Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-12

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 graphs illustrate the proportion of people who had driving licences in Great Britain by gender and age in 2006 and 1975/76.

Overall,men had the higher percentage of driving licence than women in all age groups and the mentioned years as well.

Stating with men,in 2006 the percentages increased from approximately 40% at the age 17-20 to around 90% among the age group 50-59.Then decreased slightly to around 85% between age group 70 and over.In contrast, for women in the same year, the proportion had rose from around 35% in the age group 17-20 to 80% in 40-49 years old, before declined to almost 35% in the age 70 and over.

In 1975/76 the figure followed the similar trend where there was a increase in percentage for men from close to 35% in age 17-20 to around 82% in age 40-49 and then dropped to around 38% between age 70 and over people. For female, there was increment from age group 17-20 holding 20% to age group 30-39(around 43%) and then declined sharply to around 5% for the age group 70 and over.

Therefore, male had the highest percentage of driving lincence than women and middle aged people had more lincences than the young people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main broad pattern: men had higher licence-holding rates than women in every age group, and you compare both years. You also select relevant peaks and declines, such as women reaching about 79% at ages 40–49 in 2006 and falling to about 29% among those 70 and over. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: in 2006, men’s rate at 70 and over was about 77%, not around 85%, and the women’s rate there was about 29%, not almost 35%. The final claim that middle-aged people had more licences than young people is too general, since the youngest groups do not follow that pattern consistently. A more precise overview and more reliable comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by separate paragraphs for 2006 and 1975/76, then a concluding statement. This makes the two periods easy to distinguish, and linking phrases such as “In contrast” and “Therefore” help signal relationships. However, the progression within the data paragraphs is not always easy to follow because the age groups are described as though they form a continuous rise and fall, without consistently identifying the intermediate groups. The conclusion also repeats the overview rather than adding a precise comparison. Some transitions, including “Stating with men,” are awkward and distract from the flow. Organise each year’s figures in a consistent age-group sequence and use clearer references to the categories.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage,” “increased,” “declined,” and “age group,” so the main information is generally understandable. There is also some attempt to vary expressions for change, such as “dropped” and “rose.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “the higher percentage of driving licence,” “had rose,” “there was a increase,” and “there was increment.” The spelling of “licence” is also inconsistent, appearing as “lincence” and “lincences.” These errors make the description less precise and limit the range of vocabulary demonstrated. Use standard chart language such as “the proportion of licence holders” and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer comparative sentences, including structures with “before” and “where,” and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, some complex sentences contain errors in verb forms, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “the proportion had rose” should use the correct past participle, while “before declined” needs a grammatical verb form after “before.” In “there was a increase,” the article does not agree with the following sound, and “male had the highest percentage” has an unclear singular subject. Punctuation and spacing are also inconsistent, as in “Overall,men” and “30-39(around 43%).” Aim for accurate past-tense reporting and check each clause for a complete, correctly formed structure.

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

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