Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-26

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 charts show survey results of library users at a university.

Overall, most users of the library were the full-time undergraduates. However, library users are most satisfied with helpfulness of staff.

Among the library users, almost half of the population are full-time undergraduate accounted to 44%. Then, quarter of the library members are full-time postgraduate. Followed by 16% of the population who are part-time postgraduate. The least number of users are distance learning with all courses(8%) and academic staffs(7%), accordingly.

95% of the population are very satisfied with the helpfulness of staff. Followed by the library opening hours with 65% and 35% are fairly satisfied.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student provides an overview and selects some main features from both the pie chart and the table, noting that undergraduates represent the largest user group and that helpfulness of staff received the highest satisfaction rating. However, the response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, stopping at only 105 words. Furthermore, the description of the table data is incomplete, cutting off abruptly after discussing just two satisfaction categories without finishing the remaining details. Because the task is under-length and incompletely addressed in terms of covering all relevant key features, it cannot achieve a score above Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, beginning with an introductory sentence and an overall summary statement. Paragraphing is attempted, though paragraphs are very short and underdeveloped. Cohesive devices are used to sequence points (e.g., 'Overall', 'However', 'Then', 'Followed by'), but some transitions are clumsy or grammatically awkward, such as starting a sentence with 'Then, quarter of...' or ending a paragraph with 'accordingly.' There is a clear overall arrangement of presenting chart data first then table data, but the lack of progression and abrupt ending limit the score to Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary relevant to the visual data, including terms such as 'survey results', 'population', 'full-time undergraduate', and 'satisfaction'. There are some awkward collocations and lexical errors, such as writing 'academic staffs' (staff is uncountable here) and 'accounted to 44%' instead of 'accounting for 44%'. Phrasing like 'quarter of the library members are full-time postgraduate' also lacks precision ('a quarter of'). While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic statistics, errors in word choice and morphology prevent it from reaching Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as concessive clauses ('However, library users are most satisfied with...') and participial phrases ('Followed by 16%...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and fragments. For instance, 'Among the library users, almost half of the population are full-time undergraduate accounted to 44%' contains a fused verb structure. Several sentences are incomplete fragments, such as 'Followed by the library opening hours with 65% and 35% are fairly satisfied.' These frequent structural errors and awkward framings result in a Band 5.0.

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