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 provided chart shows that the outcome of a survey of library users at a university. Overall it can be noticed that full time undergraduates hold the majority percentage of library users in the pie chart. Full time and part time postgraduates share some limited users. In the table most library satisfaction in helpfulness of staff and most dissatisfaction in availability of journals.
If we focus on the pie-chart we can see that full time udegraguates use the library very often at the university which is 44% among other users. Full time graduates hold the second highest amount of users which is 25%.The other 31% belongs to part-time postgraduate,distance learner and academic staff users. In the table users are very satisfied at helpfulness of staff with 95%. users are fairly satisfied in availavility of books with 40% which is highest in the fairly satisfied table. User are not satisfied with availavility of journals with 20% which is the highest proportion of the table.
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 response covers the main features of both the pie chart and the table, noting key data points such as the 44% figure for full-time undergraduates and the 95% satisfaction rate for staff helpfulness. However, the overview is rather weak, consisting of fragmented observations rather than a synthesised summary of the main trends. Furthermore, some data points contain minor inaccuracies, such as stating that users are 'not satisfied with availability of journals with 20%', whereas the table indicates that 20% are actually 'not satisfied' and 45% are very satisfied. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, but the lack of a cohesive overview and minor misinterpretations of the data restrict the score to Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text is arranged into two paragraphs, separating the general introduction and pie chart from the table details. There is a logical progression from the chart to the table, but cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or missing entirely. For example, sentences such as 'In the table most library satisfaction in helpfulness of staff and most dissatisfaction in availability of journals' lack a proper verb and structural flow. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and paragraphing could be better organised to group related ideas together. These issues place the response firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range, warranting a 6.0 for overall coherence and basic paragraph structure.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with domain-specific terms such as 'undergraduates', 'postgraduates', and 'satisfaction' employed correctly. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, including 'udegraguates' and 'availavility', alongside repetitive phrasing like 'highest amount of users' and 'highest proportion of the table'. Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision or natural collocation. The lexical range is minimally sufficient to convey the message, but errors in spelling and word form prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making a 5.5 an accurate reflection of this performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as in 'If we focus on the pie-chart we can see that full time udegraguates use the library very often'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and omissions, particularly missing verbs ('shows that the outcome', 'most library satisfaction in...'), missing articles, and punctuation issues. Subordinate clauses are sometimes awkwardly constructed. While communication is not severely impeded, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors and lack of error-free complex sentences mean the writing sits at Band 5.0 according to the criteria.
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