Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-11

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 6.5)

The bar charts illustrate the percentage of people grouped according to age and sex that own full driving licenses in Great Britain as at 1975/1976 and 2006.

Overall, significantly more females had driving permits in 2006 than in 1975/76. A similar trend was seen in males except in those aged 21 to 29 where the reverse was the case. However, a higher percentage of men held driving licenses over the time period when compared to their female counterparts.

In 1975/76, only about 5% of women aged 70 and over held driving licenses whereas their male contemporaries came up to around 35%. A similar trend is noted in people between age 60 and 69 as well as 50 and 59 where the figures of women and men stand at approximately 15% and just under 60% respectively as well as about 23% and about 75%. Likewise, those in the 40-49 and 30-39 age brackets, females had just under 40% and about 50% respectively while males accounted for slightly above 80% and about 85%. For people within the age s of 21 to 29 and 17 to 20, males made up just under 80% and about 30% respectively while females made up a little above 40% and 20% respectively.

In 2006, although the numbers of women who held driving permits increased across all categories male figures still surpassed. For those aged 70 and over about 30% who held licenses were women while over 70% were men. A similar statistic is seen for all other categories.

However, in the male category, for men aged 21 to 29, the numbers in 1975/76 of about 78% surpassed its 2006 figure of about 65%.

In conclusion, over the time period, a higher percentage of men held their driving permits in comparison to women.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task and presents a clear overview. You successfully identified the main trends, such as the overall increase in license holders and the consistent gender gap. However, the reporting of data is somewhat repetitive and mechanical. While you included specific figures, the way they are listed in the third paragraph becomes a dense list of numbers that makes it difficult for the reader to follow the comparisons. To reach a higher band, focus on grouping data more effectively to highlight the most significant differences rather than listing every single age bracket individually.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices like 'whereas', 'likewise', and 'however' to link ideas. However, the progression within the third paragraph is slightly clunky due to the repetitive structure of the sentences. The referencing is generally clear, but the transition between the 1975/76 data and the 2006 data could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different time periods and the specific age-related analysis.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'counterparts', 'brackets', and 'surpassed'. There is some repetition of basic phrases such as 'held driving licenses' and 'made up'. To improve, try to vary your verbs and nouns to avoid repeating the same structures. For example, instead of repeating 'held', you could use 'possessed', 'obtained', or 'were in possession of'. The word choice is generally accurate and does not impede communication, but it lacks the sophistication required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'as at 1975/1976' (should be 'in 1975/76') and 'within the age s of' (typo). Additionally, some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'male figures still surpassed', which lacks an object. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and refining the structure of comparative sentences to improve accuracy.

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

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