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 illustrates the results of a survey of library users at a university while the table provides the rate of satisfaction of library users. Library users are defined as those who visit the library.

Overall data of full time undergraduate constitute majority and minority data of academic staff. With regard to the acceptance level, helpfulness of staff showed the most positive ratings in addition to this, availability of journals recorded the highest number of dissatisfaction.

According to the pie chart, the full-time undergraduates account for the largest population at 44% whereas, full-time postgraduates consist of 25%. Although the rate of part-time graduates was slightly low at 16%, the percentage of online learning and academic staff represent 8% and 7% respectively.

As for the second table, 65% of people are satisfied with the opening time, 35% are fairly satisfied and none are not satisfied. In terms of helpfulness of staff, almost everyone is satisfied and 5% are not happy and no one showed dissatisfaction. On the other hand, the satisfaction level of availability of books, journals and reliability of wifi has a proportion between 48 and 50% while, the moderate acceptance level has a variance between 33 and 40%. Though, the result of dissatisfaction showed 10, 20, 19% individually.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by summarising both the pie chart depicting library user categories and the table showing satisfaction levels. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, capturing the main features such as undergraduates making up the majority and academic staff making up the minority, alongside key satisfaction trends like staff helpfulness receiving positive ratings and journals seeing dissatisfaction. Key data points are accurately reported, such as full-time undergraduates at 44% and library opening hours satisfaction at 65%. However, the overview could be more clearly articulated and integrated, and the reporting of figures in the final paragraph becomes a bit mechanical with lists of numbers. Nevertheless, all major features and comparisons are covered, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.5 or 7.0. Given the solid coverage of data and clear feature selection, a band score of 6.5 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is generally coherent and follows a logical structure, moving from an introduction and overview to body paragraphs covering the pie chart and the table separately. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct visual elements. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Although the rate of part-time graduates was slightly low' and 'On the other hand'. However, some cohesive links feel a bit awkward or mechanical, such as 'In terms of helpfulness of staff, almost everyone is satisfied and 5% are not happy and no one showed dissatisfaction', which creates a slight run-on feeling. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression could be smoother and more sophisticated to reach higher bands. The logical arrangement supports a clear reading throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'illustrates', 'proportion', 'variance', and 'population'. There are some successful attempts at less common vocabulary, but word choice and collocation are occasionally awkward, such as 'minority data of academic staff' and 'acceptance level' instead of 'satisfaction level'. There are also minor lexical slips like 'online learning' instead of 'distance learning'. However, the vocabulary used is sufficient to communicate the main features clearly, and errors do not impede the reader's understanding. This aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over complex structures with clauses introduced by 'while', 'although', and 'whereas'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text. For instance, 'Overall data of full time undergraduate constitute majority' lacks necessary articles and subject-verb agreement ('constitutes'). Additionally, punctuation and phrasing in sentences like 'Though, the result of dissatisfaction showed 10, 20, 19% individually' are faulty. While these errors occur regularly, they rarely impede overall communication, as the intended meaning remains clear. This balance of mixed structures and persistent errors is characteristic of Band 6.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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