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 chart illustrates the results of library users categories at a university, whereas table demonstrates the library users satisfaction.
Overall, full-time undergraduates accounted for the highest proportion, whereas academic staff had experienced the lowest percentage. Satisfaction with helpfulness of staff had the highest figure in the table.
Initially, library users with Full-time undergraduate accounted for the highest proportion at 44%, followed by Full-time postgraduate at 25%. Part-time postgraduate users represented 16% in the figure. Similarly, library users with Distance learning(all courses) and Academic staff stood at 8% and 7%, respectively.
According to the table, 95% users are very statisfied with staff helpfulness. Very satisfied Users with library opening hours and availability of books accounted for 65% and 50%, respectively. Very satisfied users with Availability of journals and Realiability of wi-fi stood at 45% and 48%, rescpectively. Fairly satisfied users with availibilty of books accounted for highest proportion at 40%. Library opening hours and Availability of journals
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers all key features of both the pie chart and the table. An overview is successfully provided in the second paragraph, highlighting that full-time undergraduates formed the largest group in the chart and staff helpfulness received the highest satisfaction rating in the table. Main data points are reported accurately, such as 44% for full-time undergraduates and 95% for very satisfied users regarding staff helpfulness. However, the response cuts off abruptly at the end with an unfinished sentence ("Library opening hours and Availability of journals"), which prevents a fully developed comparison of all table categories. Despite this minor truncation, the core requirements of reporting and comparing the main features are sufficiently addressed, earning a Band 6.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and overview, followed by separate paragraphs for the chart and the table. Cohesive devices such as "whereas", "Overall", "Initially", and "According to the table" are used to structure the response effectively. Progression is generally clear as the writer moves from categories of users to satisfaction levels. However, referencing and cohesion are disrupted at the very end of the text where the response trails off abruptly without a concluding point. Paragraphing is clear, but the lack of a complete final sentence detracts from overall flow, placing this performance firmly at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a Task 1 response, using terms such as "proportion", "accounted for", "represented", and "satisfaction". Less common vocabulary items are attempted, though with some minor inaccuracies in spelling and word choice, such as "statisfied" instead of "satisfied" and "Realiability" instead of "Reliability". There is also a slight lexical slip in the opening sentence ("library users categories"). Nevertheless, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main trends and data clearly, allowing for easy reading despite the spelling mistakes.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including comparative and superlative forms ("accounted for the highest proportion", "stood at 8% and 7%, respectively"). Grammatical control is generally decent for simple structures, but there are a few notable errors, such as article omission ("95% users are very statisfied") and tense inconsistency (shifting between past and present tense without clear reason, such as "demonstrates" versus "accounted"). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are mostly controlled until the final incomplete fragment. These errors do not impede communication, supporting a Band 6.0 score.
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