Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The pie chart and table illustrates the categories of library users and their satisfaction measured in percentage
Overall, the pie chart demonstrate that full-time undergraduate uses the library most and academic staff uses the library the least. Furthermore most user are very satisfied with the services provided in the library.
A detailed analysis of the pie chart shows that the largest proportion of user in the library are full-time undergraduate, accounting for 44%. Following this one-fifth of the users are full-time postgraduate; meanwhile, the reamining users are divided between part-time postgraduate, distance learning and academic staff. while 16% users are part-time postgraduate and nearly one-tenth(8%) are distance learning, another 7% are academic staff.
The table clearly shows that 65% of user are very satisfied in opening hours and remaning are fairly satisfied and almost all the user are very satisfied with staff help, accounting for 95% while others are fairly satisfied. On the other hand half of the users are very satisfied with a varity of books and 40% are fairly while 10% are not satisfied and 45% are very satisfied with 35% fairly satisfied and 20% not satisfied on the availablity of journals. At last nearly half (48%) are very satisfied and 33% are fairly satisfied with reamining not satisfied on the reliability of wi-fi.
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 response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both the pie chart and the table. An adequate overview is provided, highlighting that full-time undergraduates are the largest user group and that academic staff form the smallest, alongside a general trend of high satisfaction. Key data points are correctly cited, such as full-time undergraduates at 44% and staff helpfulness at 95%. However, there is a minor mathematical misinterpretation in the text: the student writes that 'one-fifth of the users are full-time postgraduate', whereas the chart clearly shows 25%, which is one-quarter rather than one-fifth. Despite this minor inaccuracy, the information is generally well-reported with relevant comparisons made throughout, meeting the criteria for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is logically organized into four paragraphs, moving from an introduction and overall statement to detailed body paragraphs about the chart and then the table. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'Furthermore', 'A detailed analysis', and 'On the other hand'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or repetitive, particularly in the final paragraph where sentences are strung together with repetitive conjunctions and missing punctuation. Paragraphing is present and helps structure the response, but paragraph boundaries and internal flow could be handled with greater precision to achieve a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'proportion', 'category', 'satisfaction', and 'availability'. There are, however, several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'illustrates' (used with plural subject 'chart and table'), 'reamining' (remaining), 'varity' (variety), 'availablity' (availability), and 'uses' instead of 'use' for plural nouns. Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the score from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as introductory subordinate clauses ('A detailed analysis of the pie chart shows that...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout. Notably, there are subject-verb agreement errors ('chart and table illustrates', 'full-time undergraduate uses', 'most user are'), missing punctuation and capitalization at sentence boundaries, and missing articles ('with 35% fairly satisfied'). While the meaning remains clear, the accumulation of grammatical errors keeps this criterion at a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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