Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12
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 pie chart and table below gives information about a survey of universities library users. The pie chart illustrates 5 types of library users such as full-time undergraduate, full-time postgraduate, part-time postgraduate, distance learning (all courses) and Academic staff. The table tells about the satisfaction rate of library users.
Overall, the percentage of library users of full-time undergraduate in the pie chart is higher than that of academic staff and the percentage of very satisfied users is higher in all of the cases while the not satisfied is mostly the lowest percentage.
In terms of pie chart, the most of the library users are full-time undergraduate and full-time postgraduate with 44% and 25% respectively. The part-time postgraduates has a 16% of hand in the universities library. The distance learning and academic staff are not frequent users of library so they are 8% and 7% in corresponding order.
As for the table, the 65% of library users are extremely satisfied by the opening hours, 95% are very satisfied by the assisting staff. The availablility of books, journals and reliability of wifi has the satisfaction of 50%, 45% and 48% respectively.The 35% of users are fairly satisfied by the opening hours of library and journals availablity, 40% are fairly satisfied by the availablity of books, 33% of library users are pretty satisfied by wifi's reliabilty and only 5% of staff helpfulness. 10%, 20% and 19% of the users are not satisfied by the availablity of books, journals, and wifi.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by presenting an overview of the pie chart and the table, alongside relevant comparisons. Key features are reported, such as the dominance of full-time undergraduates at 44% in the pie chart and the high satisfaction with assisting staff at 95% in the table. However, some data points are slightly over-detailed or listed mechanically without sufficient synthesis, which prevents the response from reaching the highest band. The overview accurately captures the main trends, noting the high proportion of undergraduates and the general skew toward higher satisfaction ratings across categories.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is logically organized into four paragraphs, following a standard introduction, overview, and two body paragraphs dedicated to the chart and table respectively. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'In terms of', and 'As for the table'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty, as seen in phrases like 'The part-time postgraduates has a 16% of hand' or 'In terms of pie chart', which feel slightly mechanical and lack smooth integration. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different graphical elements.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common phrases such as 'satisfaction rate', 'extremely satisfied', and 'corresponding order'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout the text, including 'universities library' instead of 'university library', '16% of hand', and 'availablity' (spelling error repeated). Furthermore, terms like 'pretty satisfied' are too informal for an academic report. These inaccuracies restrict the lexical score to a band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several subject-verb agreement errors, such as 'The part-time postgraduates has' and 'The availablity... has the satisfaction'. Additionally, missing articles ('in terms of pie chart', 'opening hours of library') and preposition issues ('satisfied by' instead of 'satisfied with') detract from the overall control. While these errors do not impede communication, 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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