Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-14

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)

The bar charts illustrates the survey about the best and worst things about living in London and the line chart demonstrates the three main issues in London in the three years. Overall, the best thing in London is the range of shops over the three years, whereas the worst things are cost of living in the first year and last year, and traffic congestion in the second year. In general, litter is the most serious concern over the three-year period.

Looking into the best things for the first year is the range of shops which stands at approximately 45%, the second best one is job opportunities at around 38%, and the third one is mixture of people that accounts for roughly 37%. Furthermore, the forth ones is museum and art galleries that stands at around 30%. Moreover, night life and transports which are the same percentage at approximately 25%.

The major issues in London is litter over the period, it shows a rise at the second year and declines slightly at the last year. Air quality is the second main problem that declines slightly over the 3 years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to describe the main features of the survey data, including the best and worst things about living in London and the line graph showing the main issues. An overview is provided at the beginning, identifying the range of shops as the top positive aspect and litter as the primary concern. However, there are notable omissions and inaccuracies in data selection. For instance, the student states that traffic congestion was the worst thing in the second year, whereas the chart likely displays multiple categories or requires a more nuanced breakdown. Furthermore, the figures cited (e.g., approximately 45% for the range of shops in the first year) are somewhat generalised. The progression of the data is outlined, but the description remains superficial in places and misses key comparative details across the three-year period. Consequently, the task is addressed only partially, warranting a Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The report shows some organisation with an introductory overview followed by body paragraphs dedicated to the charts. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the paragraphing is somewhat disjointed. For example, the second body paragraph awkwardly groups various percentages using repetitive sequencing ('the second best one', 'the third one', 'the forth ones'). Cohesive devices are mechanically applied and sometimes inaccurate, such as the abrupt transition in 'Furthermore, the forth ones is museum and art galleries'. Referencing is also weak in places, leading to a lack of smooth transitions between sentences. While the reader can generally follow which chart is being discussed, the overall arrangement lacks the sophisticated logical progression required for higher bands.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for this task, incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'survey', 'range of shops', 'job opportunities', and 'air quality'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'The bar charts illustrates' (grammatical agreement error alongside vocabulary usage), 'mixture of people' instead of 'diversity', and the spelling error 'forth ones' instead of 'fourth one'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success, and repetition of basic phrases like 'stands at around' and 'declines slightly' restricts the lexical flexibility. These errors cause some distraction for the reader, fitting the Band 5.5 profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but attempts at complex sentences are frequently marred by grammatical errors. For instance, there are subject-verb agreement issues in 'The bar charts illustrates' and 'The major issues in London is litter'. Punctuation and phrasing are also problematic in run-on constructions like 'The major issues in London is litter over the period, it shows a rise at the second year and declines slightly at the last year', which constitutes a comma splice. Frequent errors in article usage, pluralisation, and verb tenses cause some difficulty for the reader, although the core message generally remains comprehensible.

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