Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-18

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The bar chart shows the typical weekday for students in three different countries.

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The bar graph illustrates the typical weekday for scholars in UK, Japan and Germany.

Overall, students dedicated the least amount of time to relaxing in all the 3 countries. Moreover, students spent much of their time studying in Japan and Germany however, this was not the case in the UK as most of the time was spent in sleeping.

Coming into details, most of the time was used in studying in Japan, which amounted to 13 hours in total. However, in Germany, there was a drop in studying study time to 9 hours and 8 hours in the UK. Furthermore, sleeping took the time ranged between 7 hours to 8.5 hours in the three countries.

However, relaxation time was the least in all the countries as UK and Germany were equal at 7 hours each. Japanese students spent minimal time in relaxing which amounted to just 4 hours in a week.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the bar chart, identifying key trends in studying, sleeping, and relaxing across the three countries. However, there are inaccuracies in the data reporting. For example, you state that Japanese students spent 4 hours relaxing 'in a week', whereas the chart refers to a 'typical weekday'. Additionally, the claim that UK students spent most of their time sleeping is not fully supported by the data provided, as studying and sleeping figures are quite close. While you attempt to make comparisons, the analysis lacks precision in interpreting the specific values, which prevents a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, starting with an overview and moving into specific details. You use cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Moreover', 'Coming into details', and 'However' to link ideas. While these transitions are functional, they are sometimes used in a slightly mechanical way. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the internal logic within the body paragraphs is occasionally hampered by the data inaccuracies mentioned in the task achievement section. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the supporting details.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'amounted to', and 'minimal'. However, there are some word choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'scholars' (which usually refers to academic researchers rather than students) and 'studying study time'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and ensuring that terms like 'weekday' are used consistently rather than confusing them with weekly totals.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'in UK, Japan and Germany' (missing articles: 'the UK'), 'took the time ranged between' (incorrect verb form), and 'UK and Germany were equal at 7 hours each' (missing 'the' before UK). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency. You should focus on article usage and ensuring that verb tenses and structures are consistent when describing statistical data.

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

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