Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-13
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 presents the proportions about the categories of library users in the library at a university , while the table illustrates percentages of pupils satisfaction .
Overall , full-time undergraduate have the highest percentage compared to other categories . In contrast , academic staff present lowest category percentage . While helpfulness of staff reached the peak of the satisfied users moreover the rest of them have high measures in very satisfied . In contrast, availability of books have the lowest proportion about not satisfied users.
The percentage of full-time undergraduate and full-time postgraduate have high presence with 44% and 25% respectively . In addition distance learning and academic staff dropped to 8% and 7% respectively .Whereas part-time postgraduate demonstrate 16% of categories used.
Helpfulness of staff peaked to 95% about very satisfied users and 5% who fairly are .
Library opening hours rose to 65% of satisfied users and about 35% who fairly do. in addition , half of users which is 50% are very satisfied about availability of books while 40% of them are barely satisfied , In contrast 10% are not satisfied . Whereas , availability of journals and reliability of wi-fi presents 45% and 48% of most satisfied pupils furthermore 35% and 33% are fairly satisfied ,while 20% and 19% of them aren't satisfied respectively .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response successfully covers both the pie chart and the table, outlining the main features and making relevant comparisons. The student identifies that full-time undergraduates are the largest user group (44%) and academic staff the smallest (7%), while also noting key trends in user satisfaction, such as the high satisfaction with staff helpfulness (95%). However, some data points are misreported or slightly imprecise (for example, stating that availability of books has the lowest proportion of 'not satisfied' users when the table shows 10%, which is higher than some other categories). While all parts of the task are addressed, some details are slightly inaccurate or under-developed, aligning the response with a Band 6.0 descriptor.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged coherently, with an introductory overview and subsequent paragraphs dividing the data between the pie chart and the table. Paragraphing is attempted, though grouping is somewhat fragmented, with very short paragraphs breaking the flow. Cohesive devices such as 'while', 'in contrast', and 'respectively' are used to connect ideas, but their application is sometimes repetitive or slightly mechanical (e.g., the repeated use of 'in contrast' and 'whereas'). Referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of information lacks seamless integration between sentences, fitting the Band 6 profile well.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, including terms like 'proportions', 'percentages', 'categories', and 'reliability'. There are several noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'pupils satisfaction' instead of 'student satisfaction', 'present lowest category percentage' instead of 'represent the lowest category percentage', and 'barely satisfied' where the chart indicates another metric. Spelling is generally accurate, but lexical control is inconsistent, leading to some awkward phrasing that reflects a Band 5.5 to 6.0 level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and comparative structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors involving subject-verb agreement and preposition use, such as 'full-time undergraduate have' instead of 'full-time undergraduates have', 'availability of books have' instead of 'availability of books has', and punctuation errors around commas and conjunctions. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from achieving a Band 6.5, making Band 6.0 the most appropriate score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.