Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-20
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 6.0)
The pie chart illustrates the results of survey conducted at a university that represents five categories of library users. On the other hand, the table provides an information on the percentage of satisfaction of library users at three different levels.
Overall, full time undergraduate users shared the largest proportion whereas academic staff accounted for the smallest share. However, helpfulness of staff had the highest figures, making it the most satisfactory response while availability of journals had the lowest proportion of satisfaction.
In the pie chart, full-time undergraduates constitute 44% of library users representing the largest share followed by full-time postgraduates made up of 25%. Part-time postgraduates accounted for 18% while distance learning represented 8%. Academic staff constituted only 7% making it the least number of library users.
By contrast, 95% of users were higly satisfied by helpfulness of staff while 5% were fairly satisfied. Similarly, opening hours recorded a figure of 65% for very satisfied users, with only 35% being fairly satisfied. In terms of the availability of books, 50% of users were satisfied, compared with 40% who were fairly satisfied and 10% who were not satisfied.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student covers both parts of the prompt well, successfully reporting the main features of the pie chart and the table. An overview is provided, noting the extremes in both datasets (full-time undergraduates making up the largest share and academic staff the smallest, alongside staff helpfulness recording the highest satisfaction). However, there is a minor data inaccuracy: the student states that part-time postgraduates accounted for 18%, whereas the chart clearly shows 16%. Additionally, the summary of satisfaction stops short of covering all categories in the table, omitting the availability of journals and reliability of wi-fi. Despite these minor omissions and the data slip, the response provides a clear general picture of the data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introduction, moves to an overview paragraph, and then dedicates separate paragraphs to the pie chart details and the table statistics. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different parts of the visual data. Cohesive devices are generally handled well, using transition markers such as 'On the other hand', 'However', and 'By contrast' to structure the response. However, referencing and cohesive links are occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, such as starting the second body paragraph with 'In the pie chart' immediately following an introductory sentence that already mentioned the chart.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to data reporting such as 'illustrates', 'proportion', 'accounted for', and 'constitute'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with varying degrees of success, including 'satisfaction', 'satisfactory response', and 'proportion of satisfaction'. There is a minor collocation error ('higly satisfied' instead of 'highly satisfied') and a slight inaccuracy in phrasing ('making it the least number of library users' instead of 'the smallest proportion'). Overall, the lexical range is sufficient to convey the main features clearly, though it lacks the flexibility and precision of higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures effectively (e.g., 'full-time undergraduates constitute 44% of library users representing the largest share followed by full-time postgraduates made up of 25%'). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips present, such as missing articles ('a survey', 'an information'), a spelling error ('higly'), and awkward participial phrasing ('made up of'). While these errors do not impede communication, they demonstrate that simple sentences are often more secure than complex ones, placing this response firmly in Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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