Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-19

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 piechart and table illustrate the outcomes of a survey of library users at a university. Overall, the full-time undergraduate students accessed library the most and academic staff used it the least, and the users are very satisfied with the kindness of staff and are least satisfied with the availability of journals.

The full-time undergraduate students used library the most with them being the highest at 44%. Followed by, the full-time postgraduate students being the second highest with around 25%. Part-time post graduate students were the third highest with 16%. However, Distance learning is the second lowest category with only 8%. And the lowest category of the library users are the academic staff with only 7%.

95% memebers of the library users are most satisfied by helpfuness of staff and, 5% of them are fairly happy. 65% of the accessed members are very satisfied with the library opening hours and, 35% of them are barely satisfied. 50% of the users highly agree with the availabilty of books. 0% of them barely agree and, 0% of them do not agree at all. 45% of the users are most satisfied with the availabilty of journals, 35% fairly agree and 20% don't accept this. 48% users are most satisfied with the reliability of wifi, 33% are fairly satisfied and 19% do not accept this.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main features of the data, including the breakdown of user categories and the satisfaction levels. You provided a clear overview and supported your points with relevant figures. However, the response could be improved by making more direct comparisons between the categories rather than simply listing them. For instance, noting that undergraduate students are more than six times as numerous as academic staff would provide a more analytical approach. Additionally, ensure that all data points are accurately represented; your description of the satisfaction survey is generally clear, but the reporting of percentages could be more concise to avoid a repetitive list-like structure.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into three distinct paragraphs: an introduction, a summary of user categories, and a summary of satisfaction levels. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'Overall' to guide the reader. However, the flow within the second and third paragraphs is somewhat mechanical. The frequent use of 'the' before categories and the repetitive sentence structures (e.g., 'The... were the...') make the progression feel a bit disjointed. Using a wider variety of linking phrases and pronouns would help improve the flow and make the relationships between the data points more explicit.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. You use terms like 'outcomes', 'category', and 'satisfied' appropriately. However, there are some minor errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'helpfuness' (helpfulness) and 'memebers' (members). Furthermore, some phrasing is slightly unnatural, such as 'barely satisfied' or 'do not accept this' when describing survey results. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations, such as 'the majority of respondents' or 'a significant proportion', rather than relying on simple percentage-based descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies. For example, 'accessed library' is missing an article, and 'Followed by, the full-time postgraduate students being...' is a fragmented sentence. There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage throughout the text. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on consistent article usage and ensuring that every sentence has a clear subject and finite verb will significantly improve your accuracy.

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