Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-02

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.

Typical weekday for students in three different countries

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The information showed on the bar chart is about the weekday habits of students from united kingdom, japan and germany. The activity are divided into three types sleeping, studying and relaxing.

The students of United Kingdom and germany have similar sleeping and relaxing hours . According to the chart the german students tend to study 9 hours while the UK students are found of studying 8 hours.

The thing that stands out is the students of japan that sleep for only 7 hours and relax for 4 hours lowest of all the three. The surprising thing is the amount of hours they spent on studying which is 13, which is double the amount of both UK and Germany.

This shows that Japanese students tend to spend much of their day studying. This is also due to the fact that their culture encourages this type of behaviour.

Students of both UK and Germany have quite similar weekday activity, german students tend to spend one hour extra of studying.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main features of the chart and made relevant comparisons between the three countries. You highlighted the contrast between Japanese students and their counterparts in the UK and Germany. However, the response lacks a clear overview paragraph, which is essential for a high band score in Task 1. Additionally, you included personal commentary ('This is also due to the fact that their culture encourages this type of behaviour'), which is not appropriate for an Academic Task 1 report; you should stick strictly to the data provided rather than speculating on causes.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is generally coherent, and the information is organized logically by country. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. For example, the transition between paragraphs is abrupt, and there is a lack of varied linking words to connect ideas within sentences. Paragraphing is present but could be more effectively utilized to separate the overview from the specific data analysis. Improving the flow between sentences would significantly enhance the readability of your report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it is somewhat repetitive. You rely on basic verbs like 'spend' and 'study' throughout the text. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'found of studying' instead of 'fond of' or 'keen on'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use a wider range of vocabulary to describe trends and data, such as 'allocate', 'devote', or 'proportion', and ensure that your collocations are accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('The activity are divided') and missing articles ('students of japan'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage will help improve your accuracy.

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

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