Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-04

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 5.5)

There are 3 diagrams which illustrates different results of a survey conducted over a three year period to discover what people who live in London think of the city.

The best things of London includes range of shops, job opportunities, mixture of people, museums & art galleries, night life and transport whereas, the worst things contribute cost of living, traffic congestion, crime, cost of housing and transport.

The 1st and 2nd bar charts demonstrates the comparision between the best and worst things respectively, about living in London. The 3rd line graph displays % of people said yes to the major problems in London.

Both of the bar charts shows that people experienced year best and worst things in year 1. The best thing of 1st year is range of shops that is about 45% and the worst thing was cost of living which is about 58%.

Then the major problems in London was litter, air quality and noise, where litter is dominant problem, especially in year 2 whereas, noise ranks 2nd major problem as per people, especially in year 1.

In conclusion, year 1 have best and worst things in London and year 3 has least of them whereas the major % of people answering yes to major problem was litter.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the charts, but the analysis is somewhat superficial. While you identify the best and worst aspects and the trends in the line graph, the description of the data is often imprecise. For example, stating 'year 1 have best and worst things' is vague and does not clearly explain the trends over the three-year period. The report lacks a clear overview that synthesizes the information effectively. To improve, ensure you highlight the most significant trends or differences rather than just listing data points. The interpretation of the line graph regarding 'major problems' is also slightly confusing, as it does not clearly distinguish between the categories or the specific percentages over time.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression between sentences is sometimes weak. You use some cohesive devices like 'whereas' and 'in conclusion,' but the flow is occasionally mechanical. The referencing is sometimes unclear; for instance, 'Both of the bar charts shows that people experienced year best and worst things in year 1' is grammatically awkward and makes the connection between the data and the time period difficult to follow. Improving the use of transition signals and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified focus would enhance the overall coherence of your report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and sophistication. You rely on basic descriptors such as 'best things' and 'worst things' repeatedly. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'contribute cost of living' (should be 'include the cost of living') and 'major % of people answering yes' (which is slightly unnatural). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more varied and precise terminology related to data description, such as 'fluctuated,' 'remained stable,' 'accounted for,' or 'a significant proportion.'

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. You have several subject-verb agreement errors, such as 'There are 3 diagrams which illustrates' (should be 'illustrate') and 'Both of the bar charts shows' (should be 'show'). Additionally, there are issues with articles and prepositions, such as 'in year 1' instead of 'in the first year.' While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical agreement and article usage would significantly improve the quality of your writing.

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.