Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-10-01
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 provides the data about crime statistics in Great Britain between 1998 and 2007. Table illustrates number of fetal, serious and slight crimes and their percentage increase for each crime over the period of nine years.
Overall, total number of crime increased over the period where slight crime exceeding serious and fetal crimes in number. Fetal crimes were least in number among all others.
Fetal crimes rose from 49 in 1998, to 95 by 2002, before dropping the figure at 80 in 2003. The figure then rose again to 77 in 2005. In 2007, the number for fetal crimes stood at 58. Comparing it with serious crimes, the figure gradually increased from 162 in 1998, to 437 in 2004. After it a slight drop in crime rate has been observed. In 2006 the figure stood at 476 for serious crimes. Likewise, slight crimes were highest in number. The number gradually climbed from 653 in 1999, to 3296 by 2006. Throughout the entire period there was an increase in number of overall crime rate.
Percentage increase of crime rate was recorded highest for slight crimes at 405%, followed by serious crimes at 194% and fetal crimes at 18% only.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing an overview of the table and reporting the main features, such as the overall upward trend and the percentage increases for each injury type. However, some aspects of the task are handled more fully than others. While the general trends and final data points are mentioned, several specific figures contain slight inaccuracies—such as misreporting the 2005 fatal crime figure as 77 instead of 49—and the data for 2006-2007 is omitted. The ideas are relevant and generally support an overview, but the lack of complete data selection and minor numeric discrepancies prevent the response from achieving a higher rating.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the information logically. There is an introduction that paraphrases the prompt, an overall summary paragraph, a body paragraph detailing the yearly figures, and a final paragraph reporting the percentage increases. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, the transition 'After it a slight drop' is unnatural, and referencing between sentences occasionally feels abrupt. Paragraphing is used to group related ideas, but the logical progression between specific years could be smoother to secure a higher band.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'percentage increase', 'crime rate', and 'gradually climbed'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form. Most prominently, the student repeatedly uses the incorrect word 'fetal' instead of 'fatal' throughout the essay. Other minor issues include phrasing like 'total number of crime increased'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips do not severely impede communication, but they restrict the score, as control over less common vocabulary is inconsistent.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like time clauses ('before dropping the figure at 80 in 2003') and comparative constructions. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('Table illustrates number of...', 'total number of crime') and minor prepositional misuse ('dropping the figure at 80'). Nevertheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the intended data points without significant difficulty.
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