Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-26

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 typical weekday routines for students in three different countries.

Overall, there are three major work basically students do during weekdays, they are sleeping, studying and relaxing. During weekdays most of the students study in Japan and Germany, while in UK most of the students pass their weekday by sleeping.

In UK, almost 8.5% students pass their weekdays by sleeping. Only 8% student focus on their studies and 7% student pass their weekdays by relaxing. In Japan the proportion on studying is more compared to UK, 13% students focus on studies during weekdays. Only 4% students relax and 7% students pass their time by sleeping. That means Japan Japan has the most studying students who study during weekdays.

On the other hand, Germany has a balanced schedule, 8% students sleep during weekdays, whereas 9% students busy with studies on this time. On 7% students pass their time by relaxing during weekday.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the task by summarizing the main features of the bar chart. However, the data interpretation is inaccurate. For example, you state that 8.5% of students in the UK sleep, whereas the chart likely represents hours (e.g., 8.5 hours). Misinterpreting the units of measurement significantly impacts the accuracy of your report. While you attempt to make comparisons between countries, the analysis is hampered by these factual errors. To improve, ensure you carefully identify the units (hours vs. percentages) before drafting your summary. The overview is present but lacks a clear synthesis of the most significant trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding summary. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical. You use basic cohesive devices like 'On the other hand' and 'In UK', but the flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the repetitive use of 'students' in every sentence, which makes the text feel slightly monotonous. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words and pronouns to avoid repetition and improve the logical flow between your observations.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite limited and repetitive. You frequently use the same phrases, such as 'pass their weekday by' and 'focus on their studies'. There is little attempt to use less common or more precise vocabulary related to data description (e.g., 'allocate time to', 'the highest proportion', 'a significant difference'). While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of lexical variety prevents the response from achieving a higher score. Incorporating more academic collocations would greatly enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'there are three major work basically students do' (awkward phrasing) and 'On 7% students' (incorrect preposition). Additionally, there are issues with article usage, such as 'In UK' instead of 'In the UK'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, and try to incorporate more varied sentence structures to demonstrate greater control.

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

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