Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-02

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?

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The bar charts illustrate the views of people living in London over what they like about the city and their concerns over a period of three years. Percentage of people who agree is taken on y-axis while the time period is taken on the x-axis.

While discussing things which people liked about living in London a greater percentage agreed on the range of shops in the first year while the trend decreased for the year two and three. Job opportunities is also what people liked mostly in the year one and then the trend decreased for year two and three three. Mixture of people

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as it is only 104 words long. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed. The description of the data is incomplete; you have only touched upon two categories (shops and job opportunities) and failed to mention the line graph or the second bar chart regarding concerns. To improve, you must provide a comprehensive overview of all data points presented in the prompt. The current response lacks the necessary detail and analysis required for an Academic Task 1 report, resulting in a significant penalty for under-length and lack of coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is too short to demonstrate a full range of cohesive devices or effective paragraphing. While there is a basic attempt at an introduction, the body paragraph is incomplete and ends abruptly with an unfinished sentence ('Mixture of people'). There is no clear logical progression because the information is not fully developed. To achieve a higher score, you need to organize your report into clear paragraphs—an introduction, an overview, and detailed body paragraphs—using a variety of linking words to connect your ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is quite basic and repetitive. You rely on simple phrases like 'things which people liked' and 'trend decreased'. There is little evidence of the range of vocabulary needed to describe data trends (e.g., 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', 'peaked'). The unfinished sentence at the end also limits the assessment of your lexical range. To improve, focus on learning specific collocations for describing graphs, such as 'a significant decline', 'a steady increase', or 'the most popular aspect'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The grammar is generally simple, and the response contains a major error where the final sentence is incomplete, which disrupts the flow of the text. There are also minor issues, such as 'Percentage of people who agree is taken on y-axis', which lacks the necessary articles ('the'). While the existing sentences are mostly understandable, the lack of complex structures and the incomplete ending prevent a higher score. Focus on using a mix of simple and complex sentences and ensure that every sentence is grammatically complete.

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

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