Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-12

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 7.5)

The bar chart compares how likely people thought they were to be victims of burglary, car crime, and violent crime with the actual rates recorded, across two periods: 2009/10 and 2010/11.

Overall, in every category and in both years, the perceived likelihood of becoming a victim was substantially higher than the actual likelihood, and car crime was viewed as the greatest risk.

In 2009/10, around 15.5% of people believed they might be burgled, while only about 3% actually were. A similar gap appeared for violent crime, where perceived risk stood at roughly 16% compared with an actual rate of just 3.5%. The largest gap, however, was for car crime: perceived likelihood reached approximately 21.5%, more than four times the actual figure of around 4.5%.

In 2010/11, perceived risk fell slightly for all three crime types (to about 13%, 17.5%, and 14% respectively), while actual crime rates rose marginally, narrowing the gap between perception and reality somewhat, though perceptions still far outweighed actual experience in every case.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response covers all parts of the task well, providing a clear and comprehensive summary of the main features shown in the chart. The student effectively compares the perceived danger with the actual likelihood of being a victim of crime across the specified categories and years. An overview is successfully presented, noting that perceived risk consistently outpaced actual risk and that car crime was viewed as the highest risk. Data points are accurately selected and cited to support the descriptions, such as 'around 15.5% of people believed they might be burgled' and 'actual likelihood of around 4.5%'. The response meets all requirements for Task Achievement at a high standard, demonstrating a well-developed and focused approach to the prompt without any noticeable omissions or flaws in data reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The information and ideas are logically sequenced, guiding the reader smoothly from the introduction through the overall trend and into specific data details for both years. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each paragraph serving a distinct function in structuring the report. Cohesive devices are managed well, using phrases like 'Overall, in every category' and 'The largest gap, however, was for car crime' to establish clear relationships between ideas. Referencing is clear throughout the text, ensuring that the progression of information remains natural and easy to follow. The response demonstrates a high level of control over cohesion, warranting a strong band score in this area.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a wide, flexible lexical range suitable for an academic task. Less common vocabulary items and phrases are used skillfully, such as 'substantially higher', 'perceived likelihood', 'actual rates recorded', and 'narrowing the gap'. Word choices and collocations are generally accurate and natural, contributing to precise reporting of the data. There are only occasional minor inaccuracies, such as grouping the 2010/11 brackets in parentheses as '(to about 13%, 17.5%, and 14% respectively)', which disrupts the sentence flow slightly, but this does not impede communication. The vocabulary deployed throughout the text is sophisticated and appropriately formal for an Academic Task 1 response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The student utilises a wide range of complex sentence structures with good flexibility and control. Examples include subordinate clauses and comparative structures, such as 'The bar chart compares how likely people thought they were to be victims... with the actual rates recorded' and 'while actual crime rates rose marginally, narrowing the gap between perception and reality somewhat'. The majority of sentences are error-free, with accurate punctuation and consistent control over tense and agreement. Only very occasional minor awkwardness appears, but this does not detract from the overall high grammatical accuracy of the response. The control of syntax and grammar easily aligns with the descriptors for Band 8.

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

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