Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-12

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 5.5)

The given bar chart and polyline graph illustrates the results of an opinion poll conducted over a three period to know what people think who lives in the London.

Overall, there are multiple things which are best and worst about living in London .There are also three major problems which were deal by people of London

As shown in bar chart we can depict the best things about living in the London. Individuals enjoy the range of shops in first year and it significantly decreases in the third year however it is more than the second year.

Moreover, the segment of society mostly likes the museums and art galleries in the London in the third year rather than in the year 1 and 2.

Although the worst things about living in London are cost of living , traffic congestion and crime.

These three of factors are high in first year but it slightly reduces by the year 3.

The polyline graph reveals the information about the major problems in London. The litter remained with largest portion throughout the three years. On the other hand the air quality was the second problem in London which slightly lower by year 3. At the end the noise was the third issue facing by the people of London.

In an overview, it can be lucid that the best things about London are range of shops, job opportunities and may more, in contrast the worst things are cost of living , traffic ,crimes etc. Moreover, the challenging factor that was faced by the people of London are litter, air quality and noise.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the task by describing the provided charts, but it lacks a clear, analytical overview. While you mention the categories, you fail to highlight the most significant trends or comparisons effectively. For example, stating that 'litter remained with largest portion' is a good observation, but the report lacks a cohesive summary of the data. The description of the bar charts is somewhat repetitive and lacks precise data points, which are essential for an Academic Task 1 report. To improve, ensure you group information logically and provide specific figures to support your descriptions rather than using vague terms like 'significantly decreases' without context.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow between sentences is often disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is mechanical and sometimes inaccurate, such as the transition 'At the end the noise was the third issue'. The paragraphing is present but does not effectively group the information; for instance, the conclusion repeats information already stated in the body paragraphs rather than synthesising the main trends. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear focus would significantly enhance the readability and structure of your report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic descriptors like 'best things' and 'major problems' repeatedly. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'polyline graph' (which is simply a line graph) and 'deal by people'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more sophisticated vocabulary related to data description, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', or 'experienced a downward trend', and avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly with articles ('the London', 'the year 1') and subject-verb agreement ('people who lives', 'three of factors'). The sentence structures are mostly simple, and attempts at complex sentences often contain errors, such as 'the challenging factor that was faced by the people of London are litter'. These errors occasionally impede the clarity of your message. You should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically article usage and pluralisation, before attempting more complex grammatical structures.

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

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