Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 diagram and table depict the consequences of a survey of library users at a university. Overall, in a university there were more number of students of full-time undergraduate and more number of helpfulness of staff were satisfied by students.

In library, full-time undergraduate students were more as compare to other categories. However, academic staff was least used by students. Full-time postgraduate users were about 25%. Number of users of part-time postgraduate was 16%. Whereas, the frequency of distance learning users were 8% whichwas the half of part-time postgraduate.

Library users were more satisfied with helfulness of staff with 95% of very satisfied. and there was no student who was not satisfied. There were more number of users who are not satisfied with availability of journals and reliability of wi-fi with 20% and 19%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify relevant features, including the dominance of full-time undergraduates (44%), the small share of academic staff (7%), and the high satisfaction with staff helpfulness (95% very satisfied). You also correctly note that dissatisfaction is highest for journals (20%) and wi-fi (19%). However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “more number of helpfulness of staff were satisfied by students” does not clearly describe the survey, and the response omits several useful comparisons, such as opening hours (65% very satisfied) and the satisfaction figures for books. The response is also below the required 150 words; the 9 words copied from the prompt are excluded from the count. Develop a clearer overview and report a broader selection of key results.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic sequence: it first discusses user categories and then moves to satisfaction results. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “Whereas” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, progression is limited, and the overview does not clearly guide the reader through the main findings. Some links are awkward or incomplete, particularly “Whereas, the frequency of distance learning users…” and the sentence beginning “and there was no student…”. The paragraphing also does little to distinguish the overview from the detailed comparisons. Organise the response into a clear introduction, a concise overview, and logically grouped details, using linking words only where they clarify the relationship between figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “categories,” “satisfied,” “availability,” and “reliability,” and the reader can generally identify the groups and survey topics. However, the range is limited and several phrases are unnatural or imprecise, such as “more number of students,” “as compare to,” and “the frequency of distance learning users.” There are also spelling errors, including “helfulness” and “whichwas,” which reduce accuracy and polish. Choose standard language for describing proportions and satisfaction, and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “dissatisfied” would help you report the data clearly without relying on repeated, awkward constructions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few complex structures, for example “However, academic staff was least used by students” and the clause beginning “which was the half…”. However, sentence patterns are limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some statements difficult to follow. Examples include “there were more number of students,” “Full-time postgraduate users were about 25%,” and the sentence fragment beginning “Whereas”. Agreement and sentence construction also need attention in “academic staff was least used,” while the lowercase “and” after a full stop shows a punctuation problem. Practise forming complete sentences with accurate subjects and verbs, and use straightforward comparative structures before attempting longer clauses.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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