Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-14
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)
A pie chart and the table showcase a survey conducted from library users at a university.
Both the pie chart and the table reveal different details. While pie chart shows most users are full-time, the table illustrates most users were pleased on most of the time, but there was certain level of dissatisfation on couple of points.
While looking at categories of library users, the full-time undergraduate are 44%, which is in the largest proportion. Full-time undergraduates are followed by full-time postgraduate with 25%. Furthermore, part-time postgraduates, distrance learners, and academic staff are 16%, 8% and 7%, respectively.
Overall, users are largely satisfied with helpfulness of staff with 95% opting for very satisfied option, and only 5 with fairly satisfied. 65% and 50% of users said they are very satisfied, and 30% and 40% choose fairly satisfied, when asked about library opening hours and availability of books. Generely there was sort of dissatisfaction in terms of availability of books and reliability of wifi. 20% were not satisfied with presence of journal, while 19% were not satisfied with reliability of wifi.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student makes a good attempt to summarize the main features from both the pie chart and the table. They correctly identify key categories, such as full-time undergraduates representing the largest proportion at 44%, and appropriately report data regarding user satisfaction levels across various library services like opening hours and staff helpfulness. However, there is a tendency to generalize certain points without fully synthesizing all available data, and some specific percentages are omitted or slightly imprecise, such as noting 'only 5 with fairly satisfied' instead of a percentage. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed, placing this response at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into distinct paragraphs, creating a coherent overall arrangement. The student attempts to guide the reader using transition markers like 'While looking at categories...' and 'Overall, users are largely satisfied...'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the second paragraph opens with abrupt sentence structures ('While pie chart shows...'), and the connection between the satisfaction metrics could be smoother. Paragraphing is used, but logical progression between ideas falters slightly in the final section, resulting in a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to successfully report statistical information ('proportion', 'respectively', 'availability'). There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are accompanied by lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'survey conducted from library users', 'certain level of dissatisfation', and 'presence of journal'. Spelling errors like 'distrance' and 'Generely' also occur. While these do not heavily impede communication, the recurring slips and limited flexibility restrict the lexical score to Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing subordinating clauses ('While pie chart shows...', 'when asked about...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text, including missing articles ('A pie chart and the table showcase a survey conducted from library users', 'the full-time undergraduate are 44%'), subject-verb agreement issues ('most users were pleased on most of the time', 'full-time undergraduates are followed by full-time postgraduate'), and preposition errors ('pleased on most of the time'). These errors occasionally cause difficulty or require rereading, aligning with the Band 5.0 descriptor.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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