Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-24
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 different age of library members in 2016, while the table and the bar chart gives information about loans by various categories and total number of loans from 2007 to 2016.
Overall, adults accounted for by far the largest proportion, while adults 65 and over represented smallest group. Regarding categories of loans, children's fiction recorded at highest figure, whereas children's DVD's represented smallest portion. However, amount of debt fluctuated trhoughout the period of time.
Looking first at the age of library members, adults accounted for 51%, compared with 22% for children. Followed by young adults and 65+ represented smallest figure at 15% and 12% respectively. Meanswhile, both the children's fiction and the adultion fiction reccorded at 38%. Moreover, non-fiction adults was approximately twice as high as that of children's non-fiction, at 13% and 6% respectively. However, remaining categories of loans remained at 1-2%.
Turning to the number of loans, it was nearly 16k in 2007 and peaked at approximately 22k in 2011. Afterwards, it fell steadily to nearly 19k in 2013, before recovering to 23k in 2016.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to address all parts of the visual data by mentioning the pie chart, table, and bar chart. However, there are some data inaccuracies and misinterpretations. For instance, the writer states 'amount of debt fluctuated trhoughout the period of time', which is incorrect as the charts depict library loans, not debt. Additionally, the final data point for the bar chart is misread (stating 23k in 2016 when the chart shows around 21,700). An overview is provided, but it contains minor flaws. Because the response covers the main features and makes comparisons with some data errors, it satisfies the criteria for Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is structured into four paragraphs, including a clear introduction and separate body paragraphs for the different charts. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Looking first at', and 'Turning to' are used to guide the reader through the data. However, referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'Followed by young adults and 65+ represented smallest figure... Meanswhile, both the children's fiction and the adultion fiction reccorded at 38%'). Paragraphing is logical, but logical progression within sentences is sometimes disrupted by awkward phrasing and missing subjects. Overall coherence is maintained, placing this performance at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'proportion', 'category', 'recorded', and 'approximately'. However, there are several lexical errors and inappropriate word choices, such as 'amount of debt' instead of 'number of loans', and misspellings like 'trhoughout' and 'adultion'. Less common vocabulary attempts are sometimes awkward or imprecise. The range is sufficient to convey the main points, but errors in word choice and spelling prevent the response from achieving a higher band, aligning best with Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including comparative structures ('twice as high as that of') and time clauses ('before recovering to'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with incomplete sentence structures (e.g., 'Meanswhile, both the children's fiction and the adultion fiction reccorded at 38%' and fragments like 'Followed by young adults...'). Punctuation and spelling errors are also present. These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar performance at a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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