Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-22

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 charts shown in the picture depict the best and worst things about living in London and the line graph shows the major problems in the city. The charts and graph are the visual representaion of a survey conducted over a three-year period.

The first bar chart represents the best things in London according to the people. Among those range of shops holds the first rank followed by job opportunities, mixture of people, museums and art galleries, night life and transport.

The range of shops conceded 45% vote in the year 1 followed by nearly 42% and 43% vote in the next two consecutive years. The opportunities for job had a greater vote in the first year which experienced a decrease in the next two years. The mixture of people possesses the third position among the best things with nearly 37% vote in the first two years which slightly reduced in the third year. People voted for museums and galleries and night life in a rising pattern. The transport faced a lower vote in the second year which surprisingly increased in the year three.

However, the range of shops remains as the best thing in the city with an average 43% vote.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify several relevant features of the first chart, including the leading position of the range of shops and the lower ranking of transport, and you give some supporting figures. However, the task presents three visuals, while your report discusses only the best things about London. The worst things chart and the line graph on litter, air quality and noise are entirely omitted, so the response addresses the task only minimally. There are also inaccuracies: job opportunities were 38% in Year 1, not simply described as having a “greater vote” before falling, and the mixture-of-people figure was 36% in the first two years, rather than nearly 37%. Include an overview comparing all three visuals and select key trends from each.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic, understandable sequence: an introduction, a paragraph describing the first chart, and a concluding statement about the range of shops. Phrases such as “followed by” and “However” help connect some points. Nevertheless, there is no clear progression through the full set of visuals, and the report stops after the first chart, leaving the overall organisation incomplete. Several details are presented as a list of rankings rather than grouped into meaningful comparisons, while “The range of shops” is repeated in the final sentence without adding a broader overview. Organise the body into sections covering the positive features, negative features and major problems, and use comparisons to guide the reader between them.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonably varied set of terms for describing survey results, including “first rank,” “decrease,” “rising pattern” and “average,” and the intended meaning is generally clear. There are, however, some inaccurate or unnatural choices and collocations. “Conceded 45% vote” does not naturally describe a survey result; “received 45% of responses” would be clearer. “The opportunities for job” is an awkward phrase, and “possesses the third position” is unnecessarily formal and imprecise. There is also a spelling error in “representaion.” Aim for accurate, natural chart-report language and check spelling; a wider range of precise terms would make the descriptions more effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including longer sentences with clauses such as “which experienced a decrease in the next two years,” and most of the message remains understandable. Some grammatical errors and awkward constructions are present. For example, “Among those range of shops holds the first rank” lacks a clear grammatical structure, and “The mixture of people possesses the third position” uses an unsuitable verb pattern. In “The range of shops conceded 45% vote,” the article and sentence construction are also problematic. Work on articles, countable nouns and sentence patterns used to report percentages. More consistently accurate complex sentences would strengthen the report while preserving the variety you already attempt.

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