Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-18
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The graph below shows the perceived danger and actual likelihood of being a victim of crime.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Perceived and actual likelihood of being a victim of crime: by crime type
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The graph compares people's perceptions of the risk of becoming victims of three types of crime with the actual likelihood of victimisation in 2009/10 and 2010/11.
Overall, the perceived has highest proportion in both year across all types, while actual crime in Burglary had lowest figure. Car crime had highest figure. The figure of perceived crime changed slightly in both years.
Regarding Burglary, the risk of perceived was just over 15% in 2009/10, it fell down in next years and reached about 12% in 2010/11. The Actual crime was only 2% risk in 2009/10, it rose slightly to 3% in 2010/11. However the risk of actual crime was 4% in 2009/10 and relatively stabled in following years. The risk of perceived crime had highest in 2009/10, it was just over 20% and 17% in 2010/11.
For third category the risk of perceived crime was 15% in first year and 18% in final year. The risk of actual crime in violent crime was only about 2% in 2009/10 and 3% in the final year.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the graph, including the comparison between perceived and actual crime. However, the report is somewhat confusing in its presentation of data. For instance, the second paragraph mentions 'Car crime had highest figure' without clarifying if this refers to perceived or actual likelihood. Furthermore, the description of the third category is vague, as it does not explicitly name the crime type (e.g., 'violent crime' is mentioned later, but the structure is disjointed). While the main trends are identified, the lack of clarity in linking specific figures to the correct categories hinders the overall effectiveness of the summary.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is often disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical or misused, such as 'it fell down in next years' or 'relatively stabled in following years'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult for the reader to track which data point is being discussed. The transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is abrupt, and the lack of clear signposting between the different crime types makes the information difficult to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There is significant repetition of phrases like 'the risk of perceived crime' and 'the risk of actual crime'. Some word choices are unnatural or inaccurate, such as 'perceived has highest proportion' (missing a noun) and 'relatively stabled' (incorrect verb form). The range of vocabulary is limited to basic descriptive terms, which prevents the response from achieving a higher band score. More precise terminology related to data trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained constant', or 'a marginal increase', would improve the quality.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures, but grammatical errors are frequent and occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'the perceived has highest proportion' (missing subject/noun), 'it fell down in next years' (incorrect preposition/article), and 'the risk of perceived crime had highest' (incorrect verb usage). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma splices. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence construction and verb tense usage limits the score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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