Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-03

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart and table below show the results of a survey of library users at a university.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Categories of library users

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The diagrams illustrate the outcome of a survey of library users at a university.

Overall, most library users are the full time undergraduates while least users are the academic staff. Majority of library users are very satisfied from the helpfulness of the staff and they are not satisfied from the availability of journals.

In detail, approximately 44% of the library users at a university are the full time undergraduate students. Moreover, 25% are the full time postgraduate pupil. Meanwhile, part time postgraduate and the distance learning students are 16% and 8% respectively. The academic staff represents 7% at a university in a survey.

In terms of library users satisfaction, 95% individuals are very satisfied from helpfulness of staff but 5% are fairly satisfied. 65% library users are very satisfied from library opening hours. Number of very satisfied library users with regard to availability of books and journals are 50% and 45%. Reliability of wi-fi scored 48% very satisfied library users.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by summarizing both the chart and the table. You have successfully identified the main features, such as the dominance of full-time undergraduates and the high satisfaction levels regarding staff helpfulness. However, the report could be improved by providing more analytical comparisons rather than just listing data points. For instance, noting that the least satisfied group (journals) is significantly lower than the most satisfied group (staff helpfulness) would add depth. The overview is clear and provides a good summary of the main trends, which is essential for a high band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the user categories to satisfaction levels. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover', 'Meanwhile', and 'In terms of', which help the flow. However, the transition between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical, and the use of referencing could be more varied to avoid repetitive sentence structures. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to a coherent response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrate', 'outcome', and 'reliability'. However, there are some issues with word choice and collocation. For example, you write 'satisfied from' instead of the correct collocation 'satisfied with'. Additionally, 'pupil' is less appropriate in a university context than 'student'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and ensure that prepositions are used correctly with adjectives like 'satisfied'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, particularly with articles and prepositions. For instance, you use 'the' unnecessarily in 'the full time undergraduates' and 'the academic staff'. There are also minor errors such as 'least users' instead of 'the fewest users' and '95% individuals' instead of '95% of individuals'. These errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score.

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

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