Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 graph illustrates five types of activities undertaken by a number of participants at a social centre in Melbourne, Australia through the years 2000 - 2020.

Amongst all the activities, the table tennis activity has soared exponentially as it has gained much popularity by the participants.

While the martial arts and film club has followed a similar trend, the amateur dramatics has seen a dramatic decline and can be observed as a least prefered option by the participants. The musical performance initially skipped at the beginning has seen a positive trend considerably.

It is also improtant to note that although the table tennis activity has gained much of the popularity, it's participation by number never got close to film club keeping it as the highest by number of participants.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify several important overall patterns: table tennis rises strongly, amateur dramatics declines, and film club remains the most popular activity. However, the report is far too brief to summarise the graph adequately and does not meet the 150-word minimum. It gives almost no supporting figures or comparisons across the five years, and the claim that martial arts and film club “followed a similar trend” is misleading: film club dips and then rises, whereas martial arts fluctuates around the mid-30s. The musical performances trend is mentioned but not quantified. To develop the response, include an overview and select key start- and end-point figures, while accurately describing the contrasting patterns.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The ideas are presented in a broadly understandable order: an introduction is followed by general observations and a final comparison. Linking expressions such as “While” and “It is also important to note” help signal relationships between points. However, the response is a single block, with no clear paragraphing to distinguish the overview from supporting details, and the progression remains limited because the trends are asserted rather than developed with data. The reference in “it has gained much popularity” is also not fully clear, and the final sentence repeats the table-tennis/film-club comparison without adding evidence. Use separate overview and detail paragraphs, and connect each comparison to specific years or figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is an adequate range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “soared,” “dramatic decline,” “positive trend,” and “highest by number of participants.” These choices make the main direction of change understandable, and the response attempts some less common wording. However, several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural for a graph report: “soared exponentially” overstates the pattern, “skipped at the beginning” does not clearly describe zero participation, and “least prefered option” is an imprecise way to report the lowest figure. There are also spelling errors in “prefered” and “improtant,” alongside repetition of “popularity.” Prefer precise trend language such as “rose sharply” and “started at zero,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple statements and more complex structures, including the contrast introduced by “While” and the concessive clause beginning “although.” Most of the meaning remains clear. Some grammatical problems nevertheless reduce accuracy: “the martial arts and film club has followed” has a subject–verb agreement issue and an unclear singular/plural construction, while “it's participation by number” uses a possessive incorrectly and forms an awkward sentence. The phrase “can be observed as a least…” also has an article problem. The response would benefit from more controlled sentence patterns and careful checking of agreement, articles, and possessives. For example, write “participation in table tennis never approached the film club’s figure.”

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