Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-19

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 4.5)

THE COMPARE BAR AND LINE GRAPH DEPICTS THE RESULTS OF A SURVEY CONDUCTED IN THREE YEARS IN THE CITY OF LONDON.

OVERALL, IT IS READILY APPARENT THAT IN BAR GRAPH COST OF LIVING WAS HIGHEST IN THE 1ST YEAR,WHILE THE MOST OF THE INDIVIDUALS PROBLEM WAS LITTER IN THE GVEN PASSAGE OF TIME.

IN DETAIL,THE BAR GRAPS STARTING FROM COST OF LIVING 1ST YEAR

WAS 57%.HOWEVER,NEGLIGABLE DIFFERENCE OF 1% WAS WITNESSED

IN 2ND AND 3RD YEAR.BY CONTRAST,TRAFFIC CONGESTION WAS IN 1ST AND 2ND YEAR WAS 56% WHICH WAS IN SIMILAR .THE THIRD YEAR WAS ACCOUNTED AS 50 PERCENT. IN THE FIGURES OF CRIME IN 1ST,2ND AND 3RD YEAR WAS 56%,38% AND 40%.THE COST OF LIVING WAS ACCOUNTED AS AROUND 38 PERCENT IN ALL YEARS. WHERAS,TRANSPORT WAS LOWEST IN THE LAST 2 YEARS.

ANALYSING FURTHER,THE LITTER WAS HOVERED BETWEEN 75 AND 68.

NEVERTHELESS , A DISPARITY OF 10 WAS OBESERVED IN AIR QUALITY AND NOISE, IN THE GIVEN PASSAGE OF TIME.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The report identifies some relevant features, including the high first-year figure for cost of living and litter as a major problem, but coverage of the charts is very limited and several comparisons are inaccurate or unclear. For example, traffic congestion was about 56% in Years 1 and 2, but around 49% in Year 3, not 50%; the claim that cost of living was around 38% in all years is incorrect (it was approximately 57%, 49% and 50%). The litter figures are also misreported: they were about 70%, 75% and 65%, rather than hovering between 75 and 68. The response largely omits the positive features chart and gives little overview of the main patterns. Select key trends from all three visuals and report them accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the report, with an opening, an overview and two detail paragraphs. The sequence from cost of living to other problems and then to litter, air quality and noise gives the reader some sense of progression. However, the positive-features chart is not integrated, and several sentences are difficult to follow because ideas are joined awkwardly, as in “traffic congestion was in 1st and 2nd year was 56% which was in similar.” Linking expressions such as “however,” “by contrast” and “nevertheless” are used, but sometimes do not show a clear relationship between the figures. Group the information by chart or by positive and negative features, and use simpler, clearer links between comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-relevant vocabulary, including “survey,” “traffic congestion,” “air quality” and “disparity,” and attempts to describe change with “hovered.” This gives it a minimally adequate range for reporting the charts. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “the most of the individuals problem,” “the bar graphs starting from,” and “was accounted as.” Spelling errors, including “negligable,” “graps” and “wheras,” also reduce clarity. Aim for precise chart language and familiar collocations rather than formal-sounding phrases that do not fit the meaning. For example, use “the proportion of respondents” and “stood at” when introducing percentages.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The report attempts some complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while,” “however” and “which,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in sentence construction make several statements hard to interpret, particularly “traffic congestion was in 1st and 2nd year was 56% which was in similar.” There are also problems with articles, agreement and tense, as in “in bar graph cost of living was highest” and “the litter was hovered.” Punctuation is frequently missing or misplaced, with spaces omitted after commas and full stops, which further disrupts reading. Build accurate short sentences first—for example, “Traffic congestion stood at 56% in Years 1 and 2”—then add complex clauses only when their structure is secure.

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