Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-05
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 graphs illustrate the percentage of persons who hold driving licenses by age and gender in Britain. Overall, there are two graphs for men and women separately which contains the information of driving licenses for each sex in 1975/76 and 2006.
The driving license for age group of men between 50 to 59 increased slightly, showing highest percentage to obtain permit. Whereas in women category, 40-49 ages of women drivers escalated sharply from 1976 to 2006 at almost 80%. Furthermore, in 1976, 30% percent of men used to get license which rose drastically to 75% in 2006. On the other hand, Women of 70 plus age comprised permit about 10 percent which dominated in 2006 at 30 %. Male drivers between 21 to 29 ages reduced mildly throughout the years about approx. 10%. Women graph displayed significant rise in total. On the contrary, men graph accounted for subtle rise for the most part.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the graphs, such as the general increase in driving licence holders and the specific age-related trends. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial and lacks a clear overview of the most significant trends. For instance, the comparison between the 1975/76 and 2006 data is present, but the reporting of figures is occasionally imprecise or confusing (e.g., '30% percent of men used to get license'). The response would benefit from a more structured approach to grouping data, perhaps by comparing the overall growth in female licence holders against the more stable or declining trends in certain male age groups.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical. While cohesive devices like 'Whereas', 'Furthermore', and 'On the other hand' are used, they are occasionally placed awkwardly, which disrupts the natural progression of ideas. The referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when jumping between age groups and years without sufficient transition. The paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could be more cohesive to ensure that comparisons are clearly linked to the specific data points being discussed.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. There is some repetition of basic verbs like 'increased', 'rose', and 'reduced'. Some word choices are slightly unnatural or inaccurate, such as 'persons who hold driving licenses' (instead of 'licence holders') and 'comprised permit' (which is grammatically incorrect). To improve, you should aim for a wider range of collocations related to data description, such as 'witnessed a sharp rise' or 'remained relatively stable', and ensure that technical terms are used correctly in context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'the graphs... which contains' (subject-verb agreement error), '30% percent' (redundancy), and 'Male drivers between 21 to 29 ages reduced mildly' (incorrect phrasing). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While the meaning is usually understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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