Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-20

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 table illustrates the typical working day for pupils in three different countries.

Overall, it is evident that Japan accounted for the highest figure of studying and least proportion of relaxing, whereas, UK and Germany have an equal number of students in terms of relaxing. In addition, the UK experienced greater sleeping rates, and Japan has lesser number of people's sleeping

Regarding the weekday, Japan accounted for a higher studying figure of nearly 13 pupils, Germany stood at a 9-figure, and 8 for the UK showed a smaller figure, and meanwhile, in the UK, 8.5 learners stood at a greater number in sleeping, Germany stood for 8, and Japan showed a lesser 7 pupils sleeping.

Turning to the other category, in term of relaxing, the UK and Germany both have an equal number of 7 students, whereas Japan has the least number of only 4 students relaxing as compared to other countries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the bar chart, including comparisons between the three countries. However, the reporting of data is somewhat inaccurate and confusing. For instance, referring to '13 pupils' or '9-figure' is unclear, as the chart likely represents hours rather than the number of students. The overview is present but lacks precision in describing the trends. To improve, ensure that the units of measurement are correctly identified and that the data points are reported with greater clarity to support the comparisons made.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In addition', 'Regarding', and 'Turning to' are used to guide the reader. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and repetitive sentence structures. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the internal flow within paragraphs could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the relationship between the data points is more clearly articulated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety expected at higher bands. Phrases like 'highest figure of studying' and 'greater sleeping rates' are somewhat unnatural. There is a reliance on basic descriptors such as 'number of' and 'figure'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise collocations and academic vocabulary related to data description, such as 'proportion', 'allocated to', or 'spent on', rather than repeating 'number' or 'figure' throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'Japan accounted for the highest figure of studying', 'lesser number of people's sleeping', and 'in term of relaxing'. These errors, while not always impeding communication, are noticeable and affect the overall fluency. There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. Increasing the accuracy of basic grammar and refining the use of complex structures will help improve your score in this criterion.

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

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