Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-10-02
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 6.5)
The table illustrates how many fatal, serious, and slight injuries happened due to gun and knife crime in the United Kingdom between 1998 and 2007. The table also shows increase in percentage for each degree of injury from 1998/99 to 2005/06 or 2006/07.
Overall, the total number of slight injuries increased significantly over the period, while serious injuries also increased considerably, whereas fatal injuries also grew over the period but the rate of percentage increase was comparatively low. .
Between 1998 and 2007, slight injuries grew by 405%, starting at 653 in 1998. By 2004, the total number of slight injuries almost trebled to 1862. The sharpest increase was in the year 2004/05, when it reached its peak at 3424 before falling to 3296 in 2005/06.
Similar trend was seen for the serious crime between 1998 to 2006. The total number of serious injuries was 162 in 1998/99 and reached to 437 in 2003/04; however the number fell to 411 in the following year 2004/05 before peaking at 476 in 2005/06. From start to end of period, the serious injuries grew by 194%.
While the fatal injuries also experienced growth over the period but the overall percentage growth was just 18%. In the beginning of the period, the total number of fatal crimes was 49 and peaked at 95 in 2001/02. The total figures of fatal crime fluctuated during the rest of the period and decreased to 58 injuries in 206/07.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The response successfully covers all major parts of the task by presenting an overview and reporting key data from the table, satisfying the requirements of the lower band while showing elements of higher performance. The introduction paraphrases the prompt effectively, and the overall paragraph highlights the main trends—namely, the significant growth in slight and serious injuries compared to the relatively low percentage increase in fatal injuries. Body paragraphs present specific statistics for each injury type, tracing changes across the timeframe, including peak figures such as 3424 slight injuries in 2004/05. However, the data coverage is slightly uneven, with the final year's missing data points for knife and gun crimes omitted or glossed over rather than fully integrated into the comparative narrative. Additionally, the final paragraph contains a minor typographical error in a year ("206/07"), which slightly detracts from data precision. To reach higher bands, ensure every category's trajectory is meticulously compared with consistent analytical depth throughout all body sections.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0
The essay demonstrates a clear logical organization and progression throughout, placing it securely within the targeted band. Information and ideas are grouped by injury categories into distinct paragraphs, allowing the reader to follow the historical progression from 1998 to 2007 effortlessly. Cohesive devices such as transitional phrases and contrast markers—including "Overall", "Between 1998 and 2007", "Similar trend was seen", and "While the fatal injuries also experienced growth"—are used effectively to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is logical, with each body paragraph dedicated to a specific degree of injury. Progression could be made even smoother by integrating referencing more tightly and avoiding repetitive sentence openings, which would pave the way for a more flexible and unobtrusive use of cohesion characteristic of higher levels.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying numerical data and trends using terms such as "trebled", "peak", "fluctuated", and "percentage growth". There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, and lexical items are generally appropriate for an academic report. However, there are some minor word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as "serious crime" when referring to serious injuries, and occasional phrasing that lacks academic precision. Spelling is generally accurate, with the exception of a numerical slip in the final paragraph ("206/07"). To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider range of sophisticated, less common lexical items and precise academic collocations with greater natural control and flexibility.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over past tense narrative structures appropriate for historical data. Structures such as subordinate clauses ("while serious injuries also increased considerably, whereas fatal injuries also grew...") and time-bound prepositional phrases are handled with a fair degree of success. There are some grammar and punctuation errors, such as missing articles in phrases like "Similar trend was seen for the serious crime" and occasional awkward phrasing like "While the fatal injuries also experienced growth over the period but...", which results in a minor conjunction redundancy. These errors rarely impede communication. To move to the next level, the writer should aim for a higher frequency of error-free complex sentences and finer control over articles and correlative conjunctions.
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