Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-19
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 bar chart and table illustrate the results of a survey of library users at a university.
Overall, it is evident that highest propotions of library users are full time undergraduates, while library user satisfaction are more in helpfulness of staff. Academic staff are the lowest category of library users.
In pie chart, the propotion of the full-time postgraduate who used library approximately at 25%. There are only 7% academic staff who use library, while 8% are distance learning users. Part-time postgraduate are around 16% library users. Full-time undergraduate are the highest sector of library users which approximately 44%.
In table, there are 65 user satisfaction from the library opening hours and 35% from fairy satisfied. Helpfulness of staff are the highest ratio of very satisfied which at 95. There are 45 very satisfied users for the availablity of journals and 35 fairly satisfied. There are 19 not satisfied users from the reliability of wifi.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You identify the main user group correctly: full-time undergraduates account for the largest share (44%), while academic staff are the smallest (7%). You also report several satisfaction figures accurately, including 95% very satisfied with staff helpfulness and 20% not satisfied with journal availability. However, the overview is unclear when it says satisfaction is “more in helpfulness of staff,” and the table is only partly covered: the 50% very satisfied with book availability and the 65% very satisfied with opening hours are not clearly distinguished. Some figures are described as numbers of users rather than percentages. The response is 144 words, below the 150-word minimum; the 11 words copied from the prompt are excluded. Add a clearer overview and report the key comparisons precisely.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph on user categories and a paragraph on satisfaction. The transitions “Overall,” “In pie chart” and “In table” help signal these sections. However, progression within the table paragraph is limited, as the figures are listed one after another without grouping the strongest and weakest satisfaction results. Some linking and reference are also unclear, particularly “there are 65 user satisfaction from the library opening hours,” which makes the relationship between the figure and the category difficult to follow. Use a more deliberate comparison structure—for example, group the two highest very-satisfied results, then contrast them with journals and wi-fi—and make each sentence’s subject explicit.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant task vocabulary such as “proportion,” “category,” “very satisfied” and “reliability,” and the reader can generally understand the information you intend to report. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate, including “highest propotions,” “satisfaction are more in,” and “fairy satisfied.” “There are 65 user satisfaction” also does not express the data naturally; describe the percentage of respondents who were very satisfied instead. Spelling errors such as “propotions” and “availablity” are noticeable. Aim for precise chart language and check spelling, while avoiding repeated use of “users” where “respondents” or “the proportion” would be more suitable.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
Most sentences use simple structures, and you attempt some longer forms, such as “There are only 7% academic staff who use library, while 8% are distance learning users.” However, errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction are frequent enough to make several statements awkward or unclear. For example, “library user satisfaction are” has subject–verb disagreement, while “the full-time postgraduate who used library approximately at 25%” lacks a clear grammatical structure. “There are 65 user satisfaction from the library opening hours” also misuses the sentence pattern for reporting a percentage. Practise concise constructions such as “65% were very satisfied with the opening hours” and check articles, plurals and agreement. Greater accuracy in these basic patterns would make your comparisons easier to follow.
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