Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02
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 categories of library users and table shows the result of a survey of library users at the university.
Overall,full-time graduate represented the highest figures whereas, academic staff had the lowest.In addition,most of them were satisfied with the helpfulness of staff while, avaibility of books in library made some students not satisfied
It is noticeable that full-time undergraduates were active in using libray frequently, at 44% whereas, academic staff and distance learning students constituted only 7% and 8%. Full-time graduates accounted approximately , at 25% and the remaining 16% were used by part-time postgraduate students.
In the survey of library users, students satisfied with the helpfulness of staff and accounted for highest figures at 95 while, some students were fairly satisfied by avaibility of books, at 40%. some of students were unsatisfied regarding the avaibilty of journals and books and 19% of students were not satisfied regarding the reliabilty of wi-fi.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by summarizing both the pie chart and the table, and presents an adequate overview of the main features, such as identifying that full-time undergraduates and graduates made up the majority of users, while academic staff formed the smallest category. Key data points are selected and reported, such as undergraduates at 44% and staff helpfulness satisfaction at 95%. However, some parts of the response are under-developed or lack precise detail, such as the vague reporting of satisfaction figures in the final paragraph where exact percentages for some survey categories are omitted or slightly confused. Overall, the information is mostly accurate according to the provided visual data, but the development of specific trends and comparisons could be extended further to achieve a higher level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the charts. Logical progression is generally present, moving from user categories to satisfaction levels. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and faulty, notably with repetitive transitional phrases like 'whereas' and abrupt sentence transitions. Paragraphing is used, but internal cohesion within paragraphs can be disjointed, such as in the final paragraph where sentences feel slightly tacked together without smooth referencing devices. Pronoun referencing and signposting words need more flexible and accurate application to achieve a clearer flow throughout the response.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic concepts related to percentages, categories, and survey results. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'constituted', 'represented', and 'satisfaction', but these are occasionally accompanied by inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and form, such as 'avaibility' and 'reliabilty' (spelling errors), 'full-time graduate' instead of 'graduates', and awkward phrasing like 'were used by part-time postgraduate students'. While these spelling and word-choice errors do not seriously impede communication, they restrict the lexical score, showing a need for greater precision, correct spelling, and more natural collocations when discussing statistical data.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses and participial structures. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly concerning missing articles ('at university', 'in library'), incorrect prepositions ('satisfied with' versus 'satisfied by'), missing commas, and awkward phrasing ('accounted approximately , at 25%'). Punctuation spacing errors are also noticeable throughout the text. Although the meaning can still be understood by the reader, the persistence of these structural and punctuation errors prevents the grammar score from rising higher, indicating a need for better control over complex grammatical patterns and sentence boundary punctuation.
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