Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18
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 different categories of library users and table depicts the percentage of library user satisfaction. At a glance, it can be seen that full-time undergraduate students using library the most for study.
From the pie chart, the proportion of the full-time undergraduate students was the highest who used the library most, at 44%. Second, category was the full-time postgraduate student accounted for 25%. Moreover, the average users were the part-time postgraduate students represented 16% of the time in library. Eventually, distance learning and academic staff was the least user categories accounted 8% and 7% respectively.
Regarding the table, the most prominent feedback got by helpfulness of staff category which gain, 95% very satisfied rating by learners, and only 5% fairy satisfied with no rating of any dissatisfaction. By contrast, 65% of students very satisfied by library opening hours, with 35% fairly satisfied. Finally, the other three category regarding availability of books, journals and reliability of wi-fi got similar rating ranging between 45 to 50% in most satisfied category.
Overall, it is evident that academic staff was the least users of the library while, the staff was the always helpful for the learners.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features from both the pie chart and the table, and includes appropriate comparisons, such as noting that full-time undergraduates represent the largest user group at 44% while academic staff make up the smallest at 7%. Key data points are accurately cited, including satisfaction ratings like the 95% very satisfied score for staff helpfulness. An overview is present, though it is somewhat basic and split between the introduction and conclusion. Overall, the task is adequately addressed in line with Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall arrangement with logical paragraphing, separating the introduction, the pie chart analysis, the table analysis, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'From the pie chart', 'Regarding the table', and 'By contrast'. However, some referencing is awkward or mechanical, such as 'Second, category was' and 'Finally, the other three category', which detracts from the flow. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but logical progression within sentences could be smoother.
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'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'users using library the most for study' instead of 'using the library', 'the average users' to describe part-time postgraduates, and 'got by helpfulness of staff category which gain, 95% very satisfied rating'. These errors do not impede communication but prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses and comparative structures ('the proportion of the full-time undergraduate students was the highest who used the library most'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with missing articles ('using library the most', 'with no rating of any dissatisfaction'), incorrect prepositions ('feedback got by helpfulness'), and awkward verb forms ('which gain, 95% very satisfied rating'). While these errors do not impede overall comprehension, they constrain the grammatical score to Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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