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 pie chart illustrates the proportion of different categories of library users at a university, while the table present level of satisfaction with five aspects of the library services and facilities.
Overall, full-time undergraduates constituted largest part of the library users, whereas academic staff accounted for the smallest portion. In terms of satisfaction, library staff received most of the positive feedback, but the journal availability had lower satisfaction levels.
To begin with, full time undergraduates represented 44% among all the categories and followed by full time postgraduates, who accounted for 25%. Furthermore, part-time postgraduates students comprised a further 16%, however distance learning for all courses and academic staff remained were smallest part at just 8-7% in terms of library users.
Moreover, helpfullness of staff was the most highly rated aspect with 95% ver satisfied, and remained 5% were fairly satisfied. Library opening hours also received a optimistic rating as 65% were very satisfied and 35% were fairly satisfied. Additionally, availability of books, journals as well as reliability of wi-fi recorded mostly not satisfied feedback by library users approximately lower than 20.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both the pie chart and the table. An adequate overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting that full-time undergraduates and academic staff formed the extremes for user categories, while staff helpfulness and journals saw contrasting satisfaction levels. Key data points are accurately reported, such as full-time undergraduates at 44% and staff helpfulness at 95% very satisfied. However, there is a minor misinterpretation of the data regarding wi-fi and book availability at the end, where the student claims they recorded 'mostly not satisfied feedback... approximately lower than 20', whereas the actual percentages for 'not satisfied' were 10%, 19%, and 20%, with the majority actually being satisfied. Despite this minor slip, the overall task coverage is solid.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall progression and is divided into appropriate paragraphs, moving from an introduction and overview to body paragraphs detailing the chart and then the table. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'In terms of', 'To begin with', and 'Moreover'. However, there are some mechanical or awkward transitions, such as 'remained were smallest part' and 'remained 5% were fairly satisfied', which slightly disrupt the flow. Referencing is generally clear, though paragraphing and sequencing could be polished for a higher band.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, incorporating terms like 'proportion', 'constituted', 'accounted for', and 'satisfaction'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, but these are occasionally marred by word choice and collocation errors, such as 'table present level' (missing 's'), 'optimistic rating' (unnatural collocation for survey data; 'positive rating' would be better), and spelling errors like 'helpfullness'. Nevertheless, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses ('who accounted for 25%') and subordinate clauses. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('the table present'), missing prepositions or articles ('constituted largest part'), and convoluted verb structures ('remained were smallest part' and 'remained 5% were fairly satisfied'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical inaccuracies occur with some frequency, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 territory.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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