Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-21

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 4.0)

The bar chart displays the number of journeys made by younger children to commute from and to school by using different types of conveyances in one nation in two different years of 1990 and 2010.

Overall, the trips made in 1990 were always much more than in 2010 in almost all categories of transport. Moreover, traveling by walking and by using cars were the greatest among all kinds of transport in both years.

In 1990, trips which were done by using the cars for going from and to school were just above the 4 million, but those journeys which were completed by walking, increased to approximately 12 million. In addition, the commuting that was done by cycling, and walking and bus, were almost same at around 6 million per year. Similarly, the journeys made by bus were also around 7 million per year.

In 2010, children travelled more by cars and the trips made were around 11 million in that year. In case of walking and cycling trips, the journeys decreased to 6 million and 5 million respectively. While those journeys that were made by walking and bus collectively, and by bus alone increased to approximately 3 million and 5 million respectively.

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AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0

The student completely misinterprets the visual data provided in the prompt. The response describes a bar chart about children commuting to school in 1990 and 2010 using various types of conveyances, which has no relation to the actual task. The prompt actually shows survey results of library users at a university, detailing categories of users and satisfaction ratings regarding opening hours, staff helpfulness, books, journals, and Wi-Fi. Because the student has written about an entirely different topic and completely failed to address the provided chart and table, the response falls below the minimum requirements for task fulfillment.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

Despite the severe content mismatch, the essay maintains a conventional paragraph structure with an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Logical connectors are attempted, such as 'Overall', 'In addition', and 'Similarly'. However, because the content is entirely fabricated and irrelevant to the input data, the logical progression breaks down on a semantic level. Paragraphing is present and visually separates the different sections of the essay, preventing a total collapse of structural organization.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The student demonstrates a basic vocabulary range capable of discussing transportation and general trends, using words such as 'conveyances', 'commute', 'categories', and 'approximately'. There are some awkward collocations and awkward phrasing, such as 'trips which were done by using the cars'. However, lexical control is adequate for a basic narrative, even though the vocabulary is entirely unsuited to the academic data provided in the prompt.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Overall, the trips made in 1990 were always much more than in 2010 in almost all categories of transport.' Grammatical control is reasonably good with correct verb tenses used for past data references (e.g., 'increased', 'decreased', 'travelled'). There are minor awkward constructions like 'trips which were done by using the cars', but overall grammatical accuracy is decent despite the catastrophic task failure.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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