Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-19

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 bar chart, table and pie chart illustrate the data of Little Chalfont library.

Overall, largest proportion is of adults members18-64. Most borrowed books were children and adult fiction. Numbers of borrowed books increased with each passing year.

In 2016, half of the share were contributed by adult members of aged 18-64. Second largest proportion was children at 22. Young adults contributes 15% of total, while adults 65 and above have the smallest share only 12%.

According to table figures, children and adult fiction were most borrowed 38%. Adult non-fiction was next at 13%. Children non-fiction stands at 6%. Young adults and adult audio books share the same figure 2%. Children DVDs was the least borrowed only 1%.

Finally the bar chart shows overall an increased in number over the period. In 2007 almost 15000 books were borrowed. In the next two years the figure remain constant and grew above 20000 in 2010. Later in 2013 it slightly decrease and grew approximately to 22000 in 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the charts and table. An overview is provided at the beginning, noting the dominant adult age group and the popularity of fiction, along with the upward trend in overall loans. Key data points are selected and compared, such as highlighting that adults aged 18-64 made up the largest proportion of members (51%) and that children's and adult fiction tied as the most borrowed categories at 38%. However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting the data: the student states that young adults contributed '15%' of total loans (whereas 15 is the number of young adult members, and their loan share was 2%), and there is a slight misreading of the 2010 loan figure (reported as above 20,000, which is correct, but minor imprecision occurs in other timeline points). Overall, the task is addressed reasonably well, earning a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged logically with a clear introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs addressing membership, loan categories, and the timeline respectively. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to group related information. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, the transition 'Finally the bar chart shows' is a bit abrupt, and referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'Young adults contributes...'). Cohesive devices are present but lack flexibility, resulting in a somewhat disjointed flow between sentences. Despite these flaws, there is a clear overall progression that guides the reader through the data, supporting a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully using terms such as 'proportion', 'category', 'constant', and 'approximately'. However, there are notable limitations and word-choice errors, such as 'largest proportion is of adults members18-64' (missing preposition/article and typo), 'adults of aged 18-64' (awkward phrasing), and 'an increased' instead of 'an increase'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some inaccuracy. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writing features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are often prone to errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'Young adults contributes' and tense or preposition errors such as 'figure remain constant' and 'grew approximately to'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Nevertheless, the meaning remains largely clear throughout, demonstrating the control characteristic of a Band 6.0.

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

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