Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-16
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 5.0)
The chart and table demonstrate the university users' survey in library. Where it compairs the main features of information.
The chart shows categories of library users, where the highest proportion of library users is from full-time undergraduates. And the surge in use of about 8% to 7% for academic staff and distance learning while on the others hand the more elevated part of the satisfaction level of library user
basically,
The pie chart illustrates the five different categories of library users, and the table shows the percentage of satisfaction of library users.
Overall, full-time undergraduates made up the largest proportion of library users, while the smallest percentage of library used by academic staff. However, the helpfulness of staff received the highest satisfaction, and the other categories showed various levels of satisfaction.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, containing only 131 words, which significantly impacts Task Achievement. Furthermore, the text contains a fragmented, repetitive opening paragraph ('The chart and table demonstrate the university users survey... basically,') before restarting with a more coherent attempt. While the writer correctly identifies the largest group of users (full-time undergraduates at 44%) and the highest satisfaction category (helpfulness of staff at 95%), the overview is incomplete and key features such as the lowest satisfaction category (availability of journals at 20% not satisfied) or other specific user categories are omitted or poorly reported. The overall summary attempts to capture the core data, but the lack of sufficient development and word length prevents it from reaching a higher band score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text suffers from poor structural organization and fragmented drafting. The response begins with a broken introductory section that trails off into incomplete phrases and the stray word 'basically,' before restarting with a second introduction. Paragraphing is disrupted by these disjointed writing blocks and trailing line breaks. Although cohesive devices like 'Overall' and 'while' are used towards the end to signal contrast, the overall logical progression is severely undermined by the disjointed flow and lack of clear transitional development between the chart data and the satisfaction table.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The lexical range is limited and basic. The student relies heavily on simple vocabulary drawn directly from the prompt, such as 'chart', 'table', 'categories', 'library users', and 'satisfaction'. There are awkward lexical choices and phrasing, such as 'university users survey in library' and 'the smallest percentage of library used by academic staff' (missing a verb). While some standard academic terms like 'proportion', 'largest', and 'percentage' are used correctly, attempts at less common vocabulary are either absent or marred by collocation and word-formation errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The grammatical range is restricted, consisting mostly of simple and attempted complex sentences that contain frequent errors. There are noticeable structural issues, such as sentence fragments ('Where it compairs the main features of information.') and misuse of subordinate clauses starting with 'Where' or 'And' where main clauses are required. Errors like 'compairs' (spelling), 'the surge in use of about 8% to 7%' (awkward/incorrect phrasing), and missing verbs ('percentage of library used') detract from clarity, though meaning can still generally be discerned despite the frequent slips.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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