Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-30

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 given graph illustrates the number of people having full driving licences in Great Britain by their age and gender. This proposed data provides number of individuals having driving licence from 1975 to 2006.

In Great Britain, age and gender of driving licence holder started from 17 and ranges upto 70. However if we look the given data closely we could confirm that the driving licences of women are relatively low than men in year 1975, but in 2006 these licences are somehow equal to the men.

Throughout the given years, men hold more licences than the women. Surprisingly, at the age of 60 and over 70 men had their driving licence. In total 90 percent of men had licence and women had nearly 80 percent. This figure tells us that many of men are driving regularly throughout the years.

The similar trait in the graph is that women above the age of 50 holds less licences than the men at the same age.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad comparison that women’s licence-holding was lower than men’s in 1975/76 and that the gap narrowed by 2006. However, the overview is unclear and some claims misrepresent the chart. In 2006, the figures were not generally “somehow equal”: men remained higher in most age groups, while women were close to men mainly among younger drivers. The statement that men aged 60 and over had licences at “70” is also unclear, and “90 percent of men” and “nearly 80 percent” do not describe an overall total; they appear to refer to particular age groups. To strengthen the response, summarise the main age patterns and compare the two years with accurate, clearly identified figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to general comparisons and then a final observation. Linking phrases such as “However” and “Throughout the given years” help signal relationships between ideas. Nevertheless, the progression is not consistently clear: the second paragraph discusses the age range, then shifts to the gender comparison, while the next paragraph introduces figures without specifying which age groups they represent. The final sentence repeats the comparison that women held fewer licences than men, rather than adding a distinct feature. Organise the report around a clear overview followed by grouped comparisons—for example, older age groups and younger age groups—and use precise references so readers can follow each comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary such as “full driving licences,” “age,” “gender,” and “relatively low,” so the topic is generally understandable. There is some attempt to vary wording with phrases such as “Surprisingly” and “similar trait.” However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for describing chart data: “proposed data,” “number of individuals having driving licence,” and “these licences are somehow equal to the men.” The response also repeats “licence” and “men” frequently, and “started from 17” does not clearly describe the age categories. Aim for accurate chart language and natural collocations, such as “the proportion of licence holders,” “the figures for women,” and “rose to.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “if we look … closely we could confirm” and a contrast introduced by “However.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and agreement recur. For example, “age and gender … started from 17” does not form a clear grammatical relationship, and “women above the age of 50 holds” has a subject–verb agreement error. Articles and plural forms are also inconsistent in “having driving licence” and “many of men.” The sentence beginning “Surprisingly, at the age of 60 and over 70 men…” is difficult to interpret because its structure does not clearly connect the age group and percentage. Practise concise comparison sentences with accurate subjects and verbs.

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