Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-17

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 graphs compare the best things and the worst things about residency in the capital city of England while the line graph depicts its major problems over the period of three years.

Overall, it can be observed clearly that the range of shops is the most superlative facility in all years, while the cost of living and traffic congestion are the awful factors for the city. Moreover, litter becomes the leading problem and reached at its peak in the second year.

Looking into the bar graphs, range of shopes is the most finest factor in all three years with the ratio of roughly 48% in first year, 40% in second year and 41% in third year. Job opportunities and mixture of people remains almost the same with the increase in first year in job opprtunities for about 385 and a slight decrwase in the second and third year with the difference of 2%. Night life and transport were the least common things. However, the worst things have cost of living in the the top tier with an increased proportion in the first year for about 58%. Trasnsport has the minor impact.

Turning towrds the line graph, a sharp peak is observed in the second year in terms of litter with 75%. Air quality has the slight decrease with the passage of time while noise is the least common among all three problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the three chart topics and provide a clear overall summary, noting that shops rank highly and litter is the leading problem, peaking in Year 2. Several key details, however, are inaccurate or insufficiently developed. The shops figures are given as roughly 48%, 40% and 41%, rather than about 45%, 42% and 43%; the job-opportunities figure is also unclear (“385”), and the claim that job opportunities and the mixture of people remain almost the same overlooks their different patterns. The worst-things chart is only briefly covered: traffic congestion is not compared across the years, and the cost-of-living trend is misrepresented as an increase when it falls and then rises slightly. Include accurate comparisons across all three charts to make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The report has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the bar charts and line graph. Transitions such as “Overall,” “Looking into the bar graphs,” and “Turning towards the line graph” help signal the stages of the description. The progression is generally understandable, but the bar-chart paragraph moves quickly between positive and negative features, and some comparisons are difficult to follow, particularly the sentence about job opportunities and the mixture of people. Grouping the positive and negative findings more clearly, then presenting the line-graph trends, would strengthen the organisation. Use linking phrases to show contrasts and changes rather than relying mainly on paragraph-opening transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “job opportunities,” “traffic congestion,” “air quality,” and “proportion,” so the main subject is clear. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “most superlative facility,” “most finest factor,” and “awful factors” do not suit a neutral data report. There are also spelling errors such as “shopes,” “opprtunities,” and “Trasnsport,” which make the writing less polished. Choose straightforward, accurate reporting language and check spelling carefully. For example, describe a category as “the most popular feature” and use “percentage” or “proportion” consistently when reporting figures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including an overview with a contrast and a sentence beginning “while the line graph depicts…”. Meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors reduce clarity. For example, “Job opportunities and mixture of people remains” has subject–verb disagreement and an omitted article; “in first year” needs an article; and “reached at its peak” uses an incorrect preposition. The sentence about job opportunities also lacks a clear grammatical structure, making its figures hard to interpret. Review agreement with plural subjects, articles before year references, and verb patterns such as “reached a peak.” More accurate sentence construction would make your comparisons easier to understand.

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

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