Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-11-01

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 compares the number of weekend hours used by students in the UK, Japan, and Germany.

Overall, it is clear from the graph that the highest amount of hours in weekends are spent by the Japanese students is for studening, while the lowest amount of time are spent by the UK for studing.

Looking at the chart in more detail, it is evident that the Japanese students used their time mostly for studying, at about 13 hours; however, the least hours, 4, are spent by the Japanese students on relaxation, and 7 hours are spent sleeping. The UK students used their time as 8.5 hours for sleeping, 8 hours for studying, and 7 hours for relaxing.

Turning to the remaining data sets, it can be seen that the German students

sleep 9 hours, study 9 hours, and have 7 hours of relaxation time. By this, they spend their weekend days.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You report several key figures accurately, including Japan’s 13 hours of study and 4 hours of relaxation, and the UK figures are also correct. However, the chart shows a typical weekday, not a weekend, so the opening misidentifies the time period. There are also inaccuracies in the overview: the UK’s lowest figure is 7 hours of relaxation, not studying, and Germany’s sleeping figure is 8 hours rather than 9. The response gives country-by-country details but does not clearly summarise the main comparisons across the three countries. To strengthen coverage, identify the overall patterns accurately—for example, Japan studies the most, while relaxation is lower in Japan than in the other two countries—and check each figure against the chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. Phrases such as “Looking at the chart in more detail” and “Turning to the remaining data sets” help signal movement between sections. However, the progression is weakened by the inaccurate overview and by the final sentence, “By this, they spend their weekend days,” which does not add a clear comparison or conclusion. The country-by-country listing is understandable, but the relationships between the figures are not developed, and “however” does not express a clear contrast in its sentence. Organise the details around meaningful comparisons and use linking words only where the relationship between ideas is precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary such as “hours,” “studying,” “sleeping,” and “relaxation,” and the meaning of most figures is clear. However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or awkward for a chart description. “Weekend hours” mislabels the chart’s weekday data, while “used their time as 8.5 hours” is an unnatural collocation. “Studening” is a spelling error, and “the highest amount of hours” is unnecessarily wordy. Aim for precise reporting language and accurate forms, such as “spent,” “accounted for,” and “the greatest amount of time.” Vary the wording without replacing clear terms with expressions that do not fit the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a subordinate clause in “it is clear from the graph that…”. However, errors in agreement and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some statements difficult to follow. For example, “the highest amount of hours … are spent” has a singular subject with a plural verb, and “the lowest amount of time are spent” repeats this problem. The overview sentence also has an awkward construction around “spent by the Japanese students is for.” In the final paragraph, “the German students sleep 9 hours, study 9 hours, and have 7 hours” is understandable, but the following fragment-like sentence does not connect clearly. Practise building shorter, complete sentences with consistent subject–verb agreement before adding complex clauses.

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

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