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 and table display the outcomes of the questionnaire taken by different categories of library users at university.
Overall, full time undergraduate students account for highest proportion while Academic staff are least users of library.However, most of the library users are satisfied with library staff.
The pie chart present five categories of library users out of which full time undergraduate students account for 44% which was the highest followed by full time post graduate students with 25%. Part time post graduate students account for 16%. Furthermore, distant learning students and academic staff didnt used library much as they account for 8% and 9% respectively.
The table presents that majority of library users are satisfied with it's staff and timings with 95% and 65%. while 50% of them are very satisfied with availability of books .In contrast, 20% of user are disatisfied with availability of journals.19% of them are not satisfied with availability of wifi
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 successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both the pie chart and the table. An overview is provided, highlighting that full-time undergraduates are the largest user group while academic staff are the smallest, alongside general satisfaction with staff. Data points are accurately cited, such as undergraduates accounting for 44% and 95% satisfaction with staff helpfulness. However, there is a minor data reading error where the student states academic staff account for 9% (the chart shows 7%), and distant learning students are incorrectly referred to as 'distant learning'. Furthermore, the response is relatively brief, just clearing the 150-word minimum, which results in a slightly superficial selection of data without deep extension, keeping it at Band 6.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into an introduction, overview, and two body paragraphs detailing the chart and table respectively. Logical connectors such as 'Overall', 'Furthermore', and 'In contrast' are employed to guide the reader through the data. However, paragraphing is somewhat rudimentary, and cohesion is occasionally mechanical. There are also referencing and punctuation issues, such as missing spaces after periods and awkward transitions between sentences, which detract from a smoother flow. Overall, the organization is sufficient for a Band 6 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with appropriate topic-specific terms like 'proportion', 'questionnaire', 'undergraduate', and 'satisfaction'. The student attempts some less common phrasing, such as 'account for highest proportion', but makes several lexical and spelling errors, including 'didnt used' (instead of use), 'disatisfied', and referring to 'distant learning' instead of 'distance learning'. Repetition of phrases like 'account for' also limits lexical variety. These errors do not impede communication, placing the response comfortably in the Band 6 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The pie chart present five categories of library users out of which full time undergraduate students account for 44%...'. However, there are noticeable grammatical errors throughout, including tense inconsistencies ('present' instead of presents, 'didnt used' instead of didn't use), missing articles ('with 95% and 65%'), and punctuation errors like missing spaces after full stops. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the data, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from achieving a Band 7.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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