Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

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)

IELTS

WRITING TASK 1 (Cambridge 21)

The pie chart and table illustrates the outcomes of a Survey performed by university for having people having library subscription.

Overall, full time undergraduate students holds the major proportion in the pie chart where as large number of students is very satisfied with the help provided by staff.

While talking about pie chart, full time undergraduates is accounted for 44% while full time post graduate contributed to 25%. In addition, part-time postgraduate constituted 16% which is double of the percentage occupied by the distance learning students, mainly 8% and Academic staff holds the least share of 7% in using library facilities.

On the other hand, the table data depict that the percentage of students not satisfied with opening hours and staff is 0. Although 50% of library users are very satisfied with availability of books in comparison to 10% users who are not satisfied. The proportion of users who are not satisfied got doubled for books and journals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both the pie chart and the table. The student successfully identifies key proportions, such as full-time undergraduates accounting for 44% and academic staff holding the lowest share at 7%. Data points from the table are also integrated, such as satisfaction ratings for library opening hours and book availability. However, there is a minor misinterpretation regarding the jump in dissatisfaction, where the student states that the proportion of users who were not satisfied got doubled for books and journals (10% to 20%), but phrases it slightly ambiguously. An overview is present, though it could be more fully developed to capture the broad trends across both visual elements. Overall, the response meets the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two sources of data. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'While talking about pie chart', and 'On the other hand'. However, some referencing is slightly faulty or mechanical, such as the awkward transition 'While talking about pie chart' and minor errors in cohesive referencing. Progression is generally clear, though paragraph boundaries and linking phrases could be handled with greater flexibility to reach a higher band. Cohesion is adequate for a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'proportion', 'constituted', 'contributed', and 'satisfaction'. However, there are notable word choice errors and awkward phrasing throughout, such as 'Survey performed by university for having people having library subscription', 'full time undergraduate students holds', and 'where as large number of students'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical control is limited, placing this response firmly in the Band 6.0 range due to frequent minor inaccuracies in collocation and style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses and comparative structures. There are, however, several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'The pie chart and table illustrates' and 'full time undergraduate students holds', as well as missing articles ('post graduate contributed', 'part-time postgraduate constituted'). Punctuation and capitalization errors also appear ('Survey', 'where as'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the text from achieving a higher score. Control of grammar is characteristic of Band 6.0.

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