Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-10-11

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

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The table illustrates the data of the number of serious and minor wounds due to armed violence in Great Britain between 1998 and 2007.

Overall, the percentage shows the rise in each category of injury over the period. Fatal injuries remained few through out the given time. In contrast, light casualties were seen increasing in every year and serious casualties rose steadily.

Commencing with fatal injuries, it stayed under hundred in all the years, the maximum numbers of cases recorded in 2001 and 2002 which were 95, and minimum were 49 in the time period of [redacted phone]. Whereas , serious cases reported were between 160 to 500 in the specific given time frame, it fluctuated all the time in the same numbers.

Slight injuries, this category had huge stats in all of these categories, with highest number of non-life threatening casualties recorded in [redacted phone] which were 3424 and minimum were 653 in [redacted phone]. In total, the highest incidents recorded in [redacted phone] and least in [redacted phone].

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant features, including the low fatal-injury figures, the overall rise in injuries, and the highest total in 2004–2005. However, the response only partially reports the table’s main information. The overview says slight injuries increased every year, but they fell from 3,424 to 3,296 in 2005–2006; serious injuries also did not rise steadily, falling from 437 to 411 before reaching 476. The stated minimum fatal figure is correct, but the maximum occurred in 2001–2002, not across “2001 and 2002.” The percentage increases are not reported, and the final year’s fatal figure is omitted. Develop a more accurate overview and support it with key comparisons across categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing fatal, serious, slight, and total figures. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and phrases such as “In contrast” help signal comparison. However, the progression is weakened by abrupt or incomplete constructions, particularly “Slight injuries, this category had huge stats,” and by the unclear statement that serious cases “fluctuated all the time in the same numbers.” The final sentence combines total figures with no supporting values, so the comparison is difficult to follow. Grouping the categories more deliberately and using clear links between each trend and its evidence would make the organisation more effective.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “fatal injuries,” “serious cases,” “casualties,” and “non-life threatening,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, several choices are imprecise or informal for an academic data summary. “Armed violence” is broader than the table’s gun and knife crime, while “minor wounds” does not accurately represent the table’s “slight” injuries. Phrases such as “huge stats” and “all the time in the same numbers” are vague and do not describe trends precisely. There is also repetition of “cases,” “injuries,” and “recorded.” Use the table’s category labels consistently and choose precise trend language, such as “rose,” “declined,” or “fluctuated.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrast clauses and time references, and most of the intended meaning can be understood. However, some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward. “Commencing with fatal injuries, it stayed under hundred” has an unclear subject and is missing an article before “hundred”; “the maximum numbers of cases recorded” also lacks a finite verb. The fragment “Slight injuries, this category had…” needs to be recast as a complete sentence. There are further agreement and punctuation problems, such as “it stayed” referring unclearly to plural injuries and the misplaced spaces before commas. Aim for complete clauses with clear subjects, and check agreement, articles, and punctuation when revising.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.