Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-30
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 image illustrates the information about the number of participants for different activities at one social center in Melbourne, Australia from 2000 to 2020.
Overall, participants in the film club leads in 2000 to 2020. While participants in table tennis in musical performances increased and participants who participated in amateur dramatics declined. The participants in martial arts remained almost the same over the period.
In 2000, the participants in film club were almost 64 and after slightly decreasing in 2010, they increased again and reached 65. The participants who participated in martial arts through ups and downs remained the same over the period. The participants in amateur dramatics first increased and then quickly declined to approximately 6 participants.
The participators in table tennis gradually increased after 2010 and reached almost 5 participants. From 2000 to 2010, there were no participant in musical performances but after 2005 the number of participants increased regularly and in 2020 became almost 16 participants. The greatest increase in participants over the period is in table tennis.
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 covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons across the five activities shown in the chart. An overall trend is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting that film club participation led throughout, while table tennis and musical performances increased, and amateur dramatics declined. However, there are some minor data inaccuracies and awkward expressions in reporting the figures. For instance, the student states that table tennis reached 'almost 5 participants' in 2020, whereas the graph indicates it reached approximately 54. Similarly, stating that musical performances in 2020 became 'almost 16 participants' undercuts the actual figure of around 18, and missing the starting zero accurately. Despite these minor misreadings of scale points, the overall trends and comparisons are adequately identified and supported, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organised into a logical structure with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs detailing the specific data points. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'While', and 'In 2000'. However, paragraphing could be structured more cleanly, and referencing or linking between sentences sometimes feels mechanical or repetitive (e.g. repeatedly starting sentences with 'The participants in...'). Logical progression is maintained overall, but the mechanical nature of some transitions prevents the response from achieving a higher band. Overall, the arrangement is coherent and easy to follow, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'participated', 'declined', 'gradually increased', and 'fluctuations' (attempted via 'ups and downs'). However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, most notably using 'participants' repeatedly in awkward phrasing ('participants in the film club leads', 'participants who participated') and misreporting numbers due to lexical/numerical confusion. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. Spelling is generally accurate, but the restricted range and recurrent repetition of basic functional vocabulary keep this criterion at a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as subordinate clauses ('While participants in table tennis... increased and participants who participated... declined'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('participants in the film club leads' instead of 'lead') and prepositional errors ('participant in musical performances' instead of 'participants'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and the errors do not severely impede overall communication. The presence of these frequent minor errors alongside a limited control of complex structures points firmly to a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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