Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-14

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 first bar chart presents the proportion of beautiful things about living in london, while the second chart shows the percentage of bad things about living in london. However, the line graph illustrates proportion of those people who say yes to those things which are the big issue in london over a 3-year period.

Overall, at the beginning, living in london the range of shops were always the amazing thing throughout the period which experienced a small dip before a slight increase. In contrast, the transport were the least in all three years in terms of good things as compared to other things.

On the other hand, cost of living were the worst thing about living in london in the first year, before a steep decrease in second year, after which it rose slightly. In addition, the litter were the major problem throughout the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the three chart types and give a brief overview of some key patterns: shops remain a leading positive feature, transport is among the least selected, and litter is a major problem. However, the report is substantially incomplete: it gives almost no specific figures and omits most important comparisons, including the changes in job opportunities, crime, housing, air quality and noise. The claim that shops were “always” the top feature is not accurate, since the mixture of people is slightly higher in Year 2. The line graph is mentioned but its trends are not described. The response is also five words below the required minimum. Include a fuller overview and support it with selected, accurate data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview of positive features, and a paragraph about negative features. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and connectors such as “In contrast” and “On the other hand” signal comparisons. However, the progression is limited because the charts are not systematically covered, and the final paragraph combines the worst features with only one line-graph observation. Some linking is awkward or repetitive, particularly the repeated “In addition” style of adding points without developing comparisons. Organise the report into a clear overview followed by focused paragraphs on positive features, negative features and major problems, using comparisons to connect the data.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage,” “throughout the period,” “dip,” and “decrease,” which helps communicate the general subject and direction of change. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for an academic report: “beautiful things” and “amazing thing” are subjective, while “bad things” is informal. Phrases such as “those things which are the big issue” are also unclear, and “steep decrease” overstates the change in cost of living. Repeated use of “things” limits precision. Use neutral labels from the charts, such as “advantages,” “disadvantages,” and “major problems,” and choose trend language that matches the scale of the change.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including a contrast clause with “while” and a time sequence using “before” and “after which.” These structures make the basic relationships understandable. However, agreement errors recur: “the range of shops were,” “the transport were,” “cost of living were,” and “the litter were” should use singular verbs. Articles and sentence construction are also inconsistent, as in “illustrates proportion” and “at the beginning, living in london.” The opening sentence is long and awkwardly assembled, which makes the relationship between the line graph and the issues less clear. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and build shorter, controlled sentences before adding more complex clauses.

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