Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-13
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 illustrates the proportion of readers of Little Chalfont Library based on their age in 2016. In addition, a table records the information of total loans of every category of books in that year, and a bar chart depicts the total number of loans from 2007 to 2016.
Overall, the numbers of adult readers who age from 18 years to 64 years are the highest, and the adults who are 65 years old or over are the lowest among all members. Additionally, the loans for children's fiction and adult fiction are the highest, and the loans for children's DVDs are the lowest among all categories in 2016. Again, the total number of loans between 2007 and 2016 has fluctuated and shows a small growth.
In 2016, the adults who are 65 years old or over are total 12 being the smallest, and adults from 18 years old to 64 years old are 51 in total being the largest number. Young adults from 13 years old to 17 years old are 15, and the children members are 12 in total members. In the same year, the loans for children's fiction and adult fiction are 38% of each having the highest rank, while Children's DVDs only has 1% loan, having the lowest rank among all categories.
Between 2007 and 2016, the numbers of loans show a fluctuation and a small growth in this period starting from around 16,000 in 2007 and reaching its peak to approximately 22,000 in 2016.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response successfully covers all three visual representations provided in the prompt: the pie chart, the table, and the bar chart. You provide a clear overview in the second paragraph, identifying the main features such as the dominant age group (18-64), the highest book loan categories, and the overall upward trend in loans over the decade. However, the data details provided in the third paragraph are somewhat inaccurate or confusingly expressed. For instance, stating that 'adults who are 65 years old or over are total 12' misinterprets the data, as the pie chart likely represents percentages or specific member counts, and the phrasing is awkward. Despite this minor data interpretation lapse, the main trends are adequately reported and supported with appropriate comparisons.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into four distinct paragraphs, beginning with a clear introduction, followed by an overall summary, and two body paragraphs detailing the specific data. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Overall', 'Additionally', and 'while' are used to link ideas and guide the reader through the three charts. However, paragraphing and referencing within the body can feel a bit mechanical or repetitive, such as starting multiple sentences with 'In 2016, the adults...'. Overall progression is maintained, but smoother transitions and better integration of referencing pronouns would elevate the structural flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to data reporting such as 'proportion', 'category', 'fluctuated', and 'peak'. However, there are noticeable limitations and awkward word choices, such as 'who age from 18 years to 64 years' instead of 'aged 18 to 64', and 'total 12 being the smallest'. Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision and natural collocation. Spelling is generally accurate, but the range of vocabulary remains somewhat basic and repetitive.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'The pie chart illustrates...' and 'while Children's DVDs only has 1% loan'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing choices that disrupt the flow, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Children's DVDs only has') and clumsy descriptive structures ('adults from 18 years old to 64 years old are 51 in total being the largest number'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are present, they rarely impede overall communication of the data.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.