Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-31

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 shows the typical weekday for students in three different countries : the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany. It shows how students from different cultures organise their day and how many hours they spend on sleeping, studying and relaxing.

Firstly, we can notice a huge difference in term of study hours. Japan takes the first place with thirteen hours per day. Meanwhile in Germany and in the UK, students get respectively nine and eight hours per day.

Secondly, we can compare relaxing hours in each country. We notice that Japan, who had the biggest number of studying hours, has only an average of four hours a day for relaxing. Both German students and British students have an average of seven hours per day.

Finally, if we compare sleeping hours we will not notice a huge difference. The chart shows respectively an average of eight and half an hour, eight hours and seven hours for the UK, Germany and Japan.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You report the main comparisons accurately: Japan has the most study time (13 hours) and the least relaxation (4), while Germany and the UK each have 7 hours of relaxation. The sleeping figures are also correctly ordered and reported. However, the response lacks a distinct overview that summarises the chart’s key pattern; the opening mainly describes what the chart shows, and the body lists each activity in turn. The task’s 150-word minimum is not met: the response is 148 words, with 13 words copied from the prompt excluded from the count. Add a concise overview highlighting Japan’s unusually high study time and the broadly similar relaxation and sleep figures in the UK and Germany, then develop the comparisons slightly further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged in a clear sequence, with separate paragraphs for studying, relaxing and sleeping. Signposts such as “Firstly,” “Secondly” and “Finally” make the progression easy to follow, and the comparisons within each paragraph are generally understandable. However, this activity-by-activity structure feels somewhat mechanical, and there is no separate overview to guide the reader through the most important features before the details. Some linking is also repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “we can notice” and “the chart shows.” To improve, group related comparisons more flexibly and use a concise overview after the introduction. Make references explicit where possible, rather than relying on repeated general phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the data, including “study hours,” “relaxing hours” and “sleeping hours,” and phrases such as “takes the first place” show an attempt to vary expression. However, some choices are awkward or imprecise for an academic chart description: “huge difference” overstates the contrast, “Japan takes the first place” is unnatural, and “an average of” is not appropriate when reporting the chart’s figures for each country. The repeated use of “hours per day” also limits flexibility. Aim for precise reporting language and natural collocations, such as “recorded,” “spent,” and “the highest figure.” This would make the description more fluent and appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple statements and longer comparative sentences, and the meaning is generally clear. For example, “Both German students and British students have an average of seven hours per day” is straightforward, while the opening sentence uses a relative clause. Some grammatical errors remain, including “a huge difference in term of study hours” and “eight and half an hour”; these involve article, number and sentence-pattern control. The colon in “countries :” is also incorrectly spaced. Most sentences are understandable, but the range of structures is limited and accuracy is not consistent enough for stronger performance. Practise accurate comparative constructions and check articles, singular/plural forms and punctuation when proofreading.

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

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