Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-07

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 graph showcase the comparison between men and women with different age groups having a full car driving license in Great Britain from the year 1975/76 to 2006.

In mid 70s, for age group 17 to 20, only 20% of women had driving license as compared to the around 38% of men that had obtained a full car driving license. For both genders, the gap narrowed down significantly by 2006.

For men graph, there is not much dissimilarity between 1975/76 to 2006 and men holding driving licenses in both eras remain indistinguishable. However, there is a visible difference in women graph. A total number of women having driving license have grew to even 80% for women aged 40 to 49 which was around only 40% previously.

The both graphs have shown that women in 2006 have a great deal of more driving licenses as compared to in mid 70s and for men, the trend is more or less similar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have identified the main trends, such as the narrowing gap between genders and the significant increase in female licence holders. However, the response lacks precision in reporting data. For instance, you mention 'around 38%' for men in the 70s, but the graph shows a much higher figure for that age group. Furthermore, the description of the male trend as 'indistinguishable' is inaccurate, as the graph shows clear fluctuations across different age brackets. To improve, ensure you accurately transcribe data points and provide a more comprehensive overview of the age-related variations rather than focusing only on general trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. Phrases like 'In mid 70s' and 'For men graph' feel repetitive and lack variety. While there is a clear progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs, the transitions between sentences could be smoother. Using a wider range of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'in contrast', 'furthermore') would help to connect your ideas more effectively and improve the flow of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'not much dissimilarity' and 'a great deal of more'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'The graph showcase' (should be 'showcases') and 'women graph'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more sophisticated vocabulary related to data description, such as 'proportion', 'fluctuation', 'significant growth', and 'marginal change', while ensuring correct grammatical agreement.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('The graph showcase', 'number of women... have grew') and missing articles ('in mid 70s', 'in women graph'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, and try to incorporate more complex sentence structures with greater accuracy.

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

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