Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-20

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 provided table chart illustrate the number of visitors to Ashdown Museum during the year before and the year after it was reconstructed. The pie chart demonstrate the result of surveys reviews people who visited Museum and how satisfied they were with their visit, during the both period.

Overall, it is clear that before refurbishment of Ashdown Museum their number was less rather than after refurbishment. The pie chart shows the proportion of satisfaction and before refurbishment dissatisfied category recorded the highest percentage. However, after redevelopment of Museum satisfied category had the largest share of visitors satisfaction.

To begin with, the number of visitors who visited in Ashdown Museum before refurbishment during the year, which was 74,000. Conversely, this figure increased to 92,000.

Turning to the next details, dissatisfied reviews experienced the highest proportion of visitor satisfaction at 40%, followed by satisfied had the second biggest share of surveys at 30%. People who very satisfied which was 15%, visitors who very dissatisfied and no response at 5% and 10%. In addition, after refurbishment satisfied increased to 40%, very satisfied accounted for 35%. Dissatisfied stood at 15%. Furthermore, no response and very dissatisfied both category at 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the prompt, successfully presenting the visitor numbers (74,000 rising to 92,000) and the satisfaction survey results for both periods. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, contrasting total visitor numbers and the shifts in satisfaction categories (noting that dissatisfied was highest before, while satisfied was highest after). However, some of the data reporting is slightly confused or imprecise, such as stating 'dissatisfied reviews experienced the highest proportion of visitor satisfaction', which is an awkward phrasing since dissatisfaction is not visitor satisfaction. Key features such as the increase in very satisfied respondents from 15% to 35% are noted, but overall the development is a bit mechanical and lacks fully polished data synthesis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is arranged into four paragraphs, following a logical layout with an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs detailing the table and charts separately. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'To begin with', 'Conversely', and 'Turning to the next details'. However, some referencing is awkward or unclear, such as 'their number was less rather than after' and 'both category at 5%'. Paragraphing is present and helps structure the response, but paragraph transitions and internal cohesion can be mechanical or clunky at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary relevant to the visual data, including words like 'refurbishment', 'proportion', 'category', and 'survey'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout, such as 'table chart' (instead of table and chart), 'reconstructed' (instead of refurbished), 'visitor satisfaction' used to describe dissatisfaction percentages, and missing or incorrect prepositions/articles. While the range is adequate to convey the basic meaning, these vocabulary inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, and sentence completeness, such as 'The provided table chart illustrate' (subject-verb agreement), 'during the both period', 'the number of visitors who visited in Ashdown Museum before refurbishment during the year, which was 74,000' (fragmented or incomplete clause structure), and 'very satisfied and no response at 5% and 10%'. While these errors do not completely obscure the message, they occur frequently enough to restrict the score to band 5.0.

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

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