Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-07-24

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The bar charts and line graph below show the results of a survey conducted over a three-year period to discover what people who live in London think of the city.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

What are the best things about living in London?

What are the best things about living in London?

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The charts show what people think about living in London for three years. There are good things and bad things.First, for the good things, shopping is the best. In year 1 it is 45% but it goes down to 35% in year 3. Job opportunities goes up from 30% to almost 40%. Also, museums and galleries increase. But nightlife goes down a little bit. Transport is low but it becomes better in year 3.Second, for the bad things, cost of living is very high. It is 65% in year 1 and 55% in year 3. Traffic and pollution go up every year. Crime goes down in the first chart. But in the line graph, crime problem goes up from 50% to 60%. Housing is a big problem but it goes down from 90% to 70%. Air quality problem goes up to 20%.In conclusion, London has many good things like shops and jobs, but cost of living is the biggest problem for people

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the charts, identifying key trends such as the decline in shopping satisfaction and the rise in job opportunities. However, the report lacks a clear overview or summary of the data trends, which is a requirement for a Band 6 or higher. The description of the data is somewhat mechanical, listing percentages without grouping them into meaningful categories or highlighting significant contrasts effectively. While the task is addressed, the lack of an analytical overview and the tendency to simply list figures limits the score. To improve, ensure you include an introductory sentence that summarizes the overall trends across the three-year period.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'First' and 'Second' are used, but there is a lack of sophisticated linking words to connect ideas within sentences or between paragraphs. The progression of information is somewhat disjointed, particularly when moving between the bar charts and the line graph. Improving the use of referencing (e.g., 'the former', 'the latter') and transition signals would help the flow of the report significantly.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite limited and repetitive. You frequently use simple verbs like 'goes up', 'goes down', and 'is'. While these communicate the message, they do not demonstrate the range of vocabulary expected for higher bands. There are also some minor issues with collocation, such as 'crime problem goes up' instead of 'the perception of crime increased'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise reporting verbs and nouns related to data analysis, such as 'fluctuated', 'declined', 'surged', or 'remained stable'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'Job opportunities goes up' should be 'go up') and missing articles ('cost of living' should be 'the cost of living'). There is very little evidence of complex sentence structures, which are necessary for higher band scores. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of sentence types, including relative clauses or passive voice constructions, and pay closer attention to basic subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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