Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The bar chart below shows the average number of hours that women in various age groups and women with varying levels of education spend on primary activities each week.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Average hours per week women spent in selected primary activities, by age and educational attainment, 2009

Student answer (Band 5.5)

this chart illustrates the average number of hours spend in primary activities per week between woman in various age group and woman with varying levels of education in 2009.

Overall, women with collage or a bachelor's degree tend to spend more time in working than household activities but we see the complete opposite with those women who stopped in high school or even before it. Despite that, women with less education more hours of playing sports and having more free time in general than those with higher degrees.

Women aged between 15 and 19 have nearly similar hours of working and household activities which is around 6-7 hours per week, however this similarity will vanish and women will spend way more time working around 20-27 hours per week from the age of 20 until the age of 54. After they became almost similar in the age 55-64 the hours of working activities had a massive drop to nearly 7 hours per week and that number will continue decreasing until the age of 75 and over with less than 2 hours per week. The hours of sports and leisure was stable even though it was decreasing gradually until the age of 44 then it started to increase gradually until the age of 75 and over.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student attempts to cover the main features of the chart, providing an overview and selecting specific data points regarding age groups and educational attainment. However, there are notable inaccuracies in reading the visual data. For instance, the student states that women with college degrees spend more time working than household activities, and claims that women aged 15-19 spend 6-7 hours on both, whereas the visual chart requires precise reporting of trends and comparisons. The overview is somewhat general and misses some key comparative elements between education levels and age brackets. Additionally, the response relies on superficial reporting rather than fully developed comparisons. According to the band descriptors, this performance aligns best with Band 5.5, as it addresses the task and presents a general overview with main trends, but contains noticeable inaccuracies and lacks fully developed comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is structured into four paragraphs, including a brief introduction and an overview. Logical organisation is attempted, but transitions between ideas are sometimes abrupt. For example, moving from educational attainment to age groups lacks a smooth transitional flow. Cohesive devices are used, but they are occasionally mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'Despite that, women with less education more hours...' where a verb is missing. Paragraphing is present, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved to ensure clearer progression of ideas. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when contrasting different groups. These features place the response firmly in the Band 5.5 category, showing an overall structure with basic cohesion, but lacking the flexible and smooth logical progression required for a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully employing terms such as 'educational attainment', 'leisure', and 'gradually'. However, there are numerous word choice and spelling errors throughout the text. Examples include spelling 'college' as 'collage', using 'woman' instead of the plural 'women' ('between woman in various age group'), and awkward phrasing like 'more hours of playing sports'. The student attempts less common lexical items, but inaccuracies in collocation and form are frequent. Spelling slips and grammatical forms of words impede precision. This performance reflects the Band 5 descriptors, where the vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, but noticeable errors in word choice and spelling cause some distraction and lack the control needed for a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in sentence structure. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors that occasionally impede understanding. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement and missing verbs, such as in 'women with less education more hours of playing sports' and 'After they became almost similar in the age 55-64'. Punctuation is also sparse, leading to run-on sentences, such as the lengthy second sentence of the third paragraph. While complex structures are attempted, they are frequently faulty. These persistent errors across both simple and complex structures place the grammar score at Band 5.0, matching the descriptor for frequent errors and limited control over complex forms.

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

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