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 pie chart illustrates the proportion of library users at a university and table presents the satisfaction level of library user.
Overall, full-time undergraduate dominates the proportion of total library users whereas least users are the academic worker. Furthermore, users are highly satisfied with the library staff helpful nature but are least happy with the journals accessibility.
The library user base is occupied by around 69% full-time students where 25% of them are postgraduate scholars. Meanwhile, only 16% of the users are part-time postgraduate pupils. Apart from these groups there are users who are distance learners and academic staff who are responsible for 15% of total users 8% and 7% respectively.
Users seem to be satisfied with the facilities provided by the library but some proportion of users seems to be least satisfied with wifi reliability(48%) and books availability(50%).
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers both visual components of the prompt, successfully reporting the main features of the pie chart and the satisfaction table, including the highest and lowest categories and satisfaction levels. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the main trends. However, there are some minor calculation errors or confusing summaries; for instance, the text states 'full-time undergraduate dominates... whereas least users are the academic worker', and later states that distance learners and academic staff account for '15% of total users 8% and 7% respectively', which is mathematically correct (8+7=15), but phrased awkwardly. Furthermore, the response is under the 150-word minimum, containing only 139 words, which results in a penalty for under-length under IELTS guidelines.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response has a coherent overall arrangement, divided into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the specific data points. Logical connectors such as 'Overall', 'Furthermore', 'Meanwhile', and 'Apart from these groups' are used to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the pie chart data from the table data. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes a bit mechanical, and the flow is occasionally hindered by slightly awkward clause constructions, preventing it from reaching a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and topic-specific terms such as 'proportion', 'postgraduate scholars', 'distance learners', and 'satisfaction level'. There are some awkward word choices and collocation errors, such as 'academic worker' instead of 'academic staff', 'staff helpful nature' instead of 'helpfulness of the staff', and 'journals accessibility' rather than 'availability of journals'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical inaccuracies keep the performance within the Band 6 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'academic staff who are responsible for 15%'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'table presents the satisfaction level of library user' (missing plural/article), 'least users are the academic worker' (faulty superlative and singular/plural mismatch), and 'where 25% of them are postgraduate scholars' used loosely. Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and does not impede communication.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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