010, it increased steadily approximately 60 to 69 in 2020. Furthermore, the number of participants in amateur dramatics gradually increased over half a decade from about 27 in 2000 to approximately 29 in 2005, and dramatically decreased over one and a half decades from about 29 in 2005 to approximately 8 in 2020
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to report the main features and trends of all categories on the graph, presenting an overview in the second paragraph. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in describing the data. For instance, the student states that the film club 'decreased dramatically' from 2000 to 2010 and then 'increased steadily approximately 60 to 69 in 2020', whereas the graph actually shows minor variations starting around 64. Furthermore, the student misinterprets the trends of individual categories, claiming that film club, martial arts, and amateur dramatics all decreased dramatically overall, which contradicts the visual data for martial arts (which remained relatively stable around 36). Due to these inaccurate details and misread data points, the response only partially covers the task accurately.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organised into distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the categories. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'In contrast' are used to structure the text, though some transitions are mechanically applied or introduce logical contradictions. Paragraphing is generally appropriate for an academic report, but the internal logical progression within the body paragraphs is weakened by the inaccurate reporting of data trends, which makes the relationships between the figures less clear to the reader.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing trends, employing terms such as 'increased steadily', 'decreased dramatically', and 'fluctuations'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and data interpretation, such as describing minor numerical changes as 'dramatically decreased'. Additionally, some phrasing is awkward or imprecise, such as 'over one and a half decades from 0 in 2005 to about 18 in 2020'. The vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, but errors in collocation and precision prevent a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses introduced by 'while' and 'as'. There are instances of good control over basic grammatical structures, but errors in preposition usage and sentence formulation occur, such as 'increased steadily approximately 60 to 69' (missing a preposition like 'from') and missing punctuation at the very end of the essay. While these grammatical errors do not completely impede overall communication, they are frequent enough to restrict the score to band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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