Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-26

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 PIE CHART AND BAR GRAPH PROVIDES DETAIL ON THE LOCATION AND TYPES OF DANCE CLASSES THAT ARE ATTENDING BY THE STUDENTS IN A SMALL TOWN IN AUSTRALIA.

OVERALL, IT IS CLEARLY SEEN FROM THE PIE CHART THAT TWO CATEGORIES ACCOUNTED FOR NEARLY A QUARTER.WHILE, IN BAR CHART, IN BALLET THE NUMBER OF YOUNG INDIVIDUALS RECORDED THE HIGHEST PROPORTION.

LOOKING MORE CLOSELY TO DATA PROVIDED BY PIE CHART, PRIVATE STUDIOS CONTRIBUTED THE 2% LESS THAN A HALF WHILE, COLLEGE-BASED STUDIOS REPRESENTED THE ONE-TENTH OF THE OVERALL PROPORTION. ADDITIONALLY, SCHOOL HALLS AND COMMUNITY HALLS MADE UP 24% RESPECTIVELY.

TURNING AT THE BAR CHART, BALLET RECORED THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF LEARNERS, AGE GROUP OF UNDER 11. HOWEVER, THE AGE GROUP OF 11-16 ACCOUNTED THE LARGEST NUMBER OF PUPILS IN MODERN DANCE CLASSES. WHILE, THE TAP DANCE CLASS HAS A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE IN THEIR FIGURES FOR THE BOTH AGE GROUPS.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify both charts and report several relevant features, including private studios as the largest location share and ballet for under-11s as the leading class. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “two categories account for nearly a quarter” does not identify which categories, and the bar-chart overview incorrectly suggests ballet has the highest number overall. The figures show under-11 ballet at about 600, but modern is highest among 11–16-year-olds, at about 520. You also say school halls and community halls each made up 24%, although community halls are 18%. Tap’s similar figures and the older group’s higher modern participation could be reported more precisely. The response is 139 words, below the 150-word minimum, and this limits coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the pie chart and bar chart. This makes the two sources easy to distinguish. Linking phrases such as “Looking more closely” and “Turning at the bar chart” help signal movement between details, although the latter is awkward and some transitions feel mechanical. The overview’s “While” creates an incomplete connection, and the final paragraph strings together points without a clear comparison across both age groups and all three dance types. Improve progression by grouping the bar-chart comparisons—for example, contrast the age groups’ leading styles, then note that tap participation is similar—and use complete, clearly connected sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “accounted for,” “represented,” “proportion,” and “age group,” so the main subject is generally clear. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing charts: “contributed the 2% less than a half,” “highest proportion” for student numbers, and “Turning at the bar chart.” “Accounted the largest number” also needs a more suitable phrase. Spelling slips such as “RECORED” and repeated reliance on “number,” “proportion,” and “class” reduce precision. Aim for standard reporting collocations such as “made up,” “stood at,” “the highest figure,” and “participation,” while checking spelling and avoiding unnecessarily elaborate wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There are attempts to use more than simple sentences, including contrast with “However” and clauses introduced by “while,” but control is inconsistent. The opening has subject–verb disagreement (“The pie chart and bar graph provides”), and “classes that are attending by the students” has an incorrect passive construction. Other problems include missing articles or prepositions in “accounted the largest number” and “the age group of under 11,” as well as the sentence fragment beginning “While, the tap dance class…”. Punctuation is also unreliable, particularly the full stop before “While” in the overview. These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Practise accurate comparison structures and ensure each sentence has a complete main clause.

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