Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-07

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)

* Writing Task - (1) Line chart

The presented line chart tracks the overweight rates in OECD countries over the period of 50 years.

Overall it can be observed that USA is the only country experiencing overweight from 1970-80 and till 2020 it is the most overweight country. Over the time, every single country has experienced an increase in the proportion of overweight rates.

To begin with USA which the most over weight OECD country of all time with around 47 % of total proportion in initial years. During 1980, USA has witnessed a minor drop in the proportion but after then till 2020 its proportion has increased significantly to reach up to approximately 75 %.

Other countries like Australia, Austria, France and Italy were having overweight rates less than 40 % from 1980 to 1990 and eventually their total proportion gradually increased to 43% - 45% till 2020. Canada, England and Spain had experienced overweight rate less than 50 % from 1980 to 1990. While the countries has shown a minor decline in proportion in 2000 but then eventually the proportion of overweight rates increased up to 70 % for England and 55 % for Spain and Canada in 2020. Korea is the least overweight country among all where the overweight rate was only 25% from 1990 to 2000 which stood up to 35 % in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the main trends and making relevant comparisons. You successfully highlighted the USA as the highest country and Korea as the lowest, while grouping other nations effectively. However, the analysis is slightly hampered by inaccuracies in data interpretation; for instance, stating the USA had 47% in 'initial years' is not supported by the graph, which shows a lower starting point. Additionally, the description of trends for countries like England and Spain is somewhat confusing regarding the 'minor decline' mentioned. To reach a higher band, ensure that data points are cited with greater precision and that the overview clearly distinguishes between the past, current, and projected future trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs focusing on specific country groupings. There is a clear progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'To begin with USA which the most over weight...' which lacks a verb, or 'While the countries has shown...'. The referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect the data points more fluidly rather than listing them sequentially.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have used an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'proportion', 'witnessed', 'significantly', and 'projected'. However, there are some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'experiencing overweight' (which is slightly unnatural; 'having high overweight rates' or 'experiencing a rise in obesity' would be better) and 'stood up to 35%'. There are also minor errors in phrasing that occasionally affect the precision of your reporting. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and ensuring that your vocabulary choices are consistently accurate when describing statistical trends.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('While the countries has shown') and missing articles or verbs ('To begin with USA which the most...'). Punctuation is generally functional, but some sentences are clunky due to missing prepositions or incorrect word order. To achieve a higher band, you need to increase the frequency of error-free complex sentences and pay closer attention to basic grammatical accuracy, such as ensuring every sentence has a clear subject and a correctly conjugated verb.

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

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