Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-06

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 tracks to the information of participants who take part in different activities at social centre in Melbourne, Australia from 2000 to 2020.

Overall, film club remained most popular among people throughout the period, while other showed fluctuation. Table tennis experienced a significant increase in number of participants in 2010, amateur dramatics showed a considerable decline in figure after 2005 and musical performances remained least common in people.

Moreover, about 65 participants joined film club in 2000 and remained popular until 2020 and reached up to 69 participants. In martial arts, about 38 people took part in 2000, which is dropped to 30 participants in 2005 and then rose again in 2010, it showed fulctuation in given time. Amateur dramatics were considered as popular in 2000, about 27 people joined but suddenly it experienced a decline in numbers after 2005 and fall below 10 people in 2020.

Table tennis were remained unpopular among people, only about 17 people joined this in 2000 and afterwards showed a silghtest increase in its number in 2005 and afterwards showed plateau but in 2010, it showed highest peak up to 55 people joined this in 2020. Musical performace was least, people started to join this after 2005 and reached up to only 15 people by the year 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by presenting an overview of the main trends and reporting key data points from the graph. The writer identifies the overall patterns, such as the film club remaining the most popular activity and table tennis experiencing a significant increase. However, some ideas are under-developed or inaccurately reported. For instance, the text claims that table tennis showed a plateau before peaking in 2010 and reaching 55 people in 2020, whereas the graph indicates a steady rise to around 54 in 2020 following a plateau around 2010. Additionally, some specific figures contain minor inaccuracies compared to the visual data. These gaps in precision and development place the task achievement in the middle tier, fulfilling the core requirements while showing some inconsistency in detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and a logical paragraph structure, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview paragraph, and then detailed body paragraphs. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. The writer relies heavily on basic time markers and transitional phrases such as "Moreover," "afterwards," and "then" rather than seamlessly linking ideas. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in sentences like "while other showed fluctuation." Paragraphing is used to separate the overview from the details, which aids readability, but the logical progression within the body paragraphs is disrupted by confusing timelines and abrupt shifts between data points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as "fluctuation," "considerable decline," and "plateau." However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices throughout the text, such as "tracks to the information," "silghtest increase," and "Musical performace was least." Spelling errors like "fulctuation" and "silghtest" also occur. While these errors and inappropriate word choices do not completely impede communication, they restrict the vocabulary score, as the range remains limited and lacks the precision required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like relative clauses and time-bound dependent clauses. However, there are frequent errors in grammar, articles, and prepositions that persist throughout the text. Examples include missing articles ("at social centre"), incorrect prepositions or verbs ("which is dropped to 30 participants"), and subject-verb agreement issues ("Table tennis were remained unpopular"). Although the meaning is usually retrievable and communication is rarely completely blocked, the accumulation of grammatical inaccuracies across various structures prevents the response from achieving a higher rating.

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.