Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-19

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 chart illustrates how students spent their weekday in three different countries. These countries are UK, Japan, and Germany.

Overall, students spent their a big time in studying, however in case of UK sleeping is the part students where students spent their weekday time. Relaxing has not been given attention by students.

In Japan and Germany, students are attracted towards studies spent 13 and 9 hours respectively. In Japan, relaxing has not been given so much attention, students gave only 4 hour, while 7 hours are spent in sleeping, whereas Germany students gave 8 and 7 hours, an equal period of time in sleeping and relaxing only a difference of an hour in relaxing.

On the other hand, sleeping attracted the students in UK, where students spent almost 8.5 hours. In studies, students spent 8 hours, meanwhile 7 hours are given to relaxing.

Studies remained essential for students in all countries except UK, where students give every sector an equal period of time. Students also do not pay much attention to relaxing in Japan, they concentrate more on studies than other countries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the bar chart, identifying the key activities across the three countries. However, the analysis is somewhat inconsistent. For instance, the statement that 'relaxing has not been given attention' is inaccurate, as the data shows significant hours allocated to this activity. Furthermore, the comparison between countries is occasionally confusing, such as the claim that Germany students spent an equal period of time in sleeping and relaxing, which is not clearly supported by the data provided. To improve, ensure that the data points are accurately transcribed and that the summary highlights the most significant differences and trends rather than listing individual figures in a repetitive manner.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression within paragraphs is often hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical use of cohesive devices. For example, the transition 'On the other hand' is used, but the subsequent information does not always contrast effectively with the previous paragraph. Additionally, some sentences are disjointed, making the flow feel repetitive. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would significantly enhance the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. There are several instances of unnatural collocations and word choice errors, such as 'spent their a big time' and 'attracted towards studies'. The range of vocabulary is limited, relying on basic descriptors that do not fully capture the nuances of the data. To achieve a higher score, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary to describe trends and comparisons, such as 'allocated', 'predominant', or 'a significant proportion'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Germany students gave'), missing articles, and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'in case of UK sleeping is the part students where students spent'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence structure and proofreading for subject-verb agreement and preposition usage would be beneficial.

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

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