Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29
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 given pie chart and table reveals the information of a survey of library users at university.Overall, It can be seen that full-time undergraduate is the most significant feature of pie chart. On the other hand, helpfulness of staff is most satisfied feature in table according to the results of a survey.
Now turning into the details, It can be noted that full-time undergraduate categories of library users have highest ratio exactly 44%. In addition, the full-time postgraduate has a 25% of users.Futhermore, Academic staff and distance learning have almost same percentage of users with only 1% of difference.Finally, the part-time postgraduate category has 16% percentage of users for taking part in a survey.
By contrast, the table reveals that helpfulness of staff has highest ratio of very satisfied users.Moreover, the availability of books and journals have almost same difference in ratio of users across three categories 5% in very satisfied and fairly satisfied and 10% difference in not satisfied.In addition, the 65% of users very satisfied with library opening hours. But, only 48% of users very satisfied with reliability of wi-fi.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by reporting the main features of both the pie chart and the table. An overview is provided in the first paragraph, and specific details are highlighted, such as the highest proportion of full-time undergraduates at 44% and the helpfulness of staff having the highest satisfaction rate. However, the data reporting contains inaccuracies and imprecise comparisons. For instance, the student states that academic staff and distance learning have a 1% difference, whereas the chart shows 7% and 8%. Furthermore, the description of the table data regarding books and journals is mathematically confusing and hard to follow. Overall, the response covers the task but lacks precision in data interpretation, placing it firmly at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organised into four paragraphs with a basic structure including an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are attempted (e.g., 'Overall', 'On the other hand', 'Now turning into the details', 'By contrast'), but their usage is sometimes mechanical or awkward, such as 'Now turning into the details'. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs suffers from repetitive phrasing and weak referencing. The progression of ideas is occasionally disjointed, particularly in the second body paragraph where the description of the table jumps between categories without a clear logical flow. This demonstrates Band 5.5 performance.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with domain-specific terms correctly borrowed from the prompt such as 'full-time undergraduate', 'academic staff', and 'library user satisfaction'. However, the range is limited, and there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'reveals the information of a survey' instead of 'shows the results of', and 'most satisfied feature' instead of 'highest satisfaction rating'. Repetition of basic structures and vocabulary like 'percentage of users' is evident throughout the text. These limitations prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.0 appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are numerous basic errors, including capitalization and punctuation slips ('Overall, It can be seen'), missing articles ('at university' instead of 'at a university'), subject-verb agreement issues ('full-time undergraduate is', 'availability of books and journals have'), and awkward preposition use ('percentage of users for taking part'). While the meaning can generally be deciphered, the frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and restrict the score to Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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