Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-28

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The table shows the number of fatal, serious and slight injuries resulting from gun and knife crime in Great Britain from 1998 to 2007 and the percentage increase for each degree of injury over the period.

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

Great Britain - Gun and Knife Crime statistics - 1998-2007

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The table shows the amount of injuries by the nature of its degree of severity. The injuries are caused by two weapons, gun and knife. The data is given between the years 1998 and 2007 in Great Britain. The increase in the amount of the injuries is shown in percentage.

The number of fatal injuries are the lowest compared to the slight injuries which have been relatively high throughout the years. The least amount of cases were calculated in between the years 1998 to 1999. However the most number of cases were recorded between the years 2004 to 2005.

The number of fatal injuries saw a rise from 1998. The cases dropped down till 80 after 2002 and a decrease of 68 cases was recorded till 2004. The amount rose again till 77 between the years 2004 to 2005. It then continued to drop down till 49 between 2005 to 2006, before increasing again till 58 during 2006 and 2007.

In contrast to the fluctuations of fatal injuries, the amount of cases recorded for serious injuries rose from 1998 to 2004. The cases increased from 162 to 437. A slight decrease was seen in 2005 to 2006, dropping till 411 cases. However, it rose again during 2005 to 2026 till 476. The data between 2006 to 2007 has not been provided.

The same pattern is seen for slight injuries. The cases rose from 653 in 1998 till 3424 in 2005. During 2005 to 2006 the cases dropped down till 3296. The record during the years 2006 to 2007 has not been provided.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student covers the main parts of the table, attempting to describe the overall trends for fatal, serious, and slight injuries resulting from gun and knife crime in Great Britain from 1998 to 2007. However, there are several data inaccuracies and misunderstandings. For instance, the student states that the fatal injuries 'dropped down till 80 after 2002 and a decrease of 68 cases was recorded till 2004', which misinterprets the figures (the number was 80 in 2002-2003, dropped to 68 in 2003-2004, and the 18, 194, 405, 342 figures at the bottom represent the overall percentage increase, not case drops). Additionally, the overview lacks a summary of the massive percentage increases at the bottom of the table. Because of these data misreadings and an underdeveloped overview, the task achievement is limited.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is divided into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and separate body paragraphs addressing each injury category. This provides a clear structural framework. However, the progression between sentences and within paragraphs is sometimes hindered by repetitive sentence openings and mechanical cohesive devices. For example, the transition 'In contrast to the fluctuations of fatal injuries' is used, but the internal referencing within paragraphs suffers from confusion, such as mixing up years in the serious injuries section ('during 2005 to 2026 till 476'). Paragraphing is used adequately, but overall cohesion is occasionally faulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, employing terms like 'fluctuations', 'recorded', 'degree of severity', and 'decrease'. However, the range is limited, and there are noticeable word-choice errors and awkward phrasing. For example, the student writes 'the amount of injuries' instead of 'the number of injuries' (since injuries are countable), and 'the least amount of cases' instead of 'the lowest number of cases'. Furthermore, the phrase 'nature of its degree of severity' is unnatural. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some inaccuracy, placing this firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using 'However, the most number of cases were recorded between...' and 'In contrast to the fluctuations of fatal injuries, the amount of cases...'. There are, however, frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that distract the reader, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The number of fatal injuries are the lowest' should be 'is') and tense/preposition misuse ('dropped down till 80' instead of 'dropped to 80'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical inaccuracies persist throughout the text, impacting readability.

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