Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-28
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 given pie chart illustrates the proportions of location of dance classes while the graph gives information on number of students participation in different types of dance and their age group.
Overall, most of the dance classes were held in private studios. Ballet dance was most popular among students under 11, while modern dance was popular among student from age 11 to 16 years.
Most of the dance classes were held in private studios, contributing 48%, followed by school halls, available only after-school, at 24%. The community and other halls contributed to 18%. Ultimately, the college-based studios were least used location at only 10%.
Ballet dance was most popular dance. Approximately 300 students from age 11-16 years and 600 under 11. The modern dance showed an opposite trend with around 300 under 11 students and roughly 520 student from age 11 to 16. Tap dance was almost equally popular among both age groups with number of under 11 students slightly higher at 450 while number of students from age 11 to 16 around
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student covers all parts of the task by reporting on both the locations of dance classes and the types of dance classes across different age groups. An overview is provided at the beginning, identifying private studios as the most common location and highlighting key trends in dance preferences, such as ballet being popular among the under-11 age group. Key data points are cited accurately from the visual data, such as private studios at 48% and school halls at 24%. However, the response trails off incomplete at the very end ('number of students from age 11 to 16 around'), which slightly limits the full extension of ideas in the final sentence. Despite this minor truncation, the main features and comparisons are adequately selected and reported.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is structured with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs addressing the two charts. Information and ideas are logically sequenced overall. Cohesive devices such as 'while', 'followed by', and 'on the other hand' (implied by contrast) are used to connect ideas, though some repetition occurs, such as starting consecutive sentences with 'Most of the dance classes were held in private studios'. Paragraphing is generally appropriate, separating the chart details into distinct sections. However, referencing and cohesion become slightly disjointed towards the end where the sentence breaks off abruptly, impacting the overall flow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary relevant to the task, including terms like 'proportions', 'contributing', 'approximately', and 'trend'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some success, such as 'college-based studios' and 'equally popular'. There are occasional awkward word choices and phrasing, such as 'number of students participation' instead of 'participation' or 'number of students participating', and a repetitive use of basic connectors. However, spelling is generally accurate and the lexical choices are adequate to communicate the main information clearly without impeding understanding.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and comparative structures. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'proportions of location' (which should be 'proportions of the locations' or 'distribution of locations'), missing articles ('most popular dance'), and preposition errors ('student from age 11 to 16 years'). Furthermore, the final sentence is incomplete ('number of students from age 11 to 16 around'). Despite these inaccuracies, meaning is generally clear, and the errors do not severely impede communication.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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