Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-14
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The table below shows the numbers of visitors to Ashdown Museum during the year before and the year after it was refurbished. The charts show the result of surveys asking visitors how satisfied they were with their visit, during the same two periods.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
This table shows the number of the visitors to Ashdown Museum during the year before refurbishment and the year after the refurbishment. The pie charts show the percentage of the different categories of visitors like satisfied, very satisfied, dissatisfied and no response.
The total number of visitors before refurbishment are 74,000 and after refurbishment this number increased to 92,000. We see a quite difference in the percentage of the satisfied and very satisfied visitors percentage from the chart of year before refurbishment and the chart of the year after refurbishment. The percentage of satisfied and very satisfied visitors increased from 30 to 40 and 15 to 35 respectively. The percentage of the dissatisfied and very dissatisfied visitors decreased from 40 to 15 and 10 to 5 respectively.
At the end, we can conclude that this table show the total number of visitors and the survey indicates that the after refurbishment the percentage of satisfied visitor is increased and the percentage of dissatisfied visitor decreased.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the prompt by presenting the main data points from both the table and the charts. The student successfully identifies overall visitor numbers, mentioning an increase from 74,000 to 92,000, and highlights changes in satisfaction categories, such as satisfied rising from 30 to 40 and dissatisfied falling from 40 to 15. However, there are minor omissions in fully comparing all data points, and the reporting of percentages lacks the '%' symbol in several instances, making some figures slightly ambiguous. Furthermore, the selection of data is somewhat mechanical rather than being fully synthesised. Overall, the response fulfills the basic requirements of Task 1 by outlining key trends and comparisons, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure by introducing the visual aids, detailing the data in the body paragraph, and providing a brief concluding summary. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'At the end' is rather informal and less appropriate for an academic report than 'In conclusion' or 'Overall'. Referencing and logical progression are occasionally hindered by abrupt shifts between sentences, such as moving from visitor numbers directly into satisfaction statistics without a clear transitional phrase. Paragraphing is attempted, though the division could be improved by separating the table data from the survey chart details into distinct paragraphs. These features place the response firmly at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'refurbishment', 'percentage', 'categories', and 'dissatisfied'. There are, however, noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as writing 'number of the visitors' with an unnecessary article, and stating 'We see a quite difference', which should be 'quite a difference'. Additionally, omitting units of measurement (writing 'from 30 to 40' instead of 'from 30% to 40%') detracts from precision. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main trends, the presence of these errors and the lack of more sophisticated or less common lexical items prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making a Band 5.5 appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like 'The charts show the result of surveys asking visitors how satisfied...' and 'The percentage of satisfied and very satisfied visitors increased from 30 to 40...'. However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text. A notable subject-verb agreement error occurs in 'The total number of visitors before refurbishment are 74,000', where 'are' should be 'was' (or 'is'). There is also a missing preposition in 'indicate that the after refurbishment the percentage...', and an extra article in 'number of the visitors'. Punctuation and tense control are generally acceptable, but these persistent structural and agreement errors occasionally distract the reader, supporting a Band 5.5 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.