Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-28

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 5.0)

The line graph illustrates the perceived danger and likelihood of being a victim of crime. In 2009, almost 15% of crime was perceived, but the actual crime rate was 2% for burglary. Furthermore, the crime rate of car theft was perceived in 2010 to be 22%, and the actual crime rate was 4%. Moving forward, the crime that occurred by violence was perceived to be 15%, and the actual crime rate was 3%. Here, the whole data for perceived and actual crime occurred between 2009 and 2010.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s general subject and mention figures for burglary, car crime and violent crime, so the response is relevant. However, it reports only a few selected values and does not give a clear overview of the main pattern: perceived risk is much higher than actual victimisation for every crime type, and perceived figures fall from 2009/10 to 2010/11 while actual figures rise slightly or remain similar. Some details are also unclear or inaccurate: “almost 15% of crime was perceived” does not specify a crime type, and the car-crime figure of 22% is closer to about 21% for 2009/10, not 2010/11. The response is 87 words, below the required 150, leaving the task minimally covered. Include an overview and compare both years systematically.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response follows a basic sequence, moving from burglary to car crime and then violent crime, and linking phrases such as “Furthermore” and “Moving forward” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, the organisation does not establish a clear overview or a consistent comparison across the two years. The time references shift between “In 2009,” “in 2010,” and “between 2009 and 2010,” although the chart labels the periods as 2009/10 and 2010/11. “Moving forward” also suggests a chronological progression that the following sentence does not clearly explain. Use a short overview followed by grouped comparisons—for example, perceived figures first and actual figures second—and make each reference to a period explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “perceived,” “actual crime rate,” “burglary,” and “violent crime,” which makes the subject recognisable. However, the range is limited and several phrases are imprecise or repetitive. “The crime rate of car theft was perceived” is awkward because the chart compares perceived likelihood, not a crime rate, while “crime occurred by violence” is not a natural description of violent crime. Repeating “crime rate” also blurs the distinction between perceived risk and actual victimisation. Choose precise chart language such as “perceived likelihood,” “actual victimisation rate,” and “car crime,” and vary reporting verbs with “stood at,” “was estimated at,” or “declined to.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

Your sentences are generally understandable, and you use some subordinate structures, such as “the crime that occurred by violence was perceived to be 15%.” Basic sentence boundaries and verb forms are mostly controlled. However, the response relies on a narrow pattern of simple statements, so it does not show much grammatical variety. The construction “the crime rate of car theft was perceived in 2010 to be 22%” is grammatically possible but awkwardly arranged, and “Here, the whole data … occurred between 2009 and 2010” uses an unclear subject and an unsuitable verb for describing chart data. Practise combining comparisons with accurate clauses, for example: “Although perceived burglary risk fell, the actual rate edged up slightly.”

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.