Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-10
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 bar graph compares the proportion of perceived danger and actual likelihood of being a victim of three different crime in 2009 to 2011. Overall, in these four years, all of the crime category have drastic declined in actual crime rather than their perceived. Car crime has the highest perceived in both years and burglary has the lowest ratio of actual crime.
In 2009/10, the car crime perceived percentage stood at highest than other crime at approximately 21% then substantially fell to about 17% in next two years 2010/11. On the other hand, the actual ratio of being a victim of crime is three fold declined than their perceived ratio which is approximately 4% and remains stable in both consecutive years without any changes.
In 2009/10, Burglary and violent have the perceived roughly 16% crime which decreased to about 13% in 2010/11, while their actual likelihood of being a victim of crime is round to 3% which increased to slightly 4% in 2010/11.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the graph, identifying the key trends for car crime, burglary, and violent crime. You successfully highlight the disparity between perceived danger and actual likelihood. However, the analysis is slightly hampered by inaccuracies in data interpretation. For instance, you state that actual crime rates remained stable for car crime, but the graph shows a slight decline. Additionally, the description of the trends for burglary and violent crime is somewhat confusingly grouped. To reach a higher band, ensure that data points are cited with greater precision and that comparisons between categories are more clearly distinguished to avoid ambiguity.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is logically organized into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a clear overview. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Overall,' 'In 2009/10,' and 'On the other hand' to guide the reader. However, the flow within paragraphs is occasionally mechanical. The transition between the description of car crime and the other categories is abrupt. Furthermore, the use of referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when referring back to 'their' perceived ratio. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear thematic focus would enhance the overall coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion,' 'substantially,' and 'consecutive.' However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'three fold declined' is grammatically awkward and imprecise; 'a three-fold difference' would be more accurate. Additionally, phrases like 'the car crime perceived percentage' are clunky. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that nouns and adjectives are used in their correct forms. Expanding your repertoire of reporting verbs and comparative structures will also help you achieve a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'all of the crime category have'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'is round to 3%'). There are also errors in comparative structures, such as 'stood at highest than other crime.' While these errors do not completely prevent communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader. Focusing on basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that verbs agree with their subjects and that comparatives are formed correctly, will significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.