Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-04

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 results of a survey about the number of users who uses the university's library and also their satisfaction towards the library.

Overall, the pie chart is showing mainly the five different categories of the library users. As the complete chart is divided into five catogeries which named as acadmeic staff, full time-undergraudate, full-time postgraduate, part-time postgraduate and distance learning (all courses). The majority of the users are the full-time undergraduates which are 44% and after that the second major portion of the libray users are the full-time postgraduates which are 25% while the other three catogries of the liibray users are as 16%, 8% and 7% respectively.

Moreover, there is a table below the chart which is giving us information about the library users satisfaction towards the library. As the maximum users are very satisfied due to helpfulness of the staff. While, on the other hand, most library users are not satisifed because of the availability of the journals in the library.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially. While the student attempts to summarise the pie chart showing categories of library users, the reporting of the data is incomplete and contains inaccuracies. For instance, the summary mentions three other categories with figures '16%, 8% and 7% respectively', but fails to explicitly link these percentages to their corresponding groups (part-time postgraduate, distance learning, and academic staff). More importantly, the student's attempt to report the table data is fundamentally flawed and misleading: the text claims that 'most library users are not satisifed because of the availability of the journals', whereas the table clearly shows that only 20% were not satisfied and a combined 80% were satisfied (very or fairly). This misinterpretation of the survey data prevents the response from fully developing the key features and comparisons required.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the answer into an introduction, an overview/body paragraph for the chart, and a final section for the table data. Paragraphing is used to separate the different visual elements. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and repetitive, relying on transitional phrases like 'Moreover', 'As', and 'While, on the other hand'. Referencing is also occasionally imprecise, such as using 'As the maximum users are very satisfied due to helpfulness of the staff' without clearly connecting the cohesive markers to the preceding context. Overall organization is present and provides a basic logical flow, but the mechanical nature of the cohesive devices and minor referencing lapses keep the response at this level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'categories', 'satisfaction', 'undergraduates', and 'postgraduate', but there are numerous spelling errors ('acadmeic', 'undergraudate', 'catogeries', 'catogries', 'liibray', 'satisifed') and word-form issues ('users who uses'). The range of vocabulary is narrow and repetitive, often relying on basic terms and direct lifting from the prompt. While the meaning of most sentences can be understood despite the errors, the frequent spelling mistakes and restricted vocabulary choice hinder precision and fluency.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple clauses and repetitive patterns such as 'which are' or 'which is giving'. Attempts at complex sentences often feature faulty integration or awkward phrasing, such as 'the pie chart is showing mainly the five different categories of the library users. As the complete chart is divided into five catogeries which named as acadmeic staff...'. There are frequent errors in grammar, including subject-verb agreement issues ('number of users who uses'), preposition misuse ('satisfaction towards' instead of 'satisfaction with'), and punctuation errors. These frequent inaccuracies cause occasional difficulty for the reader, though they do not completely obscure the intended meaning.

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