Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-26

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 shows average hours spent on the internet by Male and Female respectively for all the ages. Most average hours spent is for the age group 16-20. In this age group, males spent more average hours than women. While 51+ years spent least number of average hours spent and in this male spent less average hours than women. In the age group of 26-30 both male and female spent same number of average hours. Internet usage started increasing for both male & female from the age of 11 and then from age of 21 onwards it started decreasing. One think that I noticed here is that, till the age of 25 years average hours spent by male is more than average hours spent by women. From the age of 31 years there is a change that the average hours spent by females becomes more than average hours spent by male.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully covers the key features and makes relevant comparisons across the age groups. The writer identifies the highest usage in the 16-20 age group (19 hours for males, 18 for females) and the lowest in the 51+ category (2 and 3 hours respectively). Interesting trends and crossover points are highlighted, such as the parity between males and females in the 26-30 group and the shift where females spend more time online than males from age 31 onwards. However, the structure lacks clear paragraphing, and the overview could be more explicitly synthesized. While all parts of the visual data are addressed accurately, the lack of organization slightly limits the depth of development, aligning the response with Band 6.5, rounded to 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is written as a single, continuous block of text without paragraph breaks, which heavily impacts the overall cohesion and visual structure. Although there is a logical progression moving from overall extremes to specific comparisons and age trends, the lack of paragraphing means that ideas are clumped together. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often basic or repetitive (e.g., 'While', 'In the age group', 'and then'), and referencing phrases such as 'One think that I noticed here is that' are overly conversational and informal for an Academic Task 1 response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'average hours', 'age group', 'decreasing', and 'crossover comparisons'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'Most average hours spent is for' instead of 'The highest average number of hours spent was for', and a spelling error with 'One think that I noticed'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success, and the register occasionally dips into informality. The range is sufficient to convey the meaning, but inaccuracies prevent it from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing subordinating clauses such as 'While 51+ years spent least number...' and 'Internet usage started increasing...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'males spent more average hours than women' (should be plural or consistent), 'spent least number of average hours spent', and missing articles ('in this male spent less'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are noticeable and require some re-reading, they do not completely impede overall communication.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.