Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-06

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 survey shows three different infographics for people who has different opinions for things London is offering. The first bar chart shows that, transport and night life are standing neck to neck at the very last with transport's third year having the highest percentage of people agreeing where as night life's first year is taking the lead in a three-year period of time. Museums and art galleries are then next with third year being the highest among the three years following with mixture of people with both first and second year's data being the same and third year's a little less than them. Similar results with job opportunities with both second and third year being similar and first year taking the lead and lastly, range of shops has the highest number of people's votes for the best thing London has to offer with year 1 being the highest.

Now for the other bar chart, this time for worst things about living in London. The bar chart concludes that transport, and cost of housing are the two things about London tthat people thinks are just not it. With year 1 taking the lead for transport and both year 1 and 2 taking the lead for highest percentage for cost of housing. Crime, traffic congestion, and cost of living are the top 3 things of the chart with highest votes where people are complaining the most about.

And lastly, the graph shows that, over the span of 3 years, litter has gone a bit down with a slight spike in the 2nd year along with both air quality and noise with a steadily decline.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially and lacks an adequate overall summary or overview of the visual data. The writer attempts to describe details from all three charts, but the selection of information is confusing and heavily flawed. For instance, the commentary on the first chart misreads the data trends, claiming incorrectly that transport and nightlife are 'standing neck to neck at the very last' when their percentages differ, and providing inaccurate comparisons like 'mixture of people with both first and second year's data being the same'. Furthermore, some descriptions are vague or lack numerical backing, and there is no clear attempt to synthesise the main trends across the charts. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to present a clear overview highlighting the most striking general trends and accurately select key data points to support the descriptions without misinterpreting the figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation in the response, as the student divides the text into paragraphs roughly corresponding to the different charts. However, there is no clear overall progression or logical structure guiding the reader through the data. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively, such as the informal transitions 'Now for the other bar chart' and 'And lastly, the graph shows that'. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion is weak because referencing is frequently unclear, making it difficult to trace which data points or years are being discussed. To improve, the writer should use standard academic transition phrases, ensure clear referencing for all subjects and data points, and establish a logical flow that connects the introduction, body details, and conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts some less common phrases, such as 'standing neck to neck' and 'taking the lead', but these are often applied awkwardly or informally. There are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and inappropriate collocations throughout the text, such as 'infographics' instead of charts, 'things London is offering', and phrasing like 'people thinks are just not it'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but word choices cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving precision. To achieve a higher band, the student must incorporate a wider, more precise range of vocabulary related to data trends and statistical changes, avoiding colloquial expressions and ensuring accurate word formation and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at more complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors that can cause difficulty for the reader, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'people who has different opinions', dangling modifiers, and incorrect prepositional usage. Punctuation is also problematic, evident in run-on sentences and awkward comma splices. Errors in grammatical patterns, such as 'where as night life's first year is taking the lead', further hinder readability. To progress, the writer needs to practice forming complex sentences accurately, paying close attention to subject-verb agreement, relative clauses, and proper punctuation without relying on overly conversational sentence structures.

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

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