Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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 diagrams illustrates the information about library users of different faculties and how much they are satisfied with individually with library facilities.

Firstly, we can see that most of the users are from full-time undergraduate which is 44%, there are 25% of full-time postgraduate, 16% of part-time postgraduate, 8% from distance learning. We can see that, Academic staff use the library rarely which is 7%.

Secondly, the chart shows information about where the members are very satisfied with. We can see that almost all the members are impressed with the helpfull nature of the staffs, half of the members are getting the books they want to read, almost half of the visitors loves the reliability of wi-fi, 45% of users liked the availibility of journals and 65% of them are satisfied about the library opening hours. in almost every categories, almost half of the members are fairly satisfied and some members are not satisfied with the availability of books, journals and reliability of wi-fi.

In conclusion, we can see that library is running well and have a decent facility.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially. While the student attempts to cover both the pie chart and the table, the selection of data is somewhat mechanical, relying heavily on listing numbers without fully synthesising the main trends or making meaningful comparisons between the categories. For instance, the pie chart data is presented as a list of percentages (e.g., '44%, there are 25% of full-time postgraduate, 16% of part-time postgraduate, 8% from distance learning') without highlighting the clear dominance of undergraduates. Furthermore, the overview provided at the end ('library is running well and have a decent facility') is overly simplistic and relies on personal interpretation rather than summarising the primary statistical findings from the visual data. To reach a higher level, the response needs to select key features more discerningly and present a clearer, more objective overview of the main trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement and attempts to structure the information logically, using sequential markers such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and repetitive, particularly with the overuse of phrases like 'We can see that'. Paragraphing is used to separate the pie chart data from the table data, which aids readability, but referencing within and between sentences is occasionally unclear or repetitive. To move towards a higher band, the student should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices without relying on formulaic transitions, ensuring that ideas flow smoothly and logically from one point to the next without repetitive phrasing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey basic information about percentages and satisfaction levels. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations that cause some distraction for the reader, such as 'helpfull nature of the staffs' instead of helpfulness of the staff, and spelling errors like 'availibility'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, but word choice is often imprecise, as seen in phrases like 'visitors loves the reliability of wi-fi' where 'love' is inappropriately informal for an academic report. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to expand their lexical repertoire, use more precise and formal vocabulary suited to academic writing, and ensure greater accuracy in spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic complex forms, such as 'The given diagrams illustrates' where there is a subject-verb agreement error. Attempts at more complex structures are frequently faulty, leading to grammatical errors in articles, prepositions, and clause structures, for example, 'how much they are satisfied with individually with library facilities' and 'in almost every categories'. Frequent errors are present throughout the text, which can occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To improve, the student must demonstrate better control over basic grammatical patterns, ensure accurate subject-verb agreement, and develop greater accuracy when constructing complex sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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