Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-10
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 5.0)
The pie chart illustrates the proportion of different groups of people who used the library at a particular university.
Overall, the main users of library were full-time undergratuate students, followed by full-time postgraduate and part-time postgratuate students.In contrast academic staff of university was lowest among all users.
Full-time undergratuate students were top users of library, accounted for around 44% of total respondents. 25% of users were full-time postgraduate students and figure for part-time postgratuate was 16%.
In contrast, 8% of respodents were distance learner. Surprisingly, academic staff users were lowest among all, accounted for only 7% of total respodents.The difference between these two group was only 1% point.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response identifies the chart’s main pattern accurately: full-time undergraduates form the largest group (44%), while academic staff are the smallest (7%), and the other percentages are also reported correctly. The comparison between distance learners and academic staff is relevant. However, the task includes a satisfaction table as well as the user-category chart, and the response does not describe or compare any satisfaction results. This leaves a major part of the visual information unaddressed, so the summary is only partial. The overview is also limited to user-group sizes rather than highlighting a key table feature, such as the high satisfaction with staff helpfulness or the lower ratings for journals and wi-fi. The response is 42 words below the required minimum; use the space to cover both visuals and their main contrasts.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a basic, understandable structure: an introduction, an overview, and details about the user categories. The progression from the largest group to smaller groups is generally logical, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In contrast” help signal relationships. However, the organisation is incomplete because the satisfaction table is omitted, and the final comparison repeats the point that academic staff are the smallest group rather than developing a new feature. Some linking is mechanical, with “In contrast” used for information that is not always a strong contrast. Improve progression by grouping the chart and table information into separate detail paragraphs and using clear comparisons within each.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the basic chart information, with relevant terms such as “proportion,” “respondents,” and “accounted for.” There is some repetition of “users” and “library,” and several spelling errors reduce accuracy, including “undergratuate,” “postgratuate,” and “respodents.” Some phrasing is also imprecise: “top users” is less suitable for a formal report, while “distance learner” does not match the plural group label. Use consistent, accurate terms such as “share,” “accounted for,” and “library users,” and vary the language for reporting percentages. More precise vocabulary would also help describe the satisfaction ratings, which are currently absent.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response uses mostly simple sentence patterns, with a few attempts at more complex structures, such as “In contrast, 8% of respondents were distance learner.” Meaning is generally clear, but grammatical control is uneven. For example, “the main users of library” needs an article, and “academic staff of university was lowest” has problems with article use and subject–verb agreement. The sentence “Full-time undergraduate students were top users of library, accounted for around 44%” also has an awkward, incomplete relationship between its clauses. There are punctuation and spacing issues, including the missing space after the full stop in “students.In contrast.” Practise accurate article use, agreement, and complete sentence structures while retaining some variety.
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