Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19
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 piechart illustates the survey result of a university library users under different categories. and the tables shows what percent of them are happy about certain prospects of the library.
It represents the percentage of users of different programs as well as the faculty using the library and the tables shows how much they are satisfied with the library by comparing it under different criteria.
First of all the highest percentage of the library users are full-time undergraduate students who make up the 44 percent of the whole users. Second in place are the full-time postgraduate students who cover about 25 % of the total users. Like this on the third ranking are the part-time postgraduate and in the forth place goes to distance learners with 16 and 8 percent respectively. And more interestingly around 7 % of whole users are the academic staff.
Other than the piechart, the tables shows us the satisfaction levels of the users which is currently at its high peak because the average of about 60.5 percentage of the whole users are very much satisfied. And to concludewith, in the not satisfied category 13 % of the users think things can be changed in the availability of books,journals and reliability of the wi-fi can be improved.
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 successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both the pie chart and the table. The student accurately highlights that full-time undergraduates are the largest category of users (44%) and correctly outlines the remaining user groups in descending order. Data from the table is also incorporated, noting high satisfaction rates in areas like staff helpfulness and opening hours, alongside minor dissatisfaction in book and journal availability and Wi-Fi. However, the attempt to calculate an average satisfaction rate of '60.5 percentage' is inaccurate and represents a minor misinterpretation of the data. Nonetheless, a clear overview and appropriate comparisons are provided, fulfilling the core requirements of Academic Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay has a clear overall progression, moving from an introductory statement about the visual aids to body paragraphs detailing the pie chart data, and finally the table data. Paragraphing is used to separate different parts of the prompt logically. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'First of all', 'Second in place', and 'Other than the piechart'. However, some linking is mechanical and awkward, such as 'Like this on the third ranking', and punctuation errors (such as a stray full stop in the first sentence) slightly disrupt the flow. Referencing is generally clear, but paragraph transitions could be smoother.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an understanding of percentages, proportions, and survey categories ('full-time undergraduate students', 'academic staff', 'satisfaction levels'). The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'prospects', 'percentage', and 'respectively'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation slips, such as 'happy about certain prospects' (instead of aspects) and 'at its high peak' (redundant). Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, but the lexical range remains somewhat limited and repetitive.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses ('who make up the 44 percent') and coordinate clauses. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, including punctuation mistakes ('piechart illustates', 'and the tables shows'), preposition misuse ('in the forth place goes to'), and verb agreement issues ('the tables shows'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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