Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30
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 illustrates the data about the outcome of the survey of people who classified as visiting the university library and the table gives the information about users.
Overall, the majority library clients were full-time undergraduates and the minority were academic staff. In addition, the highest satisfaction level was 95%.
The number of users who enrolled in full-time undergraduates is 44%. Moreover, the second hightest percentage of library subscribers is 25%, these being full-time postgraduate. The third peak value of library customers are part-time postgraduate, their ratio is about 16%. The second least proportion is distance learners whose percentage is 8%. The least cetagory is academic staff and their percentage is 7%.
The 65 percent users are those who are very satisfied with library opening hours, fairly satisfied are 35% and there is no person who was not satisfied. Following this, 95% are those who are fully satisfied with helpfullness of staff, 5% are fairly gratified and there is no user who was dissatisfied.
In contrast, 50% of the user are fulfilled by the availabilities of books but medium pleased people are 40% and 10% disagree with it.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by reporting key data from both the pie chart and the table. An overview is present, identifying the highest and lowest user categories, and main features are selected, such as full-time undergraduates making up 44% and helpfulness of staff having the highest satisfaction at 95%. However, the data presentation relies heavily on mechanical listing of percentages rather than deeper comparisons, and the text cuts off before finishing the table data (omitting journals and wi-fi). Consequently, the response sits at Band 6.0 for addressing the task partially due to incomplete coverage of the table elements.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure separating the introduction, overview, chart details, and table details. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'In addition', 'Moreover', and 'In contrast'. However, some referencing and cohesive links feel mechanical, and paragraphing is slightly disjointed towards the end as the table is only partially discussed. Paragraph transitions could be smoother and more logically integrated. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'illustrates', 'minority', 'subscribers', and 'proportion'. There are some awkward collocations and lexical errors, such as 'majority library clients' instead of 'majority of library users', 'hightest' (spelling error), 'least cetagory' (spelling error), and 'medium pleased people' instead of 'fairly satisfied'. Despite these minor inaccuracies, communication is not impeded, demonstrating the characteristics of Band 6 vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses ('users who enrolled', 'those who are very satisfied'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'the data about the outcome of the survey of people who classified as visiting', 'The number of users who enrolled in full-time undergraduates is 44%', and 'availability of books but medium pleased people are 40%'. Punctuation and verb-subject agreement errors occur, but sentences remain generally comprehensible, fitting the Band 6 criteria for grammatical range and accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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