Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-21

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 chart illustrates the daily routine of students from three different nations. The learners from Japan and Germany spend more time in studying than relaxing and sleeping while students from UK spending more time in sleeping. Among three countries, Japan holds the first place in studying and Germany is second which is followed by UK in last place. However, most of the students were observed to be preferred in sleeping to relaxing. The pupils from UK almost equally perform the tasks on normal weekdays when compared to other two residents. Similar to UK students, in Germany, it is not much different but sleeping and relaxing left behind studying one apart. For Japan, relaxing is the least and only has one third of studying time. Sleeping and relaxing time in Japan is less than UK and Germany while studying time is the highest. Students from Germany studying more than UK and sleeping and relaxing is not much different.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion4.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important comparisons accurately: Japan has the most study time (13 hours), Germany is next (9), and the UK is lowest (8); you also note that Japanese students spend the least time relaxing (4). These relevant observations show a reasonable grasp of the chart. However, the overview is not consistently clear or precise. For example, “students from UK spending more time in sleeping” is inaccurate as a comparison: UK students sleep 8.5 hours, slightly more than Germany’s 8 and Japan’s 7, but studying is their largest category. The claim that UK students “almost equally perform the tasks” is also misleading because the three figures differ. Develop a concise overview and support it with accurate comparisons across all three activities.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response includes a range of comparisons and uses linking expressions such as “However,” “Similar to,” and “while,” so there is an attempt to connect ideas. Nevertheless, the information is not arranged in a clear progression. Several points are repeated, particularly that Japan studies the most and that Germany studies more than the UK, while the response moves between countries and activities without a consistent structure. Some links also make relationships difficult to follow, as in “sleeping and relaxing left behind studying one apart.” Organise the report into a brief overview followed by grouped comparisons—for example, study hours first, then sleeping and relaxing—and use each sentence to add a distinct piece of information.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “daily routine,” “relaxing,” “studying,” and “first place,” and the reader can generally identify the activities being compared. However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise for describing chart data. “The pupils … perform the tasks” suggests actions rather than time allocation, while “residents” is not an appropriate substitute for students. Phrases such as “sleeping and relaxing left behind studying one apart” are also unclear. Aim for precise reporting language and natural collocations, such as “spend time studying,” “record the highest figure,” and “the difference is small.” This would make your comparisons clearer without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including comparisons with “while” and “when compared to,” and the main message is usually understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, especially in verb forms and sentence construction. For example, “students from UK spending more time” needs a finite verb and an article (“students in the UK spend…”), while “Students from Germany studying more than UK” is missing a main verb and an article. The sentence beginning “However, most of the students were observed to be preferred” also has an incorrect passive construction. Practise forming complete subject–verb clauses and use the present simple consistently to describe chart data. More accurate sentence patterns would help your comparisons read smoothly.

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

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