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 charts compare the proportion of people holding full driving licences in Great Britain depending upon age and gender in year 1975/76 and 2006.

Overall, men remained dominant on women in all age group in both years. There was significant increase in number of licence holders in a decade. Despite growth of women's number they were still behind the men in all age group. The middle age group showed more number while the lowest trend can be seen in the old people.

In 1975/76, men of middle age 30-49 years showed highest percentage of more than 80% while women of same age group were at less than 60%. On the other hand, lowest percentage was seen in youngest and oldest age group with women of 70+ at less than 5% while men of both age group at 39%.

Looking at 2006 now, women showed a substantial growth over a decade to reduce gender gap. The highest peak for women of age 30-49 was at 80% while for men of age 30-69 age it showed more than 80%. The lowest point in that year was seen in the youngest and the oldest group.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the data, identifying the overall trend of higher licence ownership among men and the general increase over time. However, the analysis is slightly hampered by inaccuracies in data interpretation. For instance, you mention a 'significant increase in number of licence holders in a decade,' but the data spans 30 years (1975/76 to 2006). Additionally, the claim that men were dominant in 'all age groups' is not fully supported by the 2006 data for the youngest age group, where the gap narrows significantly. More precise comparisons between the two years would have strengthened the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall,' 'In 1975/76,' and 'Looking at 2006 now' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the phrase 'the middle age group showed more number,' which lacks a clear point of comparison. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two time periods, which helps the overall flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, though it lacks sophistication. You use terms like 'dominant,' 'proportion,' and 'substantial growth' effectively. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'showed more number' instead of 'showed higher figures' or 'higher percentages.' The repetition of 'age group' and 'percentage' suggests a limited range of vocabulary. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more varied synonyms and precise academic terminology related to data description.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'men remained dominant on women' (should be 'over women'), 'in year 1975/76' (missing 'the'), and 'growth of women's number' (should be 'growth in the number of women'). There are also issues with article usage and pluralization (e.g., 'in all age group'). These errors occur frequently but do not impede overall communication.

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

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