Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below give information on the location and types of dance classes young people in a town in Australia are currently attending.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The chart illustrates information about young people who attended dance classes in a town in Australia in different locations.

Overall, private studios have the highest number of students in dance classes, whereas college-based studios have the lowest number of young. Ballet dance was the most liked dance among those under 11, while the lowest number of students attended modern dance classes.

Young people attended different types of dance locations around the town in Australia, where private studios had the highest number of students, accounting for 48%. Community halls & other dance classes had 18% of students, while school halls had 24% overall after-school programs, and college-based studios had the lowest number of students in dance classes in the town.

Young people under 11, who liked the ballet dance among the other dance was significant number students attended the classes, where modern dance least famous dance around 600 and 300, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main location pattern accurately: private studios account for the largest share (48%), and college-based studios the smallest (10%). You also note that ballet is popular among under-11s. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: modern is not the least-attended dance overall, since under-11s have 300 in modern, while 11–16-year-olds have 520. The response gives almost no usable comparison of the age groups across all three dance types, and the final sentence is difficult to interpret; it appears to compare only under-11 ballet and modern. To strengthen the report, summarise the contrasting age patterns—ballet is higher among younger students, while modern is higher among older students—and include the key tap figures as well.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs that move from locations to dance types. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, the progression is uneven because the location data are repeated in both the overview and the next paragraph, while the age-group chart receives only one unclear sentence. Linking words such as “whereas” and “while” help signal comparisons, but the final sentence’s “respectively” does not make clear which figures or categories are being matched. Organise the body into a clear location comparison and a separate comparison of dance types by age, and use explicit references to each group and category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “private studios,” “college-based studios,” “accounting for,” and “after-school programs,” so the main subject is generally clear. However, some word choices and collocations are awkward or imprecise, such as “the highest number of students” for percentages, “the most liked dance,” and “least famous dance.” The phrase “around 600 and 300” also leaves the relationship between the figures unclear. Aim for precise chart language, distinguishing a share or proportion from a student count, and use natural expressions such as “most popular” or “had the fewest participants.” A broader set of comparison terms would also help describe the differences between the two age groups.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “whereas” and a clause beginning “who liked the ballet dance.” Some sentences communicate the main point, but grammatical control is inconsistent. For example, “the lowest number of students attended modern dance classes” is followed by a sentence fragment-like construction: “who liked the ballet dance … was significant number students attended the classes.” The final sentence also lacks a clear grammatical relationship between its clauses and figures. There are problems with articles and noun forms, as in “the ballet dance” and “number students,” as well as sentence construction. Use shorter, complete sentences when reporting figures, then add carefully controlled comparisons.

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