Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-06

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 graphs illustrate the proportion of full car driving licence holders in Great Britain categorized by age and sex in the year 1975/76 and 2006.

Overall, men of all age group outweigh women in holding full car driving licence. The highest percentage of men were of in age group of 30-39 years in 1975/76 while 50s in 2006.

In 1975/76, the highest trend for men in 30s that is more than 80%, while for women is 50%. On the other hand, the lowest trend were for 70 above for both genders.

Looking at 2006 now, it shows that men in age group 50s were on the top with 90% holders, while women of age bracket 30 to 40 years were on the top with 80% holders. The least percentage was almost 39% for the under 20 years old men. Women under 20 and 70 above have the lowest trend with around 30%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the graphs, identifying key trends and making relevant comparisons between the two years and genders. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For example, the description of the 1975/76 data lacks precision, and the comparison between the two years could be more analytical. While the main features are highlighted, the response would benefit from a more detailed synthesis of the data, particularly regarding the significant shift in female driving licence ownership over the three decades. The overview is present but could be more clearly articulated to capture the broader trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on the two time periods. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'In 1975/76', and 'Looking at 2006 now', which help guide the reader. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, though the transition between the two body paragraphs could be smoother to better highlight the contrast between the two time periods.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'categorized', and 'age bracket'. However, there is some repetition of basic phrasing such as 'highest trend' and 'lowest trend', which are not the most precise collocations for describing statistical data. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'outweigh' (which is usually used for quantities or importance rather than people) and 'on the top' (which should be 'at the top'). Expanding the range of descriptive vocabulary would improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'men of all age group outweigh' (should be 'age groups' and 'outnumbered'), 'were of in age group' (awkward phrasing), and 'the highest trend for men in 30s that is more than 80%' (missing verb). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher band score. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence construction often feels slightly unnatural.

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

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