Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-20

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 given bar graphs and line graph illustrates a three year survey proportion to demonstrate what people in London think about their city.

Overall, range of shops was considered the best part with 45% while cost of living, traffic congestion and crime were the worst with approximately 60%. Littering was also a major problem with 75%.

Throughout the years, shops, job opportunities, mixture of people and museums and art galleries remained the best things exceeding 30% whereas cost of iving, traffic congestion and crime were the worst exceeding 55%. Night life and transport were least best things below the 30% mark while cost of housing and transport were least worst with nearly 35%. Air quality was a much bigger problem with 65% than noise with 59% in year 1-2. Both declined in year 3.

In general, the worst parts were more of a problem than the best parts in London.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The report identifies relevant features from all three visuals and gives an overview, including the prominence of shops among the positive aspects and litter as a major concern. Several comparisons are broadly accurate: shops lead the best-things chart in Year 1, and litter peaks at about 75% in Year 2. However, some claims blur the years or overstate the data. Cost of living, congestion and crime are not all around 60% throughout: by Year 3, for example, crime is about 40% and congestion about 49%. The statement that air quality was a bigger problem than noise “with 65%” also does not clearly distinguish the years. Select key trends more precisely and anchor comparisons to specific years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph of comparisons and a concluding generalisation. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is weakened by grouping many categories into long lists, such as “shops, job opportunities, mixture of people and museums and art galleries,” without explaining how their trends differ. The final sentence repeats the broad idea that negative aspects are more problematic rather than adding a useful comparison. Some links between points are also unclear, particularly the shift from best features to worst features and then to air quality and noise. Organise the body by chart or by clear positive-versus-negative comparisons, and use more precise linking.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “declined,” “major problem” and “exceeding,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, several choices are inaccurate or awkward for this report: “survey proportion” does not naturally describe the survey, “least best things” is unclear, and “least worst” is an unsuitable construction. “Littering” refers to the act of dropping rubbish, whereas the chart category is “litter.” There is also a spelling error in “iving.” These issues limit precision when describing the data. Use the chart’s category labels accurately and choose standard comparison phrases such as “least popular positive features” and “least frequently cited drawbacks.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is an attempt to use both simple and more complex forms, including the contrast in “Air quality was a much bigger problem … than noise” and the time reference “Both declined in year 3.” Some sentences communicate the intended comparisons clearly. However, errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction remain noticeable. The opening says “graphs and line graph illustrates,” where the plural subject requires a plural verb; “a three year survey proportion” is also not a well-formed noun phrase. Missing articles in phrases such as “range of shops” and “in year 3” affect accuracy, and the long sentence beginning “Throughout the years” becomes difficult to follow. Check subject–verb agreement and article use, and divide dense comparisons into shorter, controlled sentences.

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