Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03

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 chart and table provides comprehensive data of library users and result of an undergone survey. The pie chart gives propotion for respective users categories as well as the table reveals the users' satisfaction. Mostly the library is used by full-time undergraduate students at 44%. The second highest goes to full-time posgraduate students at 25% where as part-time posgraduate students have the third highest at 16%. The propotion for distance learning students are 8% and for academic staffs are 7% accordingly who have the least users of library.

The helpfullness of the staffs is very satisfied with 95% and 5% of farely satisfied which has the highest satisfaction. Library opening hours have the second preference of the highly satisfied at 65% and fairly satified 35%. The library hours and helfulness of staff don't have the negative response of 'Not satisfied'. Availability of journals have both fully satisfiend and moderately satisfied accordingly at 45% and 35. Moreover, it has the highest percentage of negative satisfaction at 20%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task by reporting the main features of both the pie chart and the table, noting that undergraduates form the largest group and pointing out key satisfaction ratings such as the high helpfulness of staff. However, the treatment of the data is somewhat partial and mechanical. For instance, the description of satisfaction percentages is slightly confusing and inaccurate in places, such as stating that staff helpfulness is 'very satisfied with 95% and 5% of farely satisfied which has the highest satisfaction'. The overview is also rather basic, as it merely lists features rather than synthesising the broader trends. To reach a higher band, the response needs to provide a clearer overall summary and integrate the data comparisons more accurately and smoothly without listing every minor numerical detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement and is divided into two distinct paragraphs that separate the pie chart data from the satisfaction table. Logical links and cohesive devices are attempted, such as 'mostly', 'the second highest goes to', and 'moreover'. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the awkward transition 'accordingly who have the least users of library'. Paragraphing is present, but internal progression within the second paragraph feels disjointed because the individual satisfaction metrics are listed abruptly. To improve, the student should use a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that sentences flow smoothly from one point to the next to establish a clearer logical progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic concepts related to percentages, categories, and satisfaction levels. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that detract from the quality of the response, including 'propotion' instead of proportion, 'posgraduate' instead of postgraduate, 'helpfullness' instead of helpfulness, and 'farely' instead of fairly. The student also attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'comprehensive data', but awkward collocations and lexical inaccuracies appear throughout, such as 'result of an undergone survey' or 'negative satisfaction'. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their lexical range, use less common items with greater precision regarding style and collocation, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting comparative structures like 'the second highest goes to full-time posgraduate students at 25% where as part-time posgraduate students have the third highest at 16%'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with subject-verb agreement and prepositions, such as 'The chart and table provides' instead of provide, 'proportion for distance learning students are' instead of is, and 'academic staffs' instead of staff. Additionally, some sentences are awkwardly structured, causing occasional difficulty for the reader. To progress, the student needs to demonstrate better control over grammatical structures, ensure accurate agreement between subjects and verbs, and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical slips.

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