Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-20

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.

Typical weekday for students in three different countries

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The bar graph represents a normal weekday for pupil in three separate countries UK, Japan and Germany.

From the chart it is evident that students of Japan have a more serious attitude towards studying and lowest rate in relaxing while students of UK and Germany have almost equal rates for sleeping, studying and relaxing on weekday.

Uk and Germany have the same score 7 for relaxing students meanwhile in sleeping, both countries are have score with a fraction of difference that is of 8.5 for UK and 8 for germany. While students of Japan have the lowest rate both in sleeping and studying than the other two countries.

In studying, students in Japan have the highest score of 13 while Germany is second with score 9 and UK is on third level with score 8.

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 identify the main contrast: Japanese students spend the most time studying and the least relaxing, while UK and German figures are similar in some activities. Several figures are reported accurately, including Japan’s 13 hours of study and the UK and Germany’s 7 hours of relaxation. However, the comparison that Japan has the lowest figure for both sleeping and studying is incorrect: Japan has the highest study figure, and its 7 hours of sleep is the lowest. The overview also overlooks that Germany records 9 hours of study, more than the UK’s 8. The response is 135 words, below the required 150, and some key comparisons are therefore underdeveloped. Include all three activities accurately and expand the overview with the main highs and lows.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs giving comparisons and study figures. This helps the reader follow the general subject. However, progression is limited because the body repeats points from the overview, and the final paragraph focuses only on studying without completing a balanced comparison of all categories. Linking words such as “meanwhile” and “While” are used, but the latter introduces an inaccurate comparison and the connections between sentences can feel mechanical. The sleeping and relaxing details could be grouped together, followed by a clear comparison of study hours. Use paragraphing to organise the chart’s main features and ensure each linking phrase accurately signals the relationship between the figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “bar graph,” “score,” “highest,” and “lowest,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons you intend to make. However, the range is limited and some choices are unnatural or imprecise for describing hours: “score” is repeated where “hours” or “figure” would be clearer, and “serious attitude towards studying” interprets the data rather than describing it. Phrases such as “lowest rate in relaxing” and “on third level” are also awkward. There are spelling and form issues, including inconsistent capitalisation of “UK” and “Germany,” which reduce control. Prefer precise, neutral terms for quantities and activities, and vary them without introducing unsupported interpretations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “while,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors recur in sentence construction and agreement. For example, “pupil in three separate countries” lacks an appropriate plural/article structure, while “both countries are have score” combines incompatible verb forms. “Students of Japan have” and “students … have the lowest rate” also show problems with natural grammatical patterns and number agreement. Some sentences are long and joined in ways that make the relationships between clauses unclear, particularly the sentence beginning “Uk and Germany have the same score.” Practise accurate subject–verb patterns and build comparisons in shorter, complete clauses before adding contrast clauses.

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