Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-28

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 table below shows how many people visited the Ashdown museum the year prior to and following the refurbishment, while the pie chart illustrates the surveys of visitor satisfaction during the two years.

Overall, the visitor numbersand satisfaction both increased after the refurbishment.

There are 74,000 visitors before the refurbishments and following the refurbishment the visitor number to 92,000.

Moving on to visitor satisfaction, those who rated their experience as dissatisfied made up the greatest proportion of respondents in the year before the museum was refurbished, at 40%.

However, this number showed a dramatic decline to only 15% after the refurbishment. The proportion of respondents who were very dissatisfied with their visit also fell, to only 5%. The proportions of those who responded satisfied and very satisfied, in comparison, both went up in the year after the refurbishment, to 40% and 35% respectively, and these were the two most common responses that year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of both the table and the charts well. You successfully identified the overall trends, such as the increase in visitor numbers from 74,000 to 92,000, and reported the key satisfaction survey findings, noting that dissatisfaction dropped significantly while positive ratings rose. However, there is a minor grammatical omission in the sentence reporting the visitor numbers after refurbishment ('...following the refurbishment the visitor number to 92,000'), which slightly impacts clarity. Nevertheless, an adequate overview and comparison are provided, meeting the requirements of a Band 6.5 or 7.0 effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text features a clear overall arrangement, moving logically from an introductory sentence and overall trend to specific details about visitor numbers and finally to the satisfaction survey results. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Moving on to' and 'However'. Paragraphing could be slightly better structured, as the text is currently compressed into too few paragraphs, but the logical progression from the table data to the survey charts is maintained throughout. Referencing is mostly clear, earning a solid Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'proportion', 'respondents', 'dramatic decline', and 'respectively'. There are some successful attempts at less common vocabulary, though minor lexical and phrasing choices feel slightly unnatural or awkward, such as 'visitor numbersand' (a typo/spacing issue) and 'the visitor number to 92,000' (missing a verb like 'rose to'). Overall, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, placing this response at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses ('those who rated...') and comparative structures. There are, however, a few noticeable grammatical errors, most notably in the third sentence where the verb is missing ('...following the refurbishment the visitor number to 92,000'). Other sentences are reasonably well-controlled and punctuation is generally correct. The errors do not impede communication, supporting a Band 6.0 score.

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