Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-22
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 4.5)
The pie chart illustrates the breakdown of categories of library users. While the table below shows survey of five different services provided by the university.
Overall, the most highest proportion accounted for full-time undergraduate and the lowest category of library users were academic staff. While in the table, there was five type of services showing satisfaction levels of library users.
On the one hand, full-time undergraduates presented is 44%. Whereas
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5
The response identifies the chart as showing user categories and notes the largest group, full-time undergraduates (44%), and the smallest, academic staff (7%). These are relevant and accurate features. However, it gives almost no account of the satisfaction table: saying only that it covers five services does not report the main results or compare satisfaction levels. The overview is also incomplete, and the final sentence stops after introducing the undergraduate figure. The response is substantially below the required 150 words, leaving the task only minimally addressed. To improve, summarise both visuals, highlight key contrasts such as staff helpfulness (95% very satisfied) versus journals (20% not satisfied), and complete the report.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0
There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence introduces the visuals, a second paragraph begins an overview, and the final paragraph starts to describe a category. This gives the reader some indication of the intended structure. However, progression is very limited because the report ends mid-thought, and the table is not developed into a connected account. Linking expressions such as “While” and “On the one hand” are used, but the latter sets up a contrast that is never completed; the isolated “Whereas” also leaves a sentence unfinished. Use complete paragraphs for the introduction, overview, user categories, and satisfaction results, and connect comparisons explicitly.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The response uses some task-relevant vocabulary, including “breakdown,” “categories,” “proportion,” and “satisfaction levels,” so the topic is generally clear. There is also an attempt to describe the visuals rather than relying entirely on everyday language. However, the range is narrow and several phrases are awkward or imprecise, such as “the most highest proportion” and “five type of services.” The word “presented” is not a natural choice for reporting a percentage, and “services provided by the university” may misrepresent the table, which records aspects of library satisfaction. Aim for accurate chart language and natural collocations, such as “accounted for,” “five aspects,” and “respondents were very satisfied with.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “While,” and the opening sentences are mostly understandable. However, control is inconsistent. “While the table below shows survey of five different services” is a fragment rather than a complete sentence, and “the most highest proportion accounted for” combines an incorrect superlative form with an unclear sentence structure. “There was five type” also has subject–verb agreement and plural errors. The final “Whereas” is left without a main clause. Practise writing complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, check singular/plural agreement, and use subordinate conjunctions only when the clause is attached to a complete main clause.
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