Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-18

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 6.5)

The line graph gives comparison on the number of participants for five activities at one social centre in Melbourne, Australia between 2000 and 2020.

Overall, three social activities became more popular (film club, table tennis, and musical performances) and one sport became less popular. While film club consistently remained the most popular, martial arts and amateur dramatics were overtaken by table tennis. A new activity was also introduced in 2005.

The activities that gained popularity are film club, table tennis and musical performances. Film club has the most number of participants throughout the period. From 2000 to 2010, its popularity lowered between 65 to 60 participants before increasing to over 65 participants in 2020. Table tennis, which started as the fourth most popular at more than 10 participants and rising steeply to over 50 participants in 2020, in which it overtook martial arts and amateur dramatics in their ranks of popularity. A new activity called musical performances started at 0 participants in 2005 before continuously increased and reaching over 10 participants in 2020.

Martial arts as the second popular at over 30 participants in 2000 remained almost the same throughout the period with slight decrease between the decades before rising again to the same number in 2020.

Amateur dramatics was the only activity that became less popular. Amateur dramatics started as the third most popular in 2000 at more than 20 participants, climbed slightly in 2005 before decreasing to less than 10 participants in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

You provide a clear overview of the main patterns: film club remains the most popular, table tennis rises sharply, and amateur dramatics declines. Most reported figures and comparisons are consistent with the graph, including film club’s fall to around 60 in 2010 and recovery to about 66 by 2020. However, the overview says that “three social activities became more popular” and “one sport became less popular,” which is imprecise: martial arts fluctuates around a similar level, while amateur dramatics—not a sport—is the activity that declines. The claim that a new activity was introduced in 2005 is also inaccurate; musical performances first register participants in 2010. The response selects relevant features and supports them with data, but these over-generalisations and the mistaken start date limit precision.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and the broad progression from overall trends to individual activities is easy to follow. Grouping the rising series together before discussing martial arts and amateur dramatics is a sensible approach. However, some links are awkward or unclear, particularly the long table-tennis sentence ending “in which it overtook martial arts and amateur dramatics in their ranks of popularity.” The repeated opening “The activities that gained popularity” also partly restates the overview rather than advancing the description. Use clearer sentence boundaries and more direct comparisons, and ensure each paragraph develops a distinct set of information. This would make the progression smoother and cohesion less dependent on repeated labels.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of trend vocabulary, including “remained,” “overtaken,” “rising steeply,” “decreasing” and “slight decrease,” so the main movements are generally clear. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “throughout the period.” However, several collocations and word choices are imprecise: “gives comparison” is unnatural, “the most number of participants” is not idiomatic, and “in their ranks of popularity” is an awkward way to describe relative numbers. “Became more popular” can also suggest changing preference rather than participant totals. Aim for precise chart language such as “the number of participants increased” and “had the highest participation.” More natural collocations would improve flexibility and accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including time clauses and comparisons, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. Some sentences are controlled, such as “Amateur dramatics started as the third most popular in 2000 … before decreasing.” However, there are several errors in verb forms and sentence construction. For example, “before continuously increased” needs a finite verb form such as “before increasing steadily,” while “Table tennis … rising steeply … in which it overtook” is an incomplete and awkwardly joined construction. “Martial arts as the second popular” also lacks a main verb and a grammatical superlative form. Review sentence completeness, verb patterns after “before,” and article use; greater accuracy in these areas would strengthen the range you are already attempting.

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