Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-29

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 line and two bar graphs illustarte the conclusions of a survey conducted over a three period to identify what people think of the city who lived in London.

Overview, the survey of two bar graphs shows the best and worst things about living in London, best thing is the range of shops available and mixture of people is similar in both the years and the worst thing is cost of living.The line graph describes the major problems is litter in London.

The best things about living in London is the range of shops are about 45 % in the first year, and the mixture of people is equal in both the years about 36 %. The worst thing of living in London is the cost of living with 58 percent and the traffic congestion with 55 percent for both the years one and two is similar and crime is about 55 percent.

The major problems in London described by the people are the litter, air quality and noise. In the first year the litter was more according to the people it was 70 percent and it was increased maximum in the year two with 75 percent and slowly decline in year three. There is no increase in both air quaility and noise it gradually decline over the years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the three chart topics and give a relevant overview, noting that shops are a leading positive feature and litter is the most prominent problem. However, the overview is not fully accurate: the mixture of people is not consistently similar across the years, and the worst feature changes rather than being cost of living throughout. The body also misreports crime as about 55% in Year 1, when it is about 56% but falls to roughly 38% in Year 2 and 40% in Year 3; it omits several important comparisons, including the changes in cost of living and crime. You describe the litter trend accurately, but the other data are only briefly covered. Select key trends more precisely and support the overview with comparisons across all three years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the positive and negative features and the major problems. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, particularly where the positive and negative categories are combined in the same paragraph and the phrase “both the years” does not specify which years are being compared. Linking is also limited, with repeated use of “and” and “the” rather than clear signals for contrast or change. Grouping the two bar charts into a paragraph each, then treating the line graph separately, and using links such as “by contrast” and “while” would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “survey,” “major problems,” “traffic congestion,” “gradually decline,” and “percent,” so the reader can generally understand the subject. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “the conclusions of a survey” for its results and “the worst thing of living in London.” There are also spelling errors in “illustarte” and “quaility,” and repeated use of “thing” and “people” makes the report less precise. Use standard data-reporting expressions and vary terms for categories and trends. More accurate vocabulary would help you describe the figures and comparisons clearly without relying on general wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the meaning is usually recoverable. However, control is inconsistent, especially in sentence structure and agreement. For example, “the city who lived in London” uses an unsuitable relative clause, while “The best things about living in London is” has a plural subject with a singular verb. The sentence beginning “The worst thing of living in London is…” becomes difficult to follow as several comparisons are joined together. Articles, punctuation, and sentence boundaries also need attention; the overview runs categories together after “cost of living.” Practise building clear comparison sentences with accurate subject–verb agreement, and separate related points into complete sentences.

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