Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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)

Thses bar charts and graph illustrate the results of survey conducted over a three-year span to find out pro and cons of london.

Overall, the first graph shows consistancly downward behaviour which contain litlte fluctuations.While in second graph , cost of living,traffic congestion and crime almost remained constant in first year but other things were seem slightly decreased. Line graph shows litter was increased.

In all three years, the best things in London was range of shops which start from 45% after donwfall it reached to almost 25%, while job oppertunities mixing of people etc they all fluctuated little bit and followed same pattern.

On the other hand worst things were cost of living which started from 58% and stopped at 52%.While traffic congestion , crime, cost of housing and transport most of them were high at first year but seemed to be decreased at the third year.In line graph litter was start at 70 then peaked at 78 but at the end close at 68, while air quality and noice were followd downgrade path.

AI examiner evaluation

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

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the survey’s three-year scope and attempt to cover the positive features, drawbacks and problem ratings, with relevant details such as shops beginning at 45% and litter at 70%. However, several key figures and trends are inaccurate or unclear. The shops figure falls to about 42% in Year 2 and rises slightly to around 43% in Year 3, not 25%. Litter peaks at about 75% in Year 2 and ends near 65%, rather than 78% and 68%. The overview also says the first graph declines overall, although several categories are broadly stable or rise. The line graph’s air-quality and noise trends are described, but the report needs a more accurate overview and clearer comparisons across all three charts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable report structure: an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and phrases such as “Overall” and “On the other hand” signal the intended relationships. However, progression is weakened by grouping several categories together without explaining their differences, as in “job opportunities mixing of people etc.” The overview also moves abruptly from the first graph to the second and then the line graph. Some linking is mechanical or unclear, particularly “While in second graph” and the repeated use of “while.” Organise the details by chart, use clear topic sentences, and connect comparisons explicitly so the reader can follow the changes from Year 1 to Year 3.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “survey,” “three-year span,” “traffic congestion,” “cost of living” and “air quality,” so the subject is generally identifiable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to interpret. For example, “downward behaviour” is not a natural way to describe chart trends, and “stopped at 52%” is unclear when describing a final value. Spelling errors such as “Thses,” “consistancly,” “donwfall,” “oppertunities” and “noice” are also noticeable. Use precise reporting language such as “declined,” “remained stable,” “peaked” and “ended at,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including contrasts introduced by “while” and “although,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in verb forms and agreement occur in examples such as “the best things … was,” “litter was increased,” and “litter was start.” Articles and sentence construction are also problematic: “results of survey” needs an article, while “While in second graph” is an incomplete opening clause. Punctuation spacing and comma use are inconsistent, and some sentences run several ideas together, making relationships hard to follow. Practise accurate past-tense reporting forms and build complete sentences around one main comparison at a time; this will make your attempted complex structures clearer and more reliable.

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

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