Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-04

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)

Loans taken by Little Chalfont Library is summarized using different charts.

The pie chart shows the percentage of loans taken by different age grades with the highest being for adults between eighteen to sixty four years and the lowest being for adults of sixty five years and above.

The table categorized the loan based on the time of book and age grades.children’s fiction and adult fiction has the highest percentage of thirty eight while the children’s DVD’s has the lowest percentage of one.

In a bar chart, the total number of loans from 2007 to 2026 was shown. The amount of loans were drawn against the years. The lowest was five thousand and the highest was twenty five thousand. However, within the stipulated years, the highest amount of loan taken was between twenty thousand and twenty five thousand and the years involved are 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The lowest amount of loan taken was between fiveteen thousand and twenty thousand in 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all three charts, but the analysis is superficial. While you identify some main features, such as the highest and lowest age groups, the report lacks a clear overview or a summary of the most significant trends. The description of the bar chart is particularly problematic; you describe the range of values rather than the actual trend (e.g., the decline in loans over time). Furthermore, the data interpretation is occasionally inaccurate, such as stating the lowest loan amount was in 2007 when the chart shows a different trend. To improve, focus on identifying the 'big picture' trends and ensuring data points are accurately transcribed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. The use of cohesive devices is limited and repetitive (e.g., 'The lowest was...', 'The highest was...'). There is a lack of linking words to connect the data points or to show comparisons between the different charts. To reach a higher band, you should use a wider variety of cohesive devices (e.g., 'In contrast', 'Furthermore', 'Conversely') to create a more fluid narrative between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. You rely heavily on simple descriptors like 'highest' and 'lowest'. There is also a spelling error ('fiveteen') and some awkward phrasing, such as 'time of book' instead of 'category of book' or 'genre'. To improve, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to data description, such as 'fluctuated', 'peaked', 'remained stable', or 'accounted for'. Expanding your range of synonyms will help you avoid repeating the same sentence structures and word choices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. For example, 'Loans taken... is summarized' should be 'are summarized' (subject-verb agreement). There are also issues with punctuation and capitalization, such as 'children’s DVD’s' (incorrect apostrophe usage) and 'In a bar chart' (unnecessary article). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent use of tense when describing data.

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

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