Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-03

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The graphs below show the percentage of people holding full driving licences in Great Britain by age and sex.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Full car driving licence holders: by sex and age

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The bar chart illustrates the number of full car driving licence holder in both gender Men and Women from 1975 to 2006.

Overall, Men in their adult age had the highest level of car licence, whereas women had lowest percentage. In general, men showed considerably higher rates of full car licence holders.

To begin with, men in age 30-39 had the highest proportion of full car driving licence, at approximately 84% and 85%, followed by the age 21-29 with 78% and 70%. In age 17-20, 40-49, 50-59 and 60-69 represented 38%-39%, 82%-85%, 78%-90% and 59%-89% respectively. Following that, age 70 and over had 30% and 56%.

Turning to women, the increases were even more substantial. In 1975/76, fewer than half of women in most age groups possessed a driving licence. By 2006, however, the percentages had risen sharply across all categories. Women aged 30–39 and 40–49 recorded the highest figures, at approximately 95–100%, while those aged 21–29 and 50–59 reached around 70–80%. The proportion of women aged 60–69 more than doubled to about 65%, and the figure for the 70-and-over group rose significantly from only around 5% to nearly 35%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant comparisons between the two genders. You covered the key features of the data, such as the overall increase in licence holders and the specific age-related patterns. However, there is a significant issue with the data presentation: you mention specific years (1975 and 2006) in the introduction and body, but the data provided in the prompt is a static snapshot of two distinct years. Your description of the data is generally accurate, but ensure you clearly distinguish between the two time periods when describing the changes to avoid confusion. The overview is clear and sets the tone well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on men and women respectively. You use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Following that', and 'Turning to' to guide the reader through the information. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing of data points is occasionally cluttered, making it difficult to follow which figure belongs to which year. Improving the flow between sentences by using more varied linking phrases would enhance the overall coherence of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly, using terms like 'proportion', 'substantial', 'sharply', and 'possessed'. There are some minor errors in word choice and form, such as 'licence holder' (should be plural 'holders') and 'in both gender' (should be 'genders'). While you attempt to use more precise language, some phrasing is slightly repetitive. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring grammatical accuracy in word forms, such as using 'the majority of' instead of 'fewer than half'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'Men in their adult age had the highest level of car licence' (should be 'licences') and 'women had lowest percentage' (missing article 'the'). Additionally, there are issues with subject-verb agreement and pluralization throughout the text. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for articles and plural forms would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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