Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-03

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 information about the age of public library members in a town called little Chalfont, while the bar chart demonstrates the total numbers of loans from 2007 to 2016.

Overall, in 2016, adults aged 18-64 contributed more than half of the total, while adults of age 65 and over made up less than 13% of the library members. Meanwhile, in 2016, the number of loans was at its peak.

To begin with, children accounted 22% of the total library members, while the young adults and adults aged 65 and over contributed less than 16% of the total. However, people aged 18-64 made up 51% of the library members.

In addition, the number of loans fluctuated from 2007 to 2016, it started from slightly above than 15000. Moreover, in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the number of loans was above than 20,000 and in 2016, the number of debt was at its peak.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by identifying key features from the charts, such as the membership distribution and the loan trends over time. However, some parts are only partially covered or lack precision. For instance, the student mislabels the pie chart as a 'pie chart' when it actually represents membership proportions, and the third chart (the table showing loan categories) is completely omitted. The overview touches upon the peak year and membership highlights, but the development of ideas remains somewhat limited and under-developed, particularly when reporting specific percentages and figures from the data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the writing into an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different visual elements. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transition phrases like 'To begin with' and 'In addition' are used, but referencing and logical progression can be clunky, as seen in the sudden shift to loan figures without smooth signposting. Logical flow between sentences occasionally stumbles, which keeps the organizational progression from feeling entirely seamless.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic concepts and data points. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'flunctuated' (though misspelled) and 'peak', but accuracy is inconsistent. There are noticeable lexical inaccuracies, such as referring to library loans as 'the number of debt', which causes significant confusion for the reader regarding the subject matter. Spelling errors, such as 'little' instead of 'Little' and 'flunctuated', alongside awkward word choices, indicate a limited range that requires careful handling to avoid communication breakdown.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that restrict control. Examples of errors include awkward prepositional phrases like 'accounted 22%' (missing 'for'), 'above than 15000' (mixing 'above' and 'more than'), and a run-on sentence structure in the final paragraph ('the number of loans fluctuated from 2007 to 2016, it started from slightly above than 15000'). These errors require some effort to parse, though they do not entirely obscure the overall meaning.

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