Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-16

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 shows different categories of library users, while the table identifies the percentages of user satisfaction (very satisifed, fairly satisfied, or not satisfied) for various services. The library's services includes openng hours, staff helpfulness, books' availability, journals' availability,and wifi's reliability.

Overall, full-time undergraduates and postgraduates represented 74% of library users. These users were most satisfied by all library's services, except for a small portion of people about journals' availability and wifi's reliability.

In terms of library users, full-time undergraduates accounted for 44%, followed by full-time postgraduates with 25%. Part-time postgraduates, distance learners, and academic stuff were 16%, 8%, and 7%, respectively.

Regarding library user satisfaction, all users were satisfied by library openning hours or staff's helpfulness (100%). However, 10% of users were not satisfied by certain books availability and about the same percentages (20%) were dissatisfied by the journals' availability and wifi's reliability.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify both visuals and report the main user groups accurately: undergraduates are the largest group at 44%, followed by full-time postgraduates at 25%, and the remaining figures are also correct. You also capture the broad satisfaction pattern, including the 100% satisfaction for opening hours and staff helpfulness. However, the overview is partly unclear: “These users were most satisfied by all library’s services” is not supported as a comparison between user categories, since the table gives satisfaction across services, not by user group. The account also omits useful distinctions, such as the 95% very-satisfied rating for staff and the different dissatisfaction levels for journals and wi-fi. The response is five words below the required minimum, and fuller reporting would make the key features clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for user categories and satisfaction. Sequencing is easy to follow, and transitions such as “Overall,” “In terms of,” and “Regarding” help signal each section. This coherent arrangement meets the lower-band expectations and shows some control beyond a basic list. To make progression more effective, ensure that each paragraph develops one clear point and that references are precise. For example, “These users” in the overview is ambiguous, and the claim about what they were most satisfied by does not connect clearly to the table’s service-based data. A more focused overview followed by grouped comparisons would improve cohesion and reduce the impression of disconnected figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “accounted for,” “represented,” “availability,” and “dissatisfied,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling or word-choice errors reduce precision: “satisifed,” “openng,” “openning,” and “academic stuff.” Some phrases are also awkward or imprecise, such as “books’ availability” and “wifi’s reliability”; more natural forms would be “availability of books” and “wi-fi reliability.” Repeated use of “satisfied” and “availability” also limits flexibility. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations and vary reporting language where appropriate, while keeping the wording concise and formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and some more complex structures, including “while the table identifies…” and “However, 10% of users…”. Most of the information remains understandable, but errors in sentence construction and agreement are noticeable. For example, “The library’s services includes” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “all users were satisfied by library opening hours or staff’s helpfulness” uses an awkward grammatical pattern and article structure. The overview sentence beginning “These users were most satisfied…” is also difficult to interpret because its comparison is not clearly framed. Work on accurate agreement, articles, and parallel phrasing, and check that complex sentences express the intended relationship between the data. Greater control would make the response more precise.

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