Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-26

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 how students spent their typical weekday in three countries that are UK, Japan and Germany.

Overall, chart presented three activities that are sleeping, studying and relaxing. Most of the students spent their times on studying in japan. While in UK, most students spent their time in sleeping.

To begin with the students in Japan, they spent 13 hours of studying on a weekday. Meanwhile they spent 4 hours of relaxing and 7 hours of sleep. On the other hand in United Kingdom, students are spending their 8 hours on their studies along with 7 hours of relaxation and 8 and half hours of sleep.

Finally, in Germany, students are spending 9 hours on their studies making the perfect balance of life with 8 hours of sleep and 7 hours of relaxation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by reporting the main figures for sleeping, studying, and relaxing across the three countries. The data points cited—such as 13 hours of studying in Japan and 8.5 hours of sleep in the UK—are generally accurate according to the chart. However, the response suffers from two notable limitations. First, it fails to meet the minimum word count requirement, falling short at 135 words. Second, while some comparisons are made, the overview is extremely basic and lacks a well-developed summary of the broader trends. The attempt at an overview only lists the categories rather than highlighting key patterns, such as Japan's heavy focus on studying compared to the other nations. Consequently, this falls into the Band 5 category for task achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, including an introduction, overview, and separate body paragraphs for each country. There is a basic attempt to use cohesive devices and transition signals, such as "Overall," "To begin with," "Meanwhile," and "Finally." However, the progression between ideas is sometimes mechanical, and referencing can be repetitive. Paragraphing is adequate, but the overall structure lacks the sophistication required for higher bands. The logical relationship between sentences is generally clear, allowing the reader to follow the information without major difficulty, which aligns with a Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey basic information about time spent on various activities. Words like "illustrates," "activities," and "balance" are used correctly. However, the lexical range is narrow and repetitive, relying heavily on simple verbs like "spent" and "spending." There are also minor lexical awkwardnesses, such as "most of the students spent their times on studying in japan" (incorrect preposition and pluralisation). There is little attempt to use less common or more sophisticated vocabulary. This performance reflects the descriptors for Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as subordinate clauses ("While in UK, most students spent their time in sleeping"). Grammatical control is variable. There are several minor errors, including missing articles ("in UK", "in japan"), preposition errors ("spent their time in sleeping" instead of "on sleeping"), and slight tense inconsistencies. Despite these errors, communication is rarely impeded, and the meaning remains clear throughout the response. The range of structures is limited but sufficient for a Band 6.

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

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