Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-12

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 charts illustrate a public library data in a city known as Little Chalfont for a specific timeframe.

Overall, the pie chart shows that the majority of members was in Adults (18-64) group, meanwhile Children's fiction and Adult fiction loan were the higest.

The data (2016) shows that there were four categories of members, where the age group of 65 and over intake the lowest proportion of the membership, consisting of 12%. In contrast, Adults (18-64) were taking the largest share, comprising 51%. Childrens were constituting the second group (22%), Young adults (15%), followed by.

As for loans, Children's fiction and Adult fiction were taking first place with 38%. Children's non-fiction 6%, Children's DVDs 1%, Young adults 2%, Adult non-fiction 38% and Adult audio books 2%, respectively.

Total loans over the time were increasing, at 2016 it reached near 22,000.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main membership group and the two leading loan categories, and include several relevant figures. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not describe the decade-long loan trend, and the final sentence only says loans increased, although the figures fluctuate after rising from about 15,700 to 19,000 and then reach roughly 21,700 in 2016. There is also a significant data error: adult non-fiction accounts for 13%, not 38%; 38% applies to adult fiction. The membership details are reported, but the loan categories and trend are not fully and accurately summarised. The response is also 10 words below the required minimum, limiting the development of the report. A fuller overview and accurate selection of key comparisons would strengthen task coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for membership and loans. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is uneven, particularly in the membership paragraph, where “followed by” is left unfinished, and the loan figures are presented as a list rather than grouped into meaningful comparisons. Linking is also sometimes awkward: “meanwhile” does not clearly connect the two overview points, while “respectively” does not fit the preceding list. To improve, complete each comparison, organise related figures together, and use clear transitions to guide the reader from membership to loan categories and then to the trend over time.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “largest share,” “comprising,” and “categories,” which helps communicate the data. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “a public library data,” “intake the lowest proportion,” and “were taking first place.” “Higest” is also misspelled, and “Children’s fiction and Adult fiction loan” is awkwardly formed. These choices make parts of the report less precise, even though the general meaning is usually recoverable. Aim for standard reporting expressions such as “accounted for,” “represented,” and “the number of loans,” and check spelling and possessive forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, for example, “The data (2016) shows that there were four categories of members, where…” However, control is inconsistent. In “the majority of members was,” the subject–verb agreement is incorrect; “the age group of 65 and over intake” also has a faulty verb construction. The phrase “Childrens were constituting” has an incorrect possessive form and an awkward tense pattern, while “at 2016 it reached” uses an incorrect preposition. The unfinished “followed by” also leaves the sentence incomplete. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the broad message, but they reduce accuracy. Use straightforward sentence patterns reliably, then check agreement, tense, articles, and prepositions before adding longer clauses.

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

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