Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-15

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The table gives information about the average hours spent on the Internet by European people of different age groups.

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The tabular graph depicts time spent by European people of various age groups on internet. The calibration of data is done in number of hours.

Overall, highest ranked time spent on internet is by young children while old aged people spent the least amount of their time on internet usage and the remaining population spent significant time on internet.

Young children aged 16-20 years old are ranked prime ones as, male children spent 19 hours on the internet while female children spent orderly less time, 18 hours followed by the youngest population of 11-15 and mature population of 21-25 years old as both spent under 8 hours of time of both the genders.

Old aged women are seen to spend more of their time on internet exploration than men as women aged 31-50 along with more than 51 years of age spent an hour more than male population on internet usage. Remaining age group of the people aged 26-30 was seen similar of both the genders at 4 hours each.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the data, such as the high usage among the 16-20 age group and the lower usage among older demographics. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. The grouping of data is occasionally confusing, such as referring to 16-20 year olds as 'young children', which is inaccurate. Additionally, the description of the 11-15 and 21-25 age groups as 'under 8 hours' is a vague summary that misses the opportunity to provide more precise comparative data. To reach a higher band, ensure that all age categories are clearly defined and that the data points are reported with greater precision and clarity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally awkward, such as 'ranked prime ones' or 'spent orderly less time'. The transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is functional, but the internal flow within paragraphs is hindered by imprecise phrasing. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression could be improved by using more sophisticated linking words to connect the comparisons between age groups and genders more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. There are several instances of unnatural word choices, such as 'tabular graph', 'calibration of data', and 'internet exploration'. The phrase 'ranked prime ones' is not standard English in this context. While the student attempts to use a range of vocabulary, the inaccuracies in collocation and word choice occasionally make the meaning slightly opaque. Focusing on more academic collocations related to data description would significantly improve the quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'old aged people spent' (tense inconsistency), 'spent orderly less time', and 'was seen similar of both the genders'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence construction often feels clunky. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Increasing the variety of error-free complex structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement would be beneficial.

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

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