Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-17

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)

The given table illustrates number of people who visited Ashdown Museum before and after it was refurbished. The chart depicts the outcomes of surveys questioning visitors about how much they were satisfied with their visit during the same two period.

Overall, here were less visitors and mostly were dissatisfied. But after refurbishment not only number of visitors increased but the satisfication rate also showed increase.

Before and after refurbishment percentage of people who did not respose stayed same. Before refurbishment 40 percent of people out of 74,000 were dissatisfied and satisfaction rate was 30 percent with their visit, but after refurbishment the dissatisfaction rate decreased to 15 percent however, satisfication rate increased upto 10 percent. Percentage of people who were very satisfied after refurbishment also increased by 20 percent. While people who were very dissatisfied before refurbishment decreased by 5 percent after refurbishment.

In conclusion, after refurbishment of the Ashdown Museum there was improvement observed in both visitors and in terms of satisfication rate, while dissatisfication rate was decreased.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both the table (visitor numbers rising from 74,000 to 92,000) and the survey charts regarding visitor satisfaction. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the overall trends of increased visitor numbers and higher satisfaction rates. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting the specific data points. For instance, the student states that the satisfaction rate increased 'upto 10 percent', whereas the data shows the 'Satisfied' category was 30% before and 40% after refurbishment. Furthermore, the phrasing 'mostly were dissatisfied' in the overview is an oversimplification of the pre-refurbishment survey data where combined positive and negative responses varied. Despite these minor data interpretation errors, the main features are sufficiently highlighted to meet the requirements of a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, a body paragraph detailing the data, and a brief concluding sentence. The overall progression is generally clear, moving from general trends to specific survey figures. However, the use of cohesive devices is at times mechanical or faulty. Transitions such as 'However, satisfication rate increased upto 10 percent' lack logical cohesion with the preceding clause. Paragraphing is attempted, but the body paragraph crams almost all the detailed statistics into a single dense block without adequate subdivision. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in 'satisfaction rate increased upto 10 percent'. These issues place the response firmly in Band 5.5 for cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'refurbished', 'outcomes', 'percentage', and 'dissatisfaction rate'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('satisfication', 'respose') and some awkward word choices or collocations, such as 'here were less visitors' instead of 'there were fewer visitors'. Attempts to use less common vocabulary are sporadic and occasionally inaccurate. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general message, errors in word forms and spelling recur throughout the text, restricting the score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the concessive clause 'While people who were very dissatisfied before refurbishment decreased by 5 percent after refurbishment.' However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several structural and article errors, including 'illustrates number of people' (missing article 'the'), 'during the same two period' (plural error), and 'here were less visitors' (existential 'there' error and incorrect quantifier 'less' instead of 'fewer'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent minor errors in grammar and morphology detract from the overall fluency, though they do not completely impede communication.

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

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