Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-31

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 table illustrates how much hours European people of different age groups utilized on the internet.

Overall, teenagers spent their lot of time on social media with the highest rate among the table while people with old age spent only few hours on the internet.

The age group between 16-20 spent most hours on social media with the highest rate of male 19 hours and female with 18 hours. Age group between 11-15 is the second group that devoted their most time on social media, male with 8 hours and female with 6 hours.

The third age group between 21-25 has almost same pattern male with 7 hours and female with 5 hours.

The mature age group 26-30 is shifted downward with the rate of male and female is only 4 hours. 31-50 years people utilized only 3 hours male and female only 4 hours while 51+ years old people only used internet 2 hours for male and 3 hours for female.

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 teenagers and the downward trend in older age groups. However, the analysis is somewhat mechanical, simply listing figures rather than synthesizing the information effectively. The overview is present but lacks a clear summary of the most significant trends. Furthermore, the student incorrectly labels the data as 'social media' usage, whereas the prompt specifies 'Internet' usage. This misinterpretation of the data source impacts the accuracy of the report. To improve, focus on grouping data points more logically and ensuring the interpretation of the provided labels is precise.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of information. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'The age group between' and 'The third age group' are used as a mechanical way to start sentences. There is a lack of varied linking words to connect ideas or show relationships between the age groups. The progression of ideas is logical, moving from the highest usage to the lowest, but the transition between sentences could be smoother and more sophisticated to improve the flow of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases such as 'spent their lot of time' and 'utilized only' are used repeatedly. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'shifted downward with the rate', which do not sound natural in an academic context. The student relies on simple descriptive language rather than using more precise terminology related to data reporting, such as 'peaked at', 'declined steadily', or 'a significant disparity'. Expanding the range of vocabulary to include more academic collocations would significantly improve the quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'how much hours' (should be 'how many hours'), 'people with old age' (should be 'older people'), and '31-50 years people' (should be 'people aged 31-50'). Additionally, the sentence structure is often fragmented or lacks proper prepositional support. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage will help improve the overall accuracy of the sentences.

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

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