Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-08-31

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The line graph below shows past and current overweight rates, as well as a projected future overweight rate in nine selected countries.

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

Past and projected future overweight rates in selected OECD countries

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The outweight rates provide significant insights about a country. Here, as shown in the graph, it shows us the current as well as the projected future outweight rates in nine countries.The common point that can be observed in the graph is how the outweight rates have been increasing over the years. USA has had the most outweight rates starting between 40% to 50% in the 1970's and increasing utp 70% by 2020's. The graph for the outweight rates in the USA has a more steady increase and a rather steeper graph than the others. On the other hand Korea has had the lowest outweight rate sitting at around 25% in the 1990's and increasing to just upto 45% by the year 2020. The remaining seven countries fall between The USA and Korea. All of these 7 countries show an incline phase, a plateau phase and a decline phase, suggesting fluctuations in the outweight rates.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response provides a basic overview of the graph, identifying the general trend of increasing overweight rates. However, the analysis is quite limited. While you mention the USA and Korea as extremes, the 'remaining seven countries' are grouped together without specific data points or meaningful comparisons. The description of the trends as having an 'incline, plateau, and decline phase' is inaccurate based on typical OECD overweight projections, which generally show continuous growth. To reach a higher band, you must provide more specific data points (e.g., percentages for specific years) and ensure your description of the trends is factually supported by the visual information provided in the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into a single paragraph, which makes it difficult to follow the progression of information. A clear structure—introduction, overview, and body paragraphs—is essential for Task 1. While there are some cohesive devices used, such as 'On the other hand' and 'The remaining seven countries', the overall flow is somewhat mechanical. The lack of paragraphing hinders the logical presentation of the data. To improve, ensure you group related information together and use clear paragraph breaks to separate the overview from the detailed data analysis.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

There is a recurring spelling error throughout the text: 'outweight' instead of 'overweight'. This is a significant issue as it is the key term of the task. The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive, relying heavily on basic phrasing like 'increasing' and 'rates'. To achieve a higher score, you should aim to use a wider variety of synonyms and descriptive verbs (e.g., 'climb', 'surge', 'fluctuate', 'remain stable') and ensure accurate spelling of key terminology. The vocabulary used is sufficient to convey the basic message but lacks the precision required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains several grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'increasing utp 70%' contains a typo and awkward phrasing. There is also a lack of variety in sentence structures, with most sentences following a simple subject-verb-object pattern. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors, such as the missing space after the period in '1970's and increasing utp 70% by 2020's. To improve, focus on using a mix of complex and compound sentences and proofread carefully to eliminate basic spelling and typographical errors.

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