Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-19

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below give information about a public library in a town called Little Chalfont.

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

 

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The line graph illustrates the changes that took place in three different areas of crime in Newport city centre between 2003 and 2012.

Overall, burglary experienced a decline throughout the years, while car theft and robbery remained relatively the same from 2003 to 2012 despite having minimal decrease. Having said that at the end car theft recorded the highest number of incidents.

To begin with, burglary stood at approximately less than 3500 incidents then it increased in 2004 and in this year the greatest cases were recorded. After that, it plunged from 2004 to 2008 and accounted for 1250 incidents before increasing slightly to 1500 incidents in 2009. It levelled out at roughly below 1500 incidents. Lastly, it decreased a minimal by approximately 1400 incidents.

Turning to the remaining crimes, Car theft and robbery remained unchanged, reaching roughly 3400 and 600 incidents. Between 2005 and 2010, they witnessed a decline.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 3.0

The response fails to address the task correctly. The prompt asks for a summary of a library chart, but the student describes a line graph about crime rates in Newport. This is a significant misinterpretation of the source material. While the student attempts to identify main features and trends, the content is entirely irrelevant to the provided task instructions. Consequently, the response cannot be assessed as a successful completion of the prompt. To improve, ensure you carefully analyze the specific data provided in the images before writing, as describing the wrong data set results in a very low score for task achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is an attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Turning to', and 'Overall'. However, the progression of ideas is hampered by the fact that the data being described does not match the prompt. The referencing is clear, and the paragraphing is functional, which prevents the score from being lower. To improve, focus on ensuring that the logical flow of your writing is supported by accurate data interpretation, as coherence is difficult to maintain when the underlying information is incorrect.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for a descriptive task, with phrases like 'experienced a decline', 'plunged', and 'levelled out' being appropriate for reporting trends. However, there are some inaccuracies, such as 'decreased a minimal by', which is grammatically awkward. The range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey meaning, but it lacks the precision required for higher bands. To improve, work on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring that your word choices are grammatically sound within the context of your sentences.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'the greatest cases were recorded' (which is imprecise) and 'decreased a minimal by'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence structure occasionally feels repetitive. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of prepositions when describing numerical data, and try to vary your sentence structures to demonstrate greater control.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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