Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-04

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 pie charts shows the number of tourist visiting Ashdown Museum before and after it was refurbished across two years. A survey showed the number of visitors who were surved by the museum during the given period.

Overall, survey showed that after refurbishment the number of people who visited is higher than before. After refurishment, most of the people voted for satisfied and more satisfied whereas, before that year most of the votes were for dissatisfied.

Initially, 40% of the visitors showed dissatisfation while 30% of the people were satisfied with the museum. Percentage of very dissatisfied and very satisfied was approximately the same with 10 % to 15% respectively.

Whereas, after refurbishment the votes for satisfied and very satisfied has been increased dramatically with 40% to 35% votes respectively. Disatisfied and very dissatisfied votes were dropped to 15% and 5% respectively. Moreover, the percentage of no response were same in both years with only 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to address all parts of the task by reporting the main features of visitor numbers and survey results, but it does so only partially. While the overview correctly identifies that visitor numbers increased after refurbishment, the inclusion of detail is uneven and contains some inaccuracies or misinterpretations. For instance, the opening sentence incorrectly refers to the charts as 'pie charts' and 'tourist visiting', missing the specific context of museum visitors and chart types. Furthermore, the overall trend in satisfaction is described somewhat confusingly, stating that 'most of the votes were for dissatisfied' before refurbishment when looking at the individual categories (dissatisfied was the single largest category at 40%, but not a majority of all combined votes). Ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed, lacking a more precise synthesis of the 74,000 to 92,000 visitor number shift mentioned in the data table.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing that separates the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs focusing on the two distinct survey periods. Information is organised logically, moving from the general overview to specific data points. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The use of transitional markers such as 'Initially,' and 'Whereas,' is somewhat awkward or inaccurate in context, as these words do not establish a chronologically or logically seamless contrast between the survey categories. Referencing is generally clear, though paragraph transitions could be smoother to enhance the overall progression of ideas throughout the response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, providing enough range to discuss percentages and satisfaction levels, but it contains noticeable errors that impede precision. There are spelling mistakes such as 'surved' instead of surveyed and 'refurishment' instead of refurbishment. Word choice and word forms are occasionally strained, for instance using 'tourist' instead of visitors, and 'dissatisfation' instead of dissatisfaction. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary related to survey results and trends, inaccuracies in spelling and collocation prevent the lexical range from achieving a higher level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting comparative and descriptive structures. However, there are frequent errors in grammar that affect accuracy. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues such as 'The pie charts shows' instead of show, and article errors like 'the percentage of no response were same' instead of was the same. Attempts at complex sentences often contain faulty phrasing or awkward prepositions, such as 'voted for satisfied and more satisfied'. Punctuation and minor structural flaws persist throughout, though meaning is generally discernible despite these frequent slips.

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