Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-29

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 graph demonstrates the average time spend of learners on the weekdays from three particular countries.

Overall, students spend most of their time focusing on educational work and very little time for relaxing and other activities.

Students living in UK spend most of the time around 8.5 hours in sleeping to release the burden of university while same amount of time to do left work and remaining 7 hours to relax. Germany learners have almost same schedule on weekend as they spend 9 hours and 8 hours on studying and sleeping respectively while 7 hours on relaxing.

Japan pupils have different schedule for off days as compare to other countries graduates. They utilize their free time of week in studying as half of the day around 13 hours in studying while use 7 hours for sleeping and give only 4 hours for their family and other relaxing activities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the three countries and report several key figures accurately, including the UK’s 8.5 hours of sleep and seven hours of relaxation, Germany’s nine hours of study, and Japan’s 13 hours of study. The overview also recognises Japan’s unusually high study time. However, the overview is not fully accurate: studying is not the largest activity in every country, since UK students sleep slightly longer than they study, and German students also sleep more than they relax. The claim that students spend “very little time” relaxing is too broad, as the UK and Germany both record seven hours. The response is also one word below the required minimum. A more balanced overview and clearer comparisons across all three activities would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overall statement, and separate discussion of the UK and Germany followed by Japan. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, the progression is not consistently clear, and some links between ideas are awkward, such as “while same amount of time to do left work.” The country-by-country approach also makes comparisons less direct; grouping the figures by activity or explicitly contrasting Japan with the other two countries would improve the flow. Some phrases, including “as compare to” and “while use,” do not connect clauses accurately. Use clearer linking expressions and ensure each sentence has a complete, logically connected comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing the chart, including “average time,” “spend,” “studying,” and “relaxing,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate. “Time spend” should be “time spent,” while “release the burden of university” does not naturally describe sleeping. “Left work” is unclear, and “graduates” is not an appropriate substitute for students. The phrase “off days” also conflicts with the chart’s weekday context. Aim for precise, neutral chart language rather than informal or invented descriptions, and use the same activity labels as the visual where possible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is an attempt to use longer sentences and comparisons, for example, “Germany learners have almost same schedule … as they spend 9 hours and 8 hours … while 7 hours on relaxing.” However, these complex constructions are often faulty, and several sentences lack the grammatical structure needed to express the comparison clearly. Examples include “students spend most of their time focusing” followed by an unclear contrast, “while same amount of time,” and “They utilize … while use 7 hours.” Articles and prepositions are also missing or inaccurate, as in “in UK” and “as compare to.” Use complete clauses with consistent subjects and verbs, and check articles and comparative structures. These errors sometimes make the intended relationships difficult to follow.

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

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