Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-05

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 bar chart illustrates the proportion of people having full car driving licences in Great Britain by age and sex between 1975-76 and 2006. Overall, the proportion of people holding a full driving licence increased among most of the age groups. The notable growth occurred among woman especially older ages. However, men continued to have high rate of licence ownership.

Looking first at men, the proportion of licence holding was highest among age group between 50-59, 60-69 and 40-49, at around 85-90%, respectively. By 2006, the age group of 30-39 had the highest figures with approximately 84% same for 1975/76, while 78% for 21-29 age group .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the ability to fully develop the task. While you have identified some main features, the analysis is incomplete. You have not provided a comprehensive overview of the trends for both sexes across all age groups, and the data selection is selective rather than representative of the entire chart. To improve, ensure you cover all categories and provide a clear, data-supported summary that highlights the most significant changes and comparisons between the two time periods provided in the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay has a basic structure with an introduction and a body paragraph. However, the progression of ideas is limited due to the brevity of the response. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall' and 'Looking first at', but the transition between the overview and the specific data points is abrupt. The paragraphing is insufficient for a task of this nature. To improve, ensure that each main trend is clearly linked to the data and that you use a wider range of cohesive devices to connect sentences and ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You use basic terms like 'increased' and 'high rate', which are functional but repetitive. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'woman' (should be 'women') and 'licence holding' (should be 'licence ownership'). To achieve a higher score, incorporate more precise vocabulary related to data description, such as 'significant surge', 'upward trend', or 'proportionate increase', and ensure accurate usage of plural forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures. However, there are several grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'proportion of people having' (should be 'proportion of people holding'), 'at around 85-90%, respectively' (misuse of 'respectively'), and 'same for 1975/76' (lacks a verb). These errors, while not always impeding communication, are frequent enough to affect the overall flow. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct preposition usage, and ensuring that every sentence has a clear, complete grammatical structure.

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

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