Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-09

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 pie chart, table and bar graph depict the information about the public library readers and loans on the little Chalfont town in 2016.

Firstly, the largest percentage of readers in the Chalfont library was adults at 51 and followed by children at 22 percent. The difference of 3 percent was noticed between adults and elders members. Afterthat, the highest loan amount was seen in the category of children's fiction and adult fiction at 38 percent, whereas lowest was noticed in childrens dvd at 1 percent.

The debts taken for children's non-fiction books were 6 percent which was slightly double for adults non fiction. In 2007, the amount of loans was above 15000 and after 2008 it followed an upward trend and reached around 21000 in 2011. In 2013, the count of debts declined slightly near about at 19000 and in the following years the number of loans increased around at 22000.

Overall, in the Chalfont library, the majority of members were children and the highest amount of debts was taken for children and adult non fiction books and numbers of loans mostly following an upward trend during the period

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all three charts, identifying key features such as the reader demographics and loan trends. However, there are significant inaccuracies in data interpretation. For example, you state the majority of members were children, whereas the pie chart shows adults (51%) are the largest group. Additionally, you refer to 'debts' instead of 'loans' throughout the text, which changes the meaning of the data entirely. While you attempt to report main features, the misinterpretation of the data and the confusion between categories (e.g., stating children's fiction and adult fiction were both 38%) prevents a higher score. More careful attention to the labels and figures is required to ensure accuracy.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organised into logical paragraphs, moving from the pie chart to the table and finally the bar graph. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Afterthat', and 'Overall' to guide the reader. However, the use of 'Afterthat' is non-standard, and some transitions feel mechanical. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when discussing the bar graph trends. While the overall structure is coherent, the flow is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and the misuse of terminology, which impacts the clarity of the progression.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the main points, but there are persistent issues with word choice. The most significant error is the repeated use of 'debts' instead of 'loans'. 'Debts' implies money owed, whereas the task refers to library book borrowings. Other inaccuracies include 'adults at 51' (missing 'percent') and 'slightly double for adults non fiction'. While you attempt to use descriptive language, the misuse of key terms limits your ability to communicate precisely. Improving your grasp of topic-specific vocabulary is essential for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'the information about the public library readers and loans on the little Chalfont town' (preposition error) and 'the highest loan amount was seen in the category of children's fiction and adult fiction at 38 percent' (subject-verb agreement/logic). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are missing articles and awkward phrasing throughout. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to suggest a lack of control over more complex structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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