Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below give information about a public library in a town called Little Chalfont.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The charts illustrate the information about a public library in a town called Little Chalfont.

Overall, the library members are categorised as four age groups. Adults aged 18-64 are most intrested in lending books from the library and 2016 is the peak of total number of books loaned out with approximately 23000 books.

The popular genre among all the book categories is fiction. Both children's and adult fiction books are the most preferred with 38% each. It is followed by non-fiction books with adult contributing 13% and children's with 6%. Later on, Adult audio and young adults books loaned 2%.Children's DVD's are the least preferred with 1% contribution.

There is steady increase in the total number of books loaned between 2007 and 2016. Over 15000 books were on loan in 2007 and was increased to 22000 in 2011 and shown a slight decline in 2012 and 2013 ,later got increased from 2014 to 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important features, including the equal 38% shares for children’s and adult fiction, the small share for children’s DVDs, and the overall rise in loans across the period. However, the overview contains a significant misreading: 2016 was not the peak at approximately 23,000; the chart shows about 21,700, the highest figure, while the stated 23,000 is inaccurate. The age-group figures are also omitted, and saying adults aged 18–64 are most interested in borrowing is not directly supported by the membership chart. The response is 143 words, below the 150-word minimum. Include the age distribution and report the loan trend more precisely to cover the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, a brief overview, a paragraph on loan categories, and one on the time trend. This makes the main topics identifiable. However, the overview does not effectively guide the reader through all three visuals, particularly because it omits the age-group comparison. Some linking is mechanical or unclear, as in “It is followed by” and “Later on,” and the final trend sentence joins several stages with “later” rather than showing their relationships clearly. Improve progression by grouping the age and category data separately, then describing the loan trend in chronological order with precise contrasts such as the rise to 2011, the dip through 2013, and the subsequent recovery.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary such as “categorised,” “contribution,” “decline,” and “preferred,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, some choices are imprecise or awkward for describing these charts: “most interested in lending books” does not accurately express the membership data, while “books were on loan” suggests books currently borrowed rather than total loans over a year. “Adult audio” and “young adults books” are also unclear category labels. Spelling and punctuation around “intrested,” “DVD's,” and the spacing in “audio and” reduce accuracy. Use the chart’s category names consistently and choose precise terms such as “accounted for” or “loan totals.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and most of the intended meaning remains understandable. However, control becomes unreliable in the longer trend description. In “Over 15000 books were on loan in 2007 and was increased to 22000 in 2011,” the subject changes awkwardly and the verb form is incorrect; “and rose to” would make the structure clear. “...and shown a slight decline” also needs a finite verb, such as “before showing a slight decline.” There are punctuation problems where sentences run together, notably “2%.Children's,” and inconsistent comma spacing. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and divide multi-stage descriptions into complete, well-punctuated sentences.

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