Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-30

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 chart and table illustrate the results of a survey of library users at a university which is categories of academic staff, full-time undergraduate, full-time postgraduate, part-time postgraduate and distance learning students as well as the satisfaction of the user.

Overall, full-time undergraduate students has the highest library users, whereas academic staff has the lowest library users. The users has very satisfied about the helpfulness of staff and not satisfied about the availability of journals in the library.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the two main user groups at the extremes: full-time undergraduates are the largest group (44%), while academic staff are the smallest (7%). You also note high satisfaction with staff helpfulness and dissatisfaction with journals, which are relevant features. However, the response is only a minimal summary: it omits most figures and comparisons, including the satisfaction results for opening hours, books and wi-fi, and does not report the proportions for the other user categories. The claim that users were “not satisfied” with journals is too broad, since 20% were not satisfied while 45% were very satisfied. The response contains 67 words, below the 150-word minimum. Add a fuller overview and select key figures to support it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, recognisable structure: an opening sentence introduces the chart and table, followed by an overview beginning with “Overall.” The contrast between the largest and smallest user groups is easy to follow, and “whereas” helps signal that comparison. However, the response ends after two short paragraphs and does not develop a clear progression through the user categories and satisfaction data. The final sentence combines two separate satisfaction findings without explaining their relationship, and “as well as” in the introduction makes the list difficult to follow. Use separate paragraphs for the user profile and satisfaction results, and connect selected figures with clear comparisons such as “by contrast” or “while.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “survey,” “satisfaction,” “full-time undergraduate,” and “availability of journals,” so the topic is generally clear. The range is nevertheless limited, with repeated reliance on “users” and “satisfied,” and some phrases are imprecise or unnatural. For example, “the highest library users” would be clearer as “the largest proportion of library users,” while “the users has very satisfied” does not express the intended meaning naturally. The phrase “which is categories of” is also awkward when introducing the groups. Build a wider set of accurate reporting expressions, such as “accounted for,” “represented,” and “rated … positively,” and use them to describe the figures rather than repeating general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a complex opening sentence with “which” and a contrast using “whereas,” but control is uneven. In “which is categories of academic staff,” the clause is not grammatically complete, and the list that follows lacks a clear structure. Subject–verb agreement is also inaccurate in “students has” and “The users has.” The phrase “The users has very satisfied” is missing the appropriate verb construction, making the meaning harder to process. Most of the response uses simple sentence patterns, so there is little evidence of a wider range. Practise accurate plural agreement (“students have”) and satisfaction structures (“users were very satisfied with…”), then combine short, accurate statements with a few controlled complex sentences.

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