Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-14
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 in three different countries namely UK, Japan, Germany, spent their time in weekday.
Overall, It is clearly seen that students from Japan study the most in their weekday followed by students of Germany. Additionally, students of Japan are seen to be relaxing the least out of other countries.
To begin with, most of the students from UK are recorded sleeping in their weekday at 8.5% compared with Japan's 7%, while Germany's students stood at 8%. Furthermore, Japan's student is seen to be studying the most in their weekend at 13% followed by students of Germany at 9%. However, students of UK are seen to be least studying at 8%.
Moreover, Relaxing in the weekened accounted for the least proportion from all three countries.UK and Germany both stood at 7% for relaxing in their weekday.However, Japan stood at just 4% making their students least involved in relaxation during weekdays.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student covers the main features of the chart by identifying the highest and lowest categories across the three countries, such as noting that students from Japan study the most and relax the least. However, there are some inaccuracies in data reporting and terminology; for instance, the student refers to weekdays as weekends in several places (e.g., 'most of the students from UK are recorded sleeping in their weekday... studying in their weekend'). This confusion impacts the precision of data representation. Furthermore, while comparisons are made, the response lacks a deeper synthesis of the overall patterns visible in the chart. Consequently, the task is addressed adequately, but with noticeable inaccuracies in interpreting the data, aligning it with a Band 5.5 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs, showing an attempt at logical organization. However, the progression of ideas is hindered by repetitive phrasing and confusion regarding the categories. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'However', but they are sometimes applied mechanically or awkwardly. Paragraphing is present, though the division of ideas could be more coherent, as some body sentences mix different categories without clear thematic grouping. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, which disrupts the flow of reading. Overall, the organizational structure meets the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting words like 'proportion', 'illustrates', and 'relaxing'. However, there are frequent inappropriate word choices and terminology slips, most notably confusing 'weekday' with 'weekend' repeatedly. Other minor awkward expressions also appear, such as 'students of UK are seen to be least studying'. While basic communication is maintained and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general topic, these persistent lexical and collocation inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The bar chart illustrates how students in three different countries namely UK, Japan, Germany, spent their time in weekday.' However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation omissions, including missing prepositions, articles, and commas (e.g., 'spent their time in weekday', 'students from UK'). Capitalisation errors also occur, such as 'UK', 'Japan', and 'Germany' being handled inconsistently with spacing and articles. Despite these errors, the grammatical mistakes rarely impede overall communication, allowing the student to secure a Band 6.0 for this criterion.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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